How to Apply

Prerequisites

A bachelor's degree from an accredited college is required to apply to the doctoral program.  

Applying for Admission

In order to apply, complete the online application. When using the application, be sure to choose "Communication Studies PhD" on the drop-down menu. Additional application instructions are provided by the Graduate School. 

International students, please check the Education section of the English Language Proficiency page to see if you are exempt from providing English test scores. If you are required to provide test scores, please follow the TOEFL guidelines.

Application Requirements

1. A strong statement of purpose telling us exactly why you want a graduate degree from our department
2. A one-page statement on how you would contribute to the diversity of our student body
3. Writing sample of academic nature
4. Three letters of recommendation
5. Resume/ CV
6. Unofficial transcripts
7. TOEFL exam scores, if applicable
8. An application fee

GPA

As a general rule, an undergraduate average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) is considered necessary for applicants, though the actual average of those who are recommended for admission is much higher. Undergraduate grades are looked at carefully. The pattern of preparation and grades across time and fields are considered. Grades in the major field and in the junior/senior years are given special attention. An average of 3.5 in the master's is typically necessary for admission to the doctoral program.

TOEFL English Language Proficiency

International applicants and domestic applicants whose native language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or an equivalent exam. Those who have completed significant coursework at an English-speaking institution in the last 2 years may be exempt from the test requirement. The minimum acceptable TOEFL score is at least 79 (internet version, with at least 21 on writing and 19 on reading). The academic writing sample that nonnative English-speaking applicants provide should be authored solely by themselves. Read more about University English language requirements. 

GRE

GRE scores are not taken into consideration for admission. There is no need to submit any scores. This is the most current and accurate requirement—any other sites indicating a need to submit a GRE score are inaccurate and should be disregarded. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When is the application deadline?

A: All applications for Fall 2026 admission are due by December 1st, 2025. Applications submitted after that date will not be accepted.

Q: Does the department offer Spring admission?

A: No; the department only admits a single admissions class each year, in the Fall semester. If you are not able to apply for admission in Fall 2025, we encourage you to apply for admission in Fall 2026.

Q: What should I include in a Statement of Purpose/Personal Statement?

A: A strong statement of purpose will describe a clear research interest and/or project. It will also make an argument about why you want to pursue that research in The University of Minnesota’s Department of Communication Studies. Although this component of the application is called “personal statement,” be sure to emphasize your research interests over your personal background, except insofar as that background is relevant to and/or informs your research interests. The research interests/projects you describe in this statement are generally ones that you would like to pursue over the five years of the PhD program. As you detail this research interest, you might mention some combination of questions, topics, problems, or theories you are interested in pursuing during the PhD program. In about one or two paragraphs of the statement, be sure to mention the names of particular faculty with whom you would like to work, and why. That “why” should be about how their research expertise connects to your own scholarly interests, although you need not be doing work identical to any of our current faculty. When the admissions committee reads these personal statements, we want to understand how you think about your research interests, and we assess how well we can support you in pursuing your professional dreams, given our department’s intellectual resources. 

Q: What should I submit as a writing sample? 

A: Please share your best academic writing. Writing samples might be a research paper that you wrote for a class, a conference paper, an excerpt from a thesis, a publication, or other academic writing you are proud of. Generally (but not always) your writing sample will be connected to the research interests you outline in your Statement of Purpose/Personal Statement. Although we do not have any strict length requirements, writing samples are usually approximately 20-30 pages of double-spaced writing, and they follow one of the standard academic writing styles (e.g., APA or Chicago). In your writing sample, you will want to show your theoretical, analytical, methodological, and argumentative skill. Five pages is too short to accomplish that, but 100 pages is too long! We recommend that you ask your current mentors for advice about selecting an effective writing sample. 

Q: Should I reach out to faculty before applying? Do I need the prior endorsement of a faculty member to be admitted to the PhD program?

A: No. We evaluate all applications holistically through our standard application process, and so it will not help your application to reach out to particular faculty members before applying. As stated above, it is important to mention faculty in your statement of purpose - but it is not important, or advised, to reach out to faculty before applying.

Q: Can I submit application materials for comments before applying?

A: No. We cannot comment on particular application materials before the full review that occurs as part of the formal application process; it would not be fair to all applicants to comment on the materials of some applicants ahead of time.

Q: Can I receive funding, scholarships, research assistantships, or teaching assistantships if I am admitted? 

A: Yes. All of our admitted students receive five years of full funding. 

Q: Is there a separate funding/scholarship application?

A: No; because all admitted students receive five years of full funding, there is not a separate funding application. 

Q: Are application fee waivers available?

A: We do not have any application fee waivers to offer at this time. We regret that we cannot offer fee waivers, as we recognize that students from all countries may face financial hardship when applying to graduate programs.

Q: Will there be an online information session prior to the application deadline?

A: We will post information about any online information sessions next Fall (2025).

Q: Who should I contact with any further questions?

A: Always feel free to reach out to our Graduate Program Coordinator, Tucker Marks ([email protected]), with any questions about the program or the application process.