Graduate Admissions FAQ

1.1. What is your application deadline for the upcoming fall semester?

A. The deadline for fall admission is February 15 for international applicants, and March 15 for domestic applicants. However, in order to have the best chance at fellowship consideration, we recommend that you complete your application by January 1. This deadline applies to both domestic and international students.

1.2. Do you admit MA and PhD students for the spring semester? The summer session?

A. No. No.

1.3. I have a Master's degree, but it's not in sociology. Should I apply to the MA program, or the PhD program?

A. If you don't have a master's degree in sociology, you should apply to the MA program, even if your ultimate goal is to earn a PhD. The requirements for our MA are a subset of the requirements for our PhD, so if you enter our program without a sociology MA, you will end up taking most, if not all of our MA requirements anyway.

1.4. I wasn't a sociology major as an undergraduate. Can I still apply to your program?

A. We don't require applicants to our graduate program to be sociology majors, nor do we have any hard rules about how many or what type of sociology courses an applicant should have taken before applying to our program. But as a general rule of thumb, having some sort of sociology coursework, or at least a background in sociological research will greatly help your prospects. As I mentioned, there are no hard and fast rules about precisely which courses you should take, but if you're looking for suggestions, start with an introductory course. Undergraduate-level courses in sociological statistics and/or research methods would also be helpful. If you'd like to take additional courses, take a look at the requirements for sociology majors and minors at your school, and choose courses from that list.

1.5. My GRE score is X, my TOEFL score is Y, and my GPA is Z. What are my chances of being admitted into your program?

A. We make admissions decisions after a careful review of all required credentials. Test scores and grade point averages are an important part of a student's application, but they don't tell the whole story. For example, we require full transcripts because we're interested in seeing which courses you've taken, and how well you did in specific courses. The GPA by itself doesn't tell us that. We also pay very close attention to letters of recommendation, the personal statement, the academic writing sample, and sociology-related research experience. When we make an admissions decision, there's a lot we need to know about an applicant that just can't be boiled down to mere numbers. So the short answer to this question is that if your GPA and TOEFL scores are above the university mininums, then you have at least some chance of being admitted. Beyond that, we really couldn't say without seeing a completed application file. Sorry.

2.1. What documents do I need to submit, and where should I send them?

A. You should submit the following documents to the Office of Admissions and Records (OAR).

2.2. How do I obtain the necessary application forms?

A. If you have access to the web, you may download the Graduate College Admission Application, the Application for Graduate Appointment, and the Declaration and Certification of Finances form from the Graduate College web site at http://www.uic.edu/depts/grad/gcforms/index.shtml These forms are in Adobe's Acrobat (*.pdf) format. You will need Adobe's Acrobat Reader software in order to view and print them. This software is available free of charge for most commonly used operating systems, including all versions of Windows, all recent versions of the MAC OS, the Palm Pilot OS, Linux, and several variants of Unix. You may download Acrobat Reader at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html If you are not able to download and print the forms, you may write to our department at the address above, and we will mail them to you. You can also request these forms by e-mail at gradsoc@uic.edu

2.3. May I apply on-line?

A. You may submit an on-line application form in lieu of the paper Graduate College Admission Application form. The web address for this is http://www.uic.edu/depts/ims/uiconline/uic_appl_strt.htm Unfortunately, you'll still need to kill some trees in order to submit the other required application documents.

2.4. Is it possible to waive the application fee requirement?

A. We're not unsympathetic to the fact that for many students, particularly international students, the application fee can be a hardship. Unfortunately, the university simply will not process an application without the fee, so the matter is out of our hands.

2.5. I attended a foreign university that does not issue transcripts. Help!

A. The university will sometimes accept other types of credentials in lieu of a transcript. Such credentials include marksheets, examination reports, diplomas, graduation certificates, or other types of documents. Such documents must be certified by your school, and if they were not issued in English, then you must provide certified English translations as well as the original documents.

2.6. What is the mininum required grade point average (GPA)?

A. We require a mininum GPA of at least 3.00 (A=4.00) on the last sixty semester hours of undergraduate work, and at least 3.50 on any graduate work. While we do occasionally make exceptions to this policy, you should note that the Graduate College requires a mininum GPA of at least 2.75 for all applicants.

3.1. How do I arrange to take the GRE, and how do I arrange for the scores to be sent to UIC?

A. The GRE has a web site at http://www.gre.org/ You can download registration materials there, and you can also find answers to most (if not all) of your GRE-related questions there. If you do not have access to the web, you can contact the GRE people by phone to request registration materials and information. The number is 1-609-771-7906. When you complete the registration form, the institution code for UIC is R1851. The department/major field code for sociology is 2102.

3.2. Do you require the GRE subject test?

A. No.

3.3. Do you accept computer-based GRE scores from China and other parts of Asia?

A. As you might have heard, the GRE has recently discovered serious security breaches in the new computer-based version of the exam. There is evidence that some students have exploited these security breaches in order to cheat on the exam. The most serious problems seem to have occured in China and other parts of Asia. Because of these security problems, the GRE has suspended the computer-based test in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea. The paper-based test will be offered in these countries in November and March.

Most of the students who take the computer-based test do so honestly. However, the cheating appears to be on such a large scale as to cast doubt on the credibility of all computer-based test scores from this part of the world. We are therefore strongly encouraging students to take the paper-based test.

3.4. What kind of GRE scores are you looking for?

A. We don't have a hard cutoff point on the GRE. The average scores for students we admitted for the fall, 2002 semester are approximately 585 on the verbal section, 668 on the quantitative section, and 645 on the analytical section. Keep in mind that these are averages, not mininums. We do not make admissions decisions based solely - or even mainly - on GRE scores, and we do admit students with lower scores than these. Having said that, GRE scores are still important, and we would cast a more critical gaze upon an applicant with significantly below average scores.

4.1. Who is required to take the TOEFL?

A. In general, you must take the TOEFL if English is not your native language. However, you are exempt from this requirement if you have completed at least two years of full-time study at an English-language institution in an English-speaking country, and you completed this study within five years of the term for which you are applying to UIC.

4.2. How do I arrange to take the TOEFL, and how do I have my scores sent to UIC?

A. The TOEFL people have a web site at http://www.toefl.org/ which has registration materials and information. Their telephone number is 1-609-771-7100. When you complete the registration form, UIC's institution code is 1851.

4.3. What is the mininum required TOEFL score?

A. The university requires a mininum TOEFL score of 550 on the paper- based test, or 213 on the computer-based test. However, our department gives strong preference to students who score at least 600 on the paper-based test, or 250 on the computer-based test.

4.4. Should I take the paper-based TOEFL or the computer-based TOEFL?

A. Either one would be fine.

4.5. Do you require the Test of Spoken English (TSE)?

A. No. However, we do reserve the right to conduct a telephone interview to evaluate your competency in spoken English. Also, Illinois state law requires that all teaching assistants whose native language is not English must pass a test of spoken English (the SPEAK test) in order to qualify for classroom instruction. If you are admitted and awarded a teaching assistantship, you will take this test shortly after you arrive in Chicago. If you do not pass, you will be assigned to a non-classroom assignment and required to take coursework in English as a second language. Continuation of your teaching assistantship beyond the first year is contingent upon passing the SPEAK test within your first year.

5.1. Is there a form for letters of recommendation?

A. Although the university issues a form for this purpose, we would greatly prefer that you do not use it. Please have your recommenders simply write regular letters on their departmental letterhead.

5.2. Should I send you my letters of recommendation myself, or should I have them sent to you by the letter writers.

A. Either way is fine. If you send the letters yourself, please leave them in their sealed envelopes.

5.3. It's been X years since I got my BA, and my professors don't know me anymore. Can I submit letters from people at work?

A. All else being equal, we give greater weight to letters from academic sources, and we strongly recommend that you use academic sources whenever you can. Still, we understand that in some cases this may not be practical. Above all, you should get letters from people who know you, and are willing to tell us with some detail why they think you would make a good graduate student. Every year, we get many letters that say something along the lines of: "Dear Admissions Committee, Jane Doe was a student in my Social Stratification class. She was a fine student, who received an A. I'm sure she's graduate school material. Please admit her. Thank you." Such a letter tells us nothing about Ms. Doe, and it suggests that the recommender was not terribly enthusiastic about writing it, so it doesn't make us very enthusiastic about admitting her. If you've been working in an office for the last five years, a letter from your supervisor that cites examples of your analytical abilities, your attention to detail, your work ethic, and your intellectual curiosity can be much more helpful.

6.1. I'm not planning to ask for financial aid. Do I still need to complete an Application for Graduate Appointment form?

A. Yes.

6.2. Do I really need to squeeze my personal statement into the space on the Application for Graduate Appointment form, or may I use a seperate sheet of paper?

A. Actually, we'd prefer it if you'd use a seperate sheet of paper, although we'll still accept it if you use the form. Just remember that your personal statement will be much more helpful to us - and therefore to you - if we can read it.

6.3. What should I include in my personal statement?

A. Your personal statement should be a brief narrative of your academic background, your sociological interests, and your plans for graduate school. We're looking for some sign that you understand what sociology is all about, and that you have a relatively specific idea of what you want to accomplish in our graduate program. We're also looking for some indication that your sociological interests would make a good fit with our program.

7.1. What is non-degree admission?

A. Non-degree admission is for students who wish to take a few classes without necessarily pursuing a degree. There are several reasons why a student might apply for non-degree admission. Some students take classes for job-related reasons. Other students wish to "test the waters", or maybe take a few prerequisite courses before applying to a degree program. Still others simply wish to take a few courses out of intellectual curiosity.

7.2. Do you accept non-degree applications?

A. Yes, we admit non-degree students in both the fall and the spring semesters.

7.3. What are the application deadlines for non-degree applications?

A. The non-degree application deadline for the spring term is November 15. The deadline for the fall is July 15.

7.4. What documents do I submit for non-degree admission, and where do I send them?

A. You should submit the following documents to the Office of Admissions and Records (OAR):

7.5. I'm currently a non-degree student, and I'd like to enter the degree program. What do I do?

A. The application procedure is the same as for any other student who applies to the degree program. You would submit the same credentials, and the deadline is the same (March 15). There are a couple of things to keep in mind however. Being a non- degree student does not guarantee that you will be admitted to the MA or PhD program. Your application will be treated the same as any other application to our program. If you are admitted into our MA or PhD program, you may transfer up to twelve hours (i.e., three courses) earned as a non-degree student toward your degree. You may only transfer courses for which you earned either an A or a B. A petition is required for this, but in most cases, this is routine.

8.1. I'm currently a graduate student in another department at UIC, and I wish to apply to your program, what do I do?

A. In lieu of the normal application form, you should submit a Request for Change of Graduate Program form to the Graduate College. You can download this form in Adobe's Acrobat (*.pdf) format at http://www.uic.edu/depts/grad/gcforms/index.shtml This form will need to be approved by both your current department and by our department. You should submit other documents (transcripts, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, Application for Graduate Appointment form, personal statement, and optional academic writing sample) directly to our department. We can print your UIC transcripts ourselves. It is likely that your other transcripts and GRE scores are already on file in your current department, or in OAR. We would accept xerox copies of these documents. You should complete a new Application for Graduate Appointment form and personal statement, and you should also get fresh letters of recommendation. The academic writing sample could be an old sociology term paper or other similar document.

8.2. How do I check the status of my application?

A. You may contact our Graduate Program Advisor, Jim Nelson, by phone at (312)996-3007, or by e-mail at gradsoc@uic.edu