The Application Process
The Cultural Studies program admits students only in Autumn Quarter of each year. Applicants are encouraged to begin the application process at any time, but their applications will only be reviewed once they are complete and after February 1, 2012
The Admissions Committee considers several criteria when evaluating prospective students, including professional goals, writing ability, previous academic experience and performance, work history, the applicant’s academic strengths and weaknesses, and the overall likelihood to succeed in the program.
The application to the MA in Cultural Studies is submitted electronically. The first step is to open an application account on the Graduate School website. Then you can upload application materials, designate recommenders, report test scores, track the receipt of paper and electronic documents, pay the application fee, and submit all materials for review. Your application is not reviewed until all items have been received and you have completed the application electronically. The application can be saved multiple times while in progress.
The complete set of materials that you will be required to submit are as follows:
- An application to the Graduate School and $75 application fee
- Three letters of reference, including one from faculty who can discuss your academic ability
- A letter of application, articulating your goals in seeking an MA in Cultural Studies degree and describing your relevant background. If you are submitting supplemental materials (optional), explain how they relate to your goals and experience.
- A current resume or curriculum vitae
- A writing sample demonstrating your research skills, critical and creative thinking abilities, and writing capacities
- All official transcripts from prior academic work (college, university, technical school)
- [Optional] 1 - 2 items representative of your best work. Items may include your media or creative work, products of your research activities, documentation of community-based or activist projects in which you have played a central role, or any other materials that you consider relevant to your application.
Important Points
- Once you create a new applicant profile and a new application, choose Cultural Studies - Bothell and the quarter for which you are applying.
- There is not a specific undergraduate degree necessary to be considered for the Cultural Studies program and students who hold a bachelor's degree in any undergraduate discipline are encouraged to apply.
- Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores are not required in the application to this program.
- Enter your GPA based on your last two years of undergraduate or graduate coursework. Our office will make its own calculation once we receive your transcripts.
- Report all post-secondary schools you have attended, even if you did not earn a degree.
- If you do not have a professor to use as a reference (due to being out of school for a long time, graduating in another country, etc), professional references may be substituted for academic ones. You should mention that you are making this substitution in a separate statement to the Admissions Committee.
- If you have photographs, creative writing, film, or other creative works that you would like to submit as an optional part of your application packet, these items should be mailed to our office or delivered in person. For more information, please contact the IAS Graduate Office.
- At the time of application, U.S. citizens, Permanent Residents, and Immigrants only need to submit one set of official transcripts to the Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences Graduate Office. If these applicants are then offered admission and decide to enroll, they will need to send another set of official transcripts (ones showing the awarding of any prior bachelor's or higher degrees) to the UW Graduate Admissions Office. International applicants and applicants who have earned degrees outside the US will need to submit two sets of official transcripts at the time of application: one set to the UW Graduate Admissions Office and one set to the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Graduate Office.
- There special application requirements for International Students. More information can be found here.
If you have questions at any point in the application process, please contact Andrew Brusletten at 425-352-5427 or macs@uwb.edu