• In which anthropological subfield(s) are you interested in specializing?
• What are your research interests and career goals?
• What led you to apply for the graduate program in anthropology in particular? (this could include personal, professional, or research experiences)
• Why is Anthropology at Georgia State University the right place for you?
• How does your research connect to the expertise or research interests of one or more faculty members in the department? (and who would you be interested in working with as a thesis chair or capstone advisor?)
• We recommend that applicants solicit feedback from faculty mentors with whom applicants have previously worked (e.g. at one’s undergraduate institution)

• Usually, this is an existing term paper or other writing sample that showcases the applicant’s ability to write using academic conventions and references.
• If you wish to submit an alternate or additional writing sample, you may consult the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Anthropology.
• Recommended length 10-20 pages double-spaced, (references section may go beyond this length).

• An ideal letter of recommendation can explain your intellectual trajectory, your development over time, your skills and abilities, and can give evidence or illustrate your potential for success in graduate school.

• Describe why you would like to join the graduate program in Applied Linguistics at Georgia State University. Address the fit between your professional goals and the training offered at GSU.
•  Discuss how your experiences shaped your interest in pursuing a degree in Applied Linguistics/TESOL.
• Provide examples that illustrate your initiative, perseverance, and maturity.

• Describe why you would like to join the graduate program in Applied Linguistics at Georgia State University. Address the fit between your professional goals and the training offered at GSU.
•  Discuss how your experiences shaped your interest in pursuing a degree in Applied Linguistics/TESOL.
• Provide examples that illustrate your initiative, perseverance, and maturity.

• Describe why you would like to join the graduate program in Applied Linguistics at Georgia State University. Address the fit between your professional goals and the training offered at GSU.
•  Discuss how your experiences shaped your interest in pursuing a degree in Applied Linguistics/TESOL.
• Provide examples that illustrate your initiative, perseverance, and maturity.

• One year of General Biology with labs,  one year of Physics, one year of English, and two years of Chemistry with labs (inclusive of Organic Chemistry) with a grade of C or better.

Complete BIOL 7240, 7250 and 7800 with a grade no lower than a B.  Applicants who do not have these prerequisite courses may still be admitted conditionally.

Please answer the following short-essay prompts.

1. Describe your past research experience (or laboratory experiences). What did you learn from those experiences?

2. List instruments, specialized techniques, and/or scientific software you have used so far during your scientific training or career.

3. Why would you like to join the graduate program in Chemistry at Georgia State University? Please explain if you have any specific coursework, research area/topic(s), and/or research advisor(s) in mind.

4. Choose one of the two questions below (a or b) and answer it:
a) Was there a time during your life or your professional career when a situation or project did not go as you planned? What caused this, and how did you handle it?
b) Explain a time you received feedback or criticism from an instructor or advisor. How did you respond to it?

5. Choose one of the two questions below (a or b) and answer it:
a) What motivates you?
b) Who inspires you?

Please answer the following short-essay prompts.

1. Describe your past research experience (or laboratory experiences). What did you learn from those experiences?

2. List instruments, specialized techniques, and/or scientific software you have used so far during your scientific training or career.

3. Why would you like to join the graduate program in Chemistry at Georgia State University? Please explain if you have any specific coursework, research area/topic(s), and/or research advisor(s) in mind.

4. Choose one of the two questions below (a or b) and answer it:
a) Was there a time during your life or your professional career when a situation or project did not go as you planned? What caused this, and how did you handle it?
b) Explain a time you received feedback or criticism from an instructor or advisor. How did you respond to it?

5. Choose one of the two questions below (a or b) and answer it:
a) What motivates you?
b) Who inspires you?

Please answer the following short-essay prompts.

1. Describe your past research experience (or laboratory experiences). What did you learn from those experiences?

2. List instruments, specialized techniques, and/or scientific software you have used so far during your scientific training or career.

3. Why would you like to join the graduate program in Chemistry at Georgia State University? Please explain if you have any specific coursework, research area/topic(s), and/or research advisor(s) in mind.

4. Choose one of the two questions below (a or b) and answer it:
a) Was there a time during your life or your professional career when a situation or project did not go as you planned? What caused this, and how did you handle it?
b) Explain a time you received feedback or criticism from an instructor or advisor. How did you respond to it?

5. Choose one of the two questions below (a or b) and answer it:
a) What motivates you?
b) Who inspires you?

• Please submit a statement which summarizes your research, academic, and potential professional interest, and which details your intellectual interests as they relate to communication. If you wish, feel free to use the statement to bring information to the attention of faculty reviewers you think is of importance. For example, if your application contains some evidence or special strength or weakness, you might choose to address that in your statement.
• If your undergraduate or graduate transcripts would benefit from additional explanation (e.g., if you wish to call to our attention your higher grades in communication-related courses, or your record of improvement), then it would be appropriate to add that language to this statement as well.  Overall: why do you wish to pursue studies with the GSU Department of Communication?
• If you are undecided about the particular direction you wish to pursue, then do your best to specify the general direction you are heading. Tell us which graduate research faculty (with titles of Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor) that you are interested in working with and why.

• Please submit a statement which summarizes your professional and research interest areas as they relate to media and/or communication, especially in the digital environment. If you are undecided about the particular direction you wish to pursue, then do your best to specify the general direction you are heading.
• Your statement should help answer the question: Why do you wish to pursue graduate studies with the GSU Department of Communication? If you wish, feel free to also use the statement to bring information to the attention of faculty reviewers you think is of importance. For example, if your application contains some evidence of a special strength or weakness, you might choose to address that in your statement.

• If your undergraduate or graduate transcripts would benefit from additional explanation (e.g., if you wish to call to our attention your higher grades in communication-related courses, or your record of improvement), then it would be appropriate to add that language to this statement as well.

Fall

Spring

Summer

February 1*

Does Not Admit

Does Not Admit

Creative Portfolio

Instructions//

Applicants must submit a creatively compelling and technologically sophisticated portfolio. A filmmaking background is not a prerequisite to admission to the GSU MFA degree.  But reviewers are looking for evidence of artistic and technological sophistication in the materials you submit. If your work has not yet provided you the opportunity to document your technical skills (that is, if you are not able to submit an animation, fully rendered game asset, or film special effects), then you should endeavor to find other ways to speak to your technical aptitude and experience with content creation software (e.g., the portfolio might include storyboards or other work products associated with previsualization).

To be considered for admission in a fall semester, the portfolio must be submitted by no later than February 1 (file limitation 5GB). The portfolio should start with an index of works submitted, followed next by a resume/CV. The index should include a brief one or two-sentence synopsis of each piece submitted in the portfolio. Detail your role in the production and provide links to full-length pieces if applicable. Sequence projects in the portfolio so that your best work will be seen first by reviewers.

Creative media materials may be included if they consist of a completed narrative or documentary film (videos of staged plays or theatre performances are not accepted) or otherwise document your technical work. Do not submit a clip reel unless it documents technical expertise best demonstrated in excerpted forms, such as VFX, cinematography, animation, 3D models, 2D drawing, sound design or audio files, illustration, or other motion media. Submit other longer-form projects, such as completed film shorts, in separate files.  No submitted video should exceed a ten-minute run time. Photographic stills may be included, but no more than 10 prints on any subject, black or white or color, can be submitted. Photographs may also present work in other media, such as painting, illustration, sculpture, set design, costume design, etc. In addition to the required academic writing sample, you may also submit a creative writing sample as a part of this portfolio. This might consist of a sample of an original written work such as a piece of critical writing, a play, a short story, a treatment or screenplay. You may excerpt a longer work.

1. What fields, research areas, or topics in the Department of English and within your selected concentration (Literary Studies, Rhetoric and Composition, or Creative Writing) interest you and why? Which faculty members in our department do you see as potentially providing guidance in helping you to pursue graduate studies in these fields? (max 200 words)
2. In your studies, what research approaches and methodologies (e.g. literary analysis, cultural studies, LGBTQ studies, particular theoretical approaches, archival work, tech writing, pedagogical and/or Writing Studio methodologies) are you most interested to work with? (max 100 words)
3. What professional and personal goals motivate you to pursue graduate studies in the Department of English at Georgia State University? How will our programs help you to achieve these goals? (max 100 words)
4. What preparation or experiences have you had that will help you succeed in this graduate program? Please feel free to include examples from outside educational and academic arenas. (max 100 words)
5. Do you plan to engage in any of the professionalization opportunities in our department (Writing Studio, Five Points, graduate teaching opportunities) and if so to what end? (Please note that unless you indicate otherwise, all PhD will be considered for a GTA package and all MA students will be considered and interviewed for a position in the Writing Studio.) (max 50 words)
6. (Optional) Is there anything in your academic record that is not representative of your potential success in graduate school? Have you had to overcome any hardships or obstacles in your development as a scholar that we should consider as we evaluate your application materials? If so, please feel free to provide any details that you wish to share. (max 100 words)

1. What fields, research areas, or topics in the Department of English and within your selected concentration (Literary Studies, Rhetoric and Composition, or Creative Writing) interest you and why? Which faculty members in our department do you see as potentially providing guidance in helping you to pursue graduate studies in these fields? (max 200 words)
2. In your studies, what research approaches and methodologies (e.g. literary analysis, cultural studies, LGBTQ studies, particular theoretical approaches, archival work, tech writing, pedagogical and/or Writing Studio methodologies) are you most interested to work with? (max 100 words)
3. What professional and personal goals motivate you to pursue graduate studies in the Department of English at Georgia State University? How will our programs help you to achieve these goals? (max 100 words)
4. What preparation or experiences have you had that will help you succeed in this graduate program? Please feel free to include examples from outside educational and academic arenas. (max 100 words)
5. Do you plan to engage in any of the professionalization opportunities in our department (Writing Studio, Five Points, graduate teaching opportunities) and if so to what end? (Please note that unless you indicate otherwise, all PhD will be considered for a GTA package and all MA students will be considered and interviewed for a position in the Writing Studio.) (max 50 words)
6. (Optional) Is there anything in your academic record that is not representative of your potential success in graduate school? Have you had to overcome any hardships or obstacles in your development as a scholar that we should consider as we evaluate your application materials? If so, please feel free to provide any details that you wish to share. (max 100 words)

1. What fields, research areas, or topics in Geosciences (Geography, Geology, and/or Water Sciences) interest you and why? Which faculty members in our department do you see as potentially providing guidance in helping you to pursue graduate studies in these fields? (max 200 words)
2. In your graduate studies, what research approaches and methodologies (i.e. lab, field, modeling, interviews, ethnography, critical digital, GIS, etc.) are you most interested in working with? (max 200 words)
3. What professional and personal goals motivate you to pursue graduate studies in the Department of Geosciences at Georgia State University? How will this program help you to achieve these goals? (max 200 words)
4. What preparation or experiences have you had that will help you succeed in this graduate program? Please feel free to include examples from outside educational and academic arenas. (max 300 words)
5. (Optional)Is there anything in your academic record that is not representative of your potential success in graduate school? Have you had to overcome any hardships or obstacles in your development as a scholar that we should consider as we evaluate your application materials? If so, please feel free to provide any details that you wish to share. (max 200 words)

Please do not use AI for assistance in generating your statement. Statement should include the following.

(1) motivation for seeking PhD in neuroscience at GSU;

(2) previous research experience, and

(3) future goals.

In no more than 800 words, please tell us (a) what your philosophical interests are and what intellectual questions you wish to understand better, (b) which experiences, skills, and philosophical and non-philosophical background will enable you successfully to carry out graduate work on your philosophical interests, and (c) what, in light of these interests and experiences, your reasons are for applying to Georgia State University specifically. You may also include (d) any information that will help to contextualize the materials submitted with your application.

The writing sample is your opportunity to demonstrate that you can do strong philosophical work. A writing sample should be clearly written and well-organized, but should not be merely expository. Instead, it should be a persuasive or argumentative piece of writing that: (a) demonstrates a thorough understanding of the relevant positions and arguments; (b) advances a clear, easily identifiable thesis or point of view; (c) develops an argument for its thesis that identifies and responds to objections; and (d) engages successfully with the relevant scholarly literature on its topic.

The writing sample should be a maximum of 6,000 words (not including the bibliography).

• Please provide a personal statement that describes your skills and experiences that are relevant to your area(s) of interest in graduate study in political science. Within your personal statement, please address all of the following topics (maximum 500 words):
  1. Summarize your research interests and professional goals.
  2. Describe experience(s) and skills you have had conducting research or pursuing specific interests in depth in an academic, professional, or personal setting. How have these experiences shaped the research questions you are interested in pursuing through graduate study in political science? How have these experiences influenced your academic or professional interests?
  3. Describe why would you like to join the graduate program in political science at Georgia State University. Specifically, address the connection between your research interests and/or professional goals and the training offered at GSU.
• Address one of the following prompts (Maximum 200 words):
  1. Explain a time you received feedback or criticism from an instructor, advisor, or supervisor. How did you respond to it and what did you learn from the experience?
  2. Discuss a time in your life or professional career when you faced major challenges and how you handled it, and how this experience might prepare you for graduate level study.

• Please provide a personal statement that describes your skills and experiences that are relevant to your area(s) of interest in graduate study in political science. Within your personal statement, please address all of the following topics (maximum 500 words):
  1. Summarize your research interests and professional goals.
  2. Describe experience(s) and skills you have had conducting research or pursuing specific interests in depth in an academic, professional, or personal setting. How have these experiences shaped the research questions you are interested in pursuing through graduate study in political science? How have these experiences influenced your academic or professional interests?
  3. Describe why would you like to join the graduate program in political science at Georgia State University. Specifically, address the connection between your research interests and/or professional goals and the training offered at GSU.
• (PhD Students Only) PhD students in our program work with faculty mentors. Please identify at least one (and up to three) faculty members with whom you would like to work. Briefly describe how your research interests match the work of those faculty mentors.  Please see our website for a list of political science faculty members and their research interests. (Maximum 200 words)
• Address one of the following prompts (Maximum 200 words):
  1. Explain a time you received feedback or criticism from an instructor, advisor, or supervisor. How did you respond to it and what did you learn from the experience?
  2. Discuss a time in your life or professional career when you faced major challenges and how you handled it, and how this experience might prepare you for graduate level study.

• Summarize your research interests.
• Discuss how your experiences shaped the research questions you are interested in exploring.
• Describe your skills that are relevant to your area(s) of interest in graduate study in psychology.
• Describe why you would like to join the graduate program in Psychology at Georgia State University. Address the fit between your training goals and the training offered at GSU.
• Provide examples that illustrate your quantitative abilities and problem-solving skills.
• Provide examples that illustrate your initiative, leadership, perseverance, and maturity.
• Discuss how your educational, professional, clinical (if applicable), or personal (e.g., cultural, economic or social) experiences prepare you to contribute to our department's emphasis on diversity and inclusion.

• Essay Question Prompt 1.  Applicants should have statistics and research methods training. Most often this training involves taking statistics and research methods courses. In one or two sentences, please describe your statistics and research methods training. (100 words)
• Essay Question Prompt 2.  Graduate students in our program work on research teams with primary mentors. Earlier in this application you listed the faculty member(s) with whom you are most interested in working. Please be sure you selected at least one faculty member associated with the concentration to which you are applying. In the space below, briefly describe how your research interests match intersects with the work of those faculty mentors.  Please see our website for a list of psychology faculty members interested in mentoring incoming graduate students from each concentration. (200 words)
• OPTIONAL QUESTION.: We recognize that there are many ways to gain the skills and qualities most likely to prepare you for graduate study, and that each individual has a unique journey to graduate school. Beyond what you have already included in your personal statement, is there anything else that you would like to tell us about how your life experiences, skills, and/or personal qualities have helped prepare you for graduate study? (optional – 200 words)

• Please provide a personal statement that describes the experiences in your life that make you who you are. How have these experiences shaped your interest in Sociology? This statement may also note any disadvantages or significant challenges you have faced in your path toward higher education.
• Provide a statement of your research interests and how Georgia State University's Department of Sociology will help you to meet your educational and career goals. What research approaches and methodologies (i.e. interviews, focus groups, regression, non-linear statistics, etc.) are you most interested to work with?  
• What research, teaching and or professional experiences have you had that may help you succeed in graduate school? (Please feel free to include/use examples from outside academia)

• Please provide a personal statement that describes the experiences in your life that make you who you are. How have these experiences shaped your interest in Sociology? This statement may also note any disadvantages or significant challenges you have faced in your path toward higher education.
• Provide a statement of your research interests and how Georgia State University's Department of Sociology will help you to meet your educational and career goals. What research approaches and methodologies (i.e. interviews, focus groups, regression, non-linear statistics, etc.) are you most interested to work with?  
• What research, teaching and or professional experiences have you had that may help you succeed in graduate school? (Please feel free to include/use examples from outside academia)