Admission
Application
The online admissions application can be found on the Purdue University Web site. You will need to complete a Statement of Purpose, gather three (3) Letters of Reference, and order Transcripts from all degree-granting institutions that you have attended at or above the undergraduate level. We do not process your application until we receive all of these materials and you have paid the application fee. Note: As of 1 October 2009, post-baccalaureate non-degree seeking students do not have to pay an application fee. Degree-seeking students and non-degree seeking students applying before 1 October 2009 for Fall 2009 admission must still pay this fee.
Please keep in mind the following important dates for admission to our program. International students who live abroad or who need to leave the country in order to obtain an I-20 visa have earlier deadlines.
| FOR FALL ADMISSION | 15 Feb Recommended | 15 Apr Deadline | 15 May Cutoff | 15 Aug Deadline |
| All applicants | For best selection of Fall classes and assistantships | For degree-seeking students in Fall | For non-degree seeking post-baccalaureate students in the Fall | |
| International applicants who need I-20 visa | For processing visas for Fall admission | Last day Purdue will process completed application for Fall admission |
| FOR SPRING ADMISSION | 15 Sep Recommended | 15 Oct Cutoff | 30 Nov Deadline | 1 Jan Deadline |
| All applicants | For best selection of Spring classes and limited number of assistantships | For degree-seeking students in Spring | For non-degree seeking post-baccalaureate students in the Spring | |
| International applicants who need I-20 visa | For processing visas for Spring admission | Last day Purdue will process completed application for Spring admission |
If you have questions regarding the status of your application portfolio, please go to webcenter.applyyourself.com/ before contacting Graduate Admissions. Here, you will be able to see whether we have received your letters of reference and your academic transcripts. If we have not received these materials, please contact your references or the registrar at your previous institution directly.
When you arrange to have materials sent to us, please provide the following address:
Susan Humphrey
www.ipfw.edu/admissions | 260-481-6812 or 1-800-324-IPFW | ASK@ipfw.edu
Graduate Admissions KT 111
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
2101 E. Coliseum Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499
Sending these materials elsewhere may result in delays processing your application.
The first step toward admission to the graduate program is creating your Statement of Purpose. This essay should reflect your goals for the graduate program. When writing your Statement of Purpose, consider some of the following questions:
- Why do you wish to do further study in communication?
- What are you most interested in studying during your Masters work?
- What do you want to do with a Masters Degree in Professional Communication?
The next step is to gather your References. Three references are preferred. One of these letters should be from a college instructor familiar with your academic work. For those who completed their degree in the distant past, letters of reference ought to assess habits which reflect your ability to do graduate work (i.e. oral and written communication, critical thinking, ability to complete projects, motivation, etc).
The final step is to order your Transcripts. If you attended any IU or Purdue campus including IPFW, you can do this through the Office of the Registrar, located in Kettler Hall 107. Otherwise, you must contact the Registrar at any other campus directly and arrange to have them send your transcripts to Graduate Admissions.
If accepted into the program, you will be admitted under one of two statuses:
- Unconditional: You are admitted to the program with no conditions. This is the status required for receiving an immediate teaching assistantship.
- Conditional: You are admitted to the program, but within your first semester or year you must fulfill certain conditions to remain a degree-seeking candidate. These conditions can include some combination of maintaining a minimum 3.0 GPA, completing a few undergraduate classes to gain a sufficient background in the discipline, and/or a minimum grade for one (1) or more courses taken either as a degree-seeking or non-degree-seeking candidate. Conditions must be met before you can become a graduate assistant.
Post-Baccalaureate Non-Degree Seeking
If you've already earned an undergraduate degree, you can apply to take up to twelve (12) credits as a non-degree seeking post-baccalaureate student. If you are a non-degree-seeking post-baccalaureate student, you are not admitted to the graduate program. You will not be eligible for financial aid, nor for assistantships. However, you can re-apply to the program as a degree-seeking candidate within the same semester. If you take classes as a degree-seeking student, you can apply up to twelve (12) credits taken as a non-degree-seeking student to your graduate degree.
As of 1 October 2009 for Spring 2010 admission, post-baccalaureate non-degree seeking students need not pay an application fee. If you reapply as a degree-seeking student, however, you will need to pay this fee.
International Students
In addition to the admission requirements listed above, new international students must submit scores for either a paper-and-pencil or computer-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The minimum scores required for admission are:
Paper and pencil TOEFL: 600 | Computer-based TOEFL: 250
The Educational Testing Service (ETS) school code for reporting TOEFL scores to IPFW is 1336.
International students are generally required to take (at least) 9 credit hours to fulfill their student visa requirements. If an international student has a teaching assistantship, that requirement is met with 6 credit hours.
For more information on IPFW services for International Students, please check with the Office of International Services.
Transfer Students
Students wishing to transfer from another Purdue Graduate Program at IPFW into the Communication Master of Arts Program do not need to reapply. They do need to complete a Purdue form GS-17 Request for Transfer to Another Department, available from the Purdue University website. Students must notify and get a signature from their current department, as well as notify and get a signature from the Graduate Program Director of Communication.
All transfers are processed through the Purdue University Graduate School. Graduate students in a Purdue Graduate Program do not need to complete any other forms, including those used at IPFW, in order to transfer from one Purdue Graduate Program to the Grad Program in Communication.
Readmission
In certain circumstances, you may need to reapply for admission to the program, even if as a student you hold active status with IPFW for the purposes of registration. If you are inactive for three (3) or more semesters including summer, you must apply for readmission to the program. If you receive a grade below a C-, you must sit out a regular semester, excluding summer. After sitting out a fall or spring semester, you then can reapply for the program.
To reapply for admission into the program, you must submit a 250-500 word Purpose Statement to the Graduate Program Director. You may submit the Statement via email. The Statement must explain why you want to re-enter program, and what steps you have taken or plan to take to successfully earn your degree. The Graduate Program Director may decide to approve or deny the application for readmission; or, the Graduate Program Director may convene an advisory committee before making a final decision.
Additional Purdue and IPFW requirements for re-entry also may apply.
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