Application Requirements
Applications for graduate programs are accepted online. Applicants will create a User ID and password allowing them access the application as often as needed to complete the process. The application website includes detailed instructions for entering data and uploading documents. Along with basic information entered directly into the system, graduate program applicants will need the following:
Statement of Interest
The statement of interest should include 1,000 words that describe the applicant's reasons for pursuing graduate studies, educational and professional objectives, and any other information that may aid the M.A. GCAT admission decision. Applicants are asked to please include full name on each page of the statement.
Resume or Curriculum Vita
Applicants are asked to provide a current outline of education, research experience, work experience, publications, scholarships awarded, prizes and honors received, society memberships, and extracurricular activities.
Letters of Recommendation
Applicants are asked to provide three letters, at least two of which should be from faculty or recent employers who can attest to the quality of your academic and professional abilities. Letters are requested by you from within the online system; recommenders receive an email with detailed instructions for uploading a letter directly to the system.
Letters of recommendation are due by the application deadline.
Transcripts
Applicants are asked to provide transcripts from any undergraduate or graduate institution attended. These documents should be uploaded with the application. If the department recommends an applicant be admitted, said applicant will then be asked to submit official transcripts. Only upon receipt of official transcripts will the admission be official.
Mail official transcripts to:
Carnegie Mellon University
Dept. of English, Graduate Programs
5000 Forbes Ave, Posner Hall 231D
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Official electronic transcripts can be emailed to:
Jen Loughran, Assistant Director of Graduate Programs, Department of English
Writing Samples
Two academic writing samples are required as part of your application. They must be two to three pages in length – one in English and one in your other language of highest proficiency from which, or into which, you intend to translate.
IELTS/ TOEFL Standardized Test Requirements
If your native language (mother tongue) is not English, official results from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or its online equivalent (IELTS Online), the Duolingo English Test (DET), or the Cambridge English Assessment are required. Scores should be no more than two years old at the time of application, and we prefer that you submit all English proficiency test results from the past two years.
Accepted Scores
- TOEFL: a minimum score of 25 on each of the 4 subtests, for an overall minimum score of 102. Use Institution Code 2074.
- IELTS: a minimum score of 7.5 on each of the 4 subtests. Choose “Carnegie Mellon University – Office of Undergraduate Admission" as the recipient for your score report.
- Cambridge English Assessment:
- Reading: 197 or higher
- Writing: 197 or higher
- Listening: 194 or higher
- Speaking: 194 or higher
Language proficiency testing is not required if…
- You are a native speaker of English (English is your mother tongue), OR
- You have earned a Bachelors or Masters degree in English, Literature, Rhetoric, Technical/Professional Writing, Communication, Composition, or other closely adjacent fields from an accredited four-year college or university in the United States with a GPA of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) or above.