How To Apply

1. Application Form

Use our online application process to create an account, complete your application, then come back and review your progress. Instructions and tips available. Visit the GSAS website for admission deadline dates.

Who: The application form is required of all applicants. Non-native applicants must also prepare and submit the Declaration and Certification of Finances (DCF) form and TOEFL score. (Visit the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website for more information and to download the DCF form as a PDF file using Adobe Acrobat Reader.)

2. Application Fee

The application must be accompanied by an application fee of $50.00. Your check or money order must be in U.S. dollars and made out to Northeastern University. Fees for international applicants must be from a bank that has a U.S. branch.

Who: The fee is required for all applicants.

3. Personal Statement

The personal statement is a brief description of your background, your interests, and your reasons for wanting to enroll in the graduate program. You may include any other information that you feel might be useful, such as prior teaching or tutoring experience. The personal statement should not exceed two pages for M.A. programs or three pages for Ph.D. programs.

Who: The personal statement is required of applicants to all programs.

4. Transcripts

Official transcripts are required from each of the colleges and universities you attended, regardless of whether you received a degree.

Who: Transcripts are required of all applicants.

5. Letters of Recommendation

You should submit at least three letters of recommendation. Recommendation letters should be from academic references able to attest to your expected performance in a graduate program.

Who: Letters of recommendation are required for all degree programs. Special students need not include recommendations, although they will need to supplement their files with required recommendations upon matriculation into a degree program.

6. Writing Samples

Writing samples should be academically based and 10-20 pages in length. Creative writing or professional samples may accompany your academic sample, but should not serve as a substitute for it.

Who: Writing samples are required of all applicants.

7. GRE Scores

Applicants to the M.A. in Literature and the Ph.D. degree programs must take and submit both the General and the Literature Subject tests. The GRE code for Northeastern's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is 3682. A complete list GRE and Subject Test dates and testing sites is available online. Please note that, in the U.S., the Subject test is only offered three times a year. Please plan accordingly. Applications without valid Subject Test scores will not be considered by the Review Committee.

Who: GRE and Subject Test scores are required of all applicants to the M.A. in Literature and the Ph.D. degree programs. Applicants intending to apply to the MA program in Rhetoric and Composition should consult the English Department's Graduate Office about the GRE requirements. Special students who matriculate into degree programs must supply GRE and Literature Subject GRE scores before admission into that degree program.

8. Mailing the Application

All application materials must be sent directly to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Transcripts and letters of recommendation may be sent two ways: (1) directly from your school's transcript office and/or recommendors or (2) included in your application packet. If they are included in your packet, all such materials must be in official, sealed envelopes stamped by the Registrar, or signed over the envelope flap by your recommendors.

Send your completed application to:

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
124 Meserve Hall
Northeastern University
360 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115