Application Fee
A non-refundable application fee of $60 for electronic submittals is required from all applicants, and no action will be taken on an application until this fee is received. Fees cannot be deferred or waived, except for former McNair, EOP, HEOP, SEEK, and Project 1000 students. Applications will not be forwarded to the department for evaluation until the fee is paid. However, a DGS may come to the Graduate School to review such files. Departments may pay the fees for applicants if they choose. Students applying for two different programs (for example, a Master of Arts in biology and a Master of Arts in teaching) must submit $60 for each program. Application fees are non-refundable.
Academic Test Scores
GRE scores are required for virtually all programs in Harpur College of Arts and Sciences, the Decker School of Nursing, the School of Education, the College of Community and Public Affairs, and the Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science. Exceptions include programs in social work, student affairs administration, music and public administration. Departments who require the GRE subject test generally specify this on their websites. Applicants for admission to the School of Management should submit GMAT Scores in lieu of GRE scores. Graduate directors or graduate admissions officers may request waiver of either the GRE or GMAT test by sending a note to the Graduate School on behalf of the applicant requesting a waiver. This can be done when submitting the Recommendation for Admission Decision Worksheet.
Application Deadlines
Application deadlines vary by program. The Graduate School's on-line application provides the specific deadline for each program. Program staff members should contact the Coordinator of Admissions and Recruiting in the Graduate School to provide or update the precise deadlines for their programs.
Types Of Admission
Applicants admitted as degree (matriculated) students may be placed in one of the following categories:
Regular admission: Students are admitted as fully qualified to undertake a program towards a graduate degree.
Provisional admission: A student whose credentials are incomplete may be admitted provisionally. Once the missing documentation is received, the status will change to a regular admit by the Graduate School. All missing documentation should be submitted during the student's first semester. Students under provisional admission will not be allowed to graduate until they have provided specific documentation and their status has been changed to "Regular."
Conditional admission: Students who do not meet academic requirements for admission, as determined by the graduate program, may be admitted conditionally. Graduate programs may recommend admittance and the conditions. It is expected that specific conditions for admission to regular status, and a timetable for fulfilling those conditions, will be identified in writing by the program at the time of conditional admission. Each semester, the program will review the student's progress toward satisfying those conditions and will recommend appropriate action by the Dean of the Graduate School.
Continuing Education (Non-degree) admission: Admission to the Graduate School in the non-degree (non-matriculated) status is granted to applicants who present appropriate evidence of having completed undergraduate and/or graduate work in a satisfactory manner and who have received a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited institution. Applicants admitted as non-degree graduate students may register for approved undergraduate or graduate courses. The Graduate School notifies non-degree students who have taken more than 12 credits that some graduate courses may not count toward their graduate degree should they plan to matriculate. If non-degree students apply for admission, the graduate program curriculum requirements effective as of the semester of admission will govern the student's program of study; therefore, courses taken as a non-degree student will not all necessarily count toward the student's degree progress. The determination about what courses will be officially credited toward degree progress is made by the graduate program. Undergraduate courses cannot count toward a graduate degree.
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Administrative Procedures for Admission
When the completed application is received by the Graduate School, the application data are entered into the Graduate School's applications database and a copy of the application and a pink decision (to recommend for admission or decline) worksheet are then forwarded to the graduate program director and graduate committee for review. (See Sample, Appendix 1). Once a decision is made, the graduate program director fills out the pink decision worksheet, corrects any program descriptions if necessary, signs, and returns the form to the Graduate School. (The copy of the application remains with the graduate program.)
Upon receipt of the decision on the pink decision worksheet, the Graduate School reviews the decision and sends an offer of admission or a deny letter to the applicant. Offers of Admission include a postcard that allows the admitted student to notify the Graduate School of his/her acceptance of the offer.
When the postcard is returned to the Graduate School by the applicant, the response is recorded in the Graduate School's application database and the postcard is sent to the department.
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All graduate students admitted to a degree program must register each semester, excluding summer, until all degree requirements have been completed. Students who fail to maintain continuous registration, unless granted a formal leave of absence by the Graduate school, are ineligible to resume graduate study until readmission has been approved. Students applying for readmission to a graduate program are subject to the rules, procedures, curriculum, and standards in effect at the time of readmission. Readmission is not automatic and may be subject to additional conditions set by the department or school or by the dean of the graduate school. Readmitted students who have missed up to four semesters will be required to register for one credit for each semester missed, up to a maximum of four semesters.
Non-degree students who fail to register for more than two consecutive semesters, excluding summer, are not permitted to register for courses until they have been readmitted. A $25 application fee is charged for readmission as a non-degree student.
A fee of $60 for electronic submittals is assessed for all applications for readmission to Binghamton University graduate degree programs.
International Student Admission
Applicants to the Graduate School who are not citizens of the United States or its territories, whether they are enrolled in a school in the United States or abroad, are required to meet academic standards for admission, show proficiency in English on the college level, and certify that they will have sufficient funds available to support themselves financially for each year of study.
When applicants accept offers of admission and acknowledge that they plan to attend the University, they are sent an I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Non-Immigrant Student Status (F-1).
Although special circumstances may allow an individual to be admitted as a non-degree student for one term, international students (F-1 visa) generally are not eligible for nondegree status.
TopEnglish as a Second Language Tests
To certify English proficiency, international applicants whose native language is not English must take either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Test Service (IELTS). However, international students who have received a bachelor's or master's degree in the United States are not required to submit TOEFL or IELTS scores.
Normally for the TOEFL, a minimum overall score of 550 (paper-based), or 213 (computer-based) or 80 (internet-based) is required for admission. For the IELTS, a minimum overall score of 6.5, with no band below 5, is required for admission. Instruction in English as a second language may be required as a condition of admission; students are expected to complete such instruction satisfactorily within two semesters. All incoming international students with TOEFL scores lower than 600 or IELTS scores lower than 7 are required to take an ESL placement test at the beginning of their first semester. Normally TAs should have a TOEFL score of 600 or more, or an IELTS score of 7 or more.
International Student Financial Statement
International applicants must guarantee a minimum amount of funds per year to cover expenses (see below). This figure includes living expenses, tuition, fees, and insurance expenses. Additional funds are required for spouses and children accompanying the student to the United States. The Immigration and Naturalization Service rarely grants permission for international students to seek employment while in the United States. The minimum dollar resources required are subject to change by the federal government.
International Graduate Students (except for MBA)
| Tuition and fees | $15,600 |
| Living expenses | $11,700 |
| TOTAL | $27,300 |
| Dependent spouse | $6,000 |
| Dependent child | $4,000 per child |
International Graduate Students in MBA Program
| Tuition and fees | $16,100 |
| Living expenses | $11,700 |
| TOTAL | $27,800 |
| Dependent spouse | $6,000 |
| Dependent child | $4,000 per child |
Award of a Second Degree in the Same Field
The State University of New York policy states that a second degree at the same level (e.g., master's or doctorate) can be awarded only when a significant amount of additional course work in a very different field is completed. Normally when a student has already earned a master's or doctorate in a given discipline (e.g., economics or history) at another foreign or U.S. institution, a second degree at the same level in that discipline cannot be earned at Binghamton University.
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