Submitting a Bachelor's-Master's Application
REMEMBER: You will not be able to submit your Bachelor's-Master's application until you are cleared to apply by a Bachelor's-Master's advisor.
Please refer to this page for the materials required for your Bachelor's-Master's application. Bachelor's-Master's applicants need to submit the materials listed below. Bachelor's-Master's applicants are not required to submit GRE / other standardized testing scores.
Bachelor's-Master's applicants are required to submit:
- An online application form
- A statement of purpose
- Two letters of recommendation
- A transcript from NYU and any previous undergraduate institutions in which you have been enrolled for a degree
- Some programs also require a writing sample. This would be noted as an "Additional Application Prerequisite" on our Participating Programs page.
Online Application
Applications are submitted through the GSAS online application portal. All components of the Bachelor's-Master's application must be submitted through the online system, including applicant and program selection details, statement of purpose, official undergraduate transcript(s), letters of recommendation, and writing sample (if required).
Please follow our Bachelor's-Master's Online Application Instructions as you start your onine application - the application you access will be a standard GSAS application, so Bachelor's-Master's applicants are only required to complete some pages in this application. Our Bachelor's-Master's Online Application Instructions will indicate how Bachelor's-Master's applicants should complete (or not complete) each page of the online GSAS application.
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Statement of Purpose
A 1-2 page statement of purpose (single-spaced) should describe:
- Your reasons for wanting to pursue graduate study
- Why the GSAS Master's program you selected is a good fit for you
- Any relevant coursework and experience that has prepared you for graduate study
- The specific issues/ideas you want to study or research in the graduate program
- How a Master's at NYU fits into your longer-term academic/career goals
Guidelines specific to the English BA/MA application: The English MA program has asked students to address the following questions in their statement of purpose:
- What kinds (genres, styles, forms, etc.) of literature most engage you?
- What, for you, is the purpose of reading literature critically?
- Are there particular kinds of criticism/theoretical approaches/methods of literary study that you would like to work within or learn more about?
- How have your intellectual and scholarly interests been shaped by your time outside and beyond the college classroom?
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Letters of Recommendation
Two letters of recommendation are required to apply. Ideally, at least one letter of recommendation would come from a full-time faculty member in the department to which you are applying. If this isn't possible, a suitable alternative may be letters from faculty who can speak strongly (if more generally) to your academic abilities and potential for success in graduate-level coursework. But, your application will be best supported by letters from faculty who have taught you in courses relevant to your planned graduate program.
Letters from internship supervisors, academic advisors, or other individuals who have not had you in class are strongly discouraged. We also discourage letters from TAs; if you find yourself in a situation where you would feel more comfortable asking a TA for a recommendation, speak to that TA to see if there is a way they can assist you with getting a letter from that course's primary professor.
Students in the Global Liberal Studies program sometimes have difficulty obtaining letters from professors with such a specific departmental affiliation, because GLS coursework is frequently taught by faculty affiliated directly with the GLS program. In this case, it is usually equally effective to get a letter from a professor who has worked with them in the content area they might study in their Master's program, and who can speak to the student's skills and knowledge in that relevant content area.
You will be asked to register your recommenders through the online application form. Once you have registered your recommenders, they will receive an email with instructions on how to upload a letter to the GSAS application system. Students may click on the "Recommendations" button in the online application system to check the status of their letters.
Athough you will need to wait until you access the online application to request your letters officially, it is always a good idea to contact your recommenders in advance of sending them an official request, even as soon as you think you will apply to a Bachelor's-Master's track. It is courteous to give your recommenders at least a month's notice to produce a new letter of recommendation.
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Undergraduate Transcript
Undergraduate transcript(s) are required to apply. Please upload your unofficial NYU transcript (link leads to instructions for access and downloading this unofficial transcript).
If you transferred to NYU, please also upload official transcripts from any previous undergraduate institution where you have earned credit. You can upload a PDF scan of an official non-NYU transcript, or an official electronic copy ordered directly from your previous school's Registrar. If you do the latter, you may be sent a PDF portfolio (a bundle of several official documents). You will not be able to upload the entire portfolio into our online application system - instead, please save/print each of the documents as individual PDFs and then upload them.
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