Applicants to the undergraduate and graduate programs in English and technical communication have to meet both the university’s admission requirements and the program’s admission requirements, if any, to be considered for admission.

A program’s admission requirements, where they exist, are mentioned under Program Admission Requirements below.

Undergraduate Admission:

Freshman Admission

Transfer Admission

Freshman Admission: Dual Enrollment

Freshman Admission: Non-Traditional Students

For more information on undergraduate admissions, refer to the undergraduate catalog.

Graduate Admission:

Graduate Admission

International Admission

For more information on graduate admissions, refer to the graduate catalog.

Program Admission Requirements:

M.S. in Technical Communication

Requirements for admission to the M.S. in Technical Communication program are outlined below:

• Bachelor’s degree: Due to the interdisciplinary nature of technical communication, the program will consider applicants with bachelor's degrees in almost any field, such as science, engineering, humanities, communication, journalism or information technology.
• Grade Point Average (GPA): There is no minimum GPA requirement for admission. However, GPA will be taken into consideration when making decisions about assistantships.
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE): The GRE is required, but there is no minimum requirement for admission. It is another factor used to make decisions on assistantships.
• Letters of recommendation: Three letters of recommendation are required.
• TOEFL/IELTS: The department requires a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (paper), 213 (computer), and 79 (IBT). IELTS scores may be accepted in place of TOEFL scores. The minimum-score requirement for the IELTS is 650. A student who has not taken the TOEFL may be admitted provisionally and required to take the TOEFL before the end of his/her first semester.
• Writing sample: A writing sample is not required, but one will be considered if it is included with the application.
• Letter of application to the chair: Applicants must submit a letter of application, addressed to the chair. In that letter, the applicant should discuss his/her academic background, explain his/her interest in the program and technical communication as a discipline, etc. If the applicant is interested in being considered for an assistantship, he/she should say so in the letter and discuss his/her qualifications for a teaching position.

Co-operative M.A. in English

Missouri S&T and UMSL have joint policies for the cooperative M.A. in English program. Applicants must meet the graduate admission requirements of both universities and those of the English departments at both universities to be considered for admission. These requirements are outlined below:

• Bachelor’s degree: Applicants must have a bachelor's degree, with at least 24 hours in English above the freshman level and 12 in literature courses.
• Grade Point Average (GPA): Normally, only applicants with a GPA of at least 3.0 in undergraduate English courses and an overall average of 2.75 will be considered.
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE): Applicants must submit scores for the GRE. In general, students scoring below the 65th percentile on the verbal examination will not be accepted into the program. Students may retake the examination to improve their scores.
• Letters of recommendation: The program requires two letters of recommendation from English professors with whom the student has worked.
• TOEFL/IELTS: The department requires a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (paper), 213 (computer), or 79 (IBT) and IELTS score of 6.5.
• Creative writing track: Students must submit fiction or poetry in application for the creative writing track.

The letters of recommendation, the undergraduate record, and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores will be the basis for the admission decision.