Interested in graduate school?
The CCPD can help you manage your application process, prepare your application materials, and navigate decisions as you apply for graduate programs. On Handshake, make a “Graduate School Support” appointment to meet with an advisor.
Note that Pre-Professional advising has different processes! See guidelines for Pre-Health and Pre-Law advising, and make a “Pre-Health & Pre-Law Advising & Support” appointment on Handshake.
Grad School Basics
- Start early: Begin thinking about graduate school applications in your junior year if you want to start your program in the year after you graduate. Most deadlines are between December and March for entry the following fall semester, you’ll need plenty of time to put together a competitive application, and applying early to a school with rolling admissions gives the committee more time to review and evaluate your application.
- Talk to faculty: In many cases, faculty in the discipline you want to pursue have navigated this very process, and they likely have professional contacts who will be valuable to you. The CCPD is here to help, but your professors are your best resource!
- Develop clear goals: Knowing the general field (e.g., Biology, Psychology, or English) that you want to enter won’t be specific enough. While your goals and interests can still evolve once you start graduate school, programs will want to see that you have sufficient knowledge of the field to express interest in things like a subfield, a specific career path, or a theoretical approach. If your discipline recruits graduate students for professors’ labs or research teams, find specific faculty in specific graduate programs whose teams you’d like to try to join.
Application Timeline
Fall to Spring of Junior Year
- Research institutions, programs, and graduate faculty specializing in your field of interest.
- Learn the application requirements for the programs you plan to apply to, including required materials and deadlines.
- Investigate scholarships, fellowships, research or teaching assistantships, and other financial support.
- Create a work plan for preparing all the required materials — get help in the CCPD if you need it!
- Register and prepare for graduate admission tests.
Spring to Summer following Junior Year
- Take required graduate admission tests.
- Begin writing essays/personal statements and other application materials.
- Visit institutions of interest.
- Request letters of recommendation.
Fall of Senior Year
- Complete your essays/personal statements.
- Update your resume/CV.
- Get feedback on your materials from multiple readers, including disciplinary faculty and CCPD staff.
- Submit completed applications before their deadlines, to allow for complications or technical difficulties.
Spring of Senior Year
- Visit institutions that accept you.
- Prepare for and complete interviews if required.
- Send a deposit to your institution of choice, and decline others so that students on their waiting lists can be admitted.
- Notify those who supported you (reviewed materials, wrote recommendations, etc.) of your success!!
- Celebrate acceptances! 🎉