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Admission information is available on the Web.
Applications from prospective international students should be completed by April 15 for fall semester enrollment and September 15 for spring semester enrollment. Every required item in support of the application (completed application form, application fee, transcripts from each post-secondary school attended, letters of recommendation, test scores, and financial certificate) must be on file with the Office of Admissions by these dates. For students who have submitted acceptable financial certification (GS?50), issuance of form I-20 or form DS-2019 for a student visa will normally be completed by June 1 and October 15 for registration in the fall and spring semesters, respectively. Initial enrollment of international students in the summer sessions is discouraged.
Applicants must submit a nonrefundable fee of $50 for each program applied to, payable to Clemson University via money order or check drawn on a U.S. bank. Applicants who apply electronically may pay the application fee by credit card. The application fee must be received before the application is processed. Applications will be discarded after 60 days if the fee is not received.
Full status - The applicant's credentials equal or exceed all minimum admission criteria prescribed for the particular degree.
Provisional status - At least one admission criterion prescribed for the particular degree is marginal. Provisional applicants will be required to remove the provisional status with a satisfactory academic performance during the first semester.
Conditional acceptance - At least one item required for admission
is not available. Notice of conditional acceptance may be given to highly
qualified applicants prior to receipt of the degree they are pres
ently pursuing; however, all requirements for this degree must be completed
prior to enrolling in the proposed graduate program at Clemson. Likewise,
conditional acceptance may be given prior to receipt of satisfactory GRE
or GMAT scores, if required, but such scores must be received prior to
or during the first semester of enrollment.
Seniors lacking less than a full semester of work to complete the requirements for their bachelor's degrees may apply to a graduate program and, if granted conditional acceptance, be allowed to enroll in courses for graduate credit.
In addition to meeting the minimum, general requirements for admission listed below, students must be recommended for admission by the program coordinator or department chair and must meet any special departmental requirements.
Master of Arts, Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy Degrees - Applicants must submit satisfactory scores on the general portion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
Applicants to the MS degree program in Industrial Management must submit satisfactory scores on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Applicants to the master's program in Economics and the PhD program in Management may submit satisfactory scores on the GMAT in lieu of the GRE.
Professional Degrees - Admission criteria, recommended by the individual colleges awarding the degree, may include professional experience and/or credentials as well as GRE general scores. Specifically, the professional programs in Accounting and Business Administration require satisfactory scores on the GMAT.
Note: GRE or GMAT scores more than five years old will not be accepted.
International students, in addition to meeting the minimum requirements above, must submit satisfactory scores on the general portion of the Graduate Record Examination, regardless of the degree objective. (See above for the master's programs in Accounting, Business Administration, and Industrial Management.) A satisfactory score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is also required of international students whose native language is not English. (Note: TOEFL scores more than two years old will not be accepted.) Applicants who hope to receive a graduate assistantship are encouraged to submit scores from the Test of Written English (TWE). The Graduate School may waive this requirement if the applicant has a demonstrated command of the English language.
Admission to all programs is restricted to those students whose academic records indicate the potential to be successful in graduate studies. This determination is made by the faculty of each graduate program and is affirmed by the Office of Admissions. This determination may include a broad range of performance indicators, which may be different for master's and doctoral programs in the same discipline. These indicators may include, but are not limited to, previous academic (both graduate and undergraduate) performance, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, personal interviews, applicant statements of interest, portfolio of previous work, and materials indicating the appli-cant's ability to perform independent research in the discipline. The faculty of each program has significant discretion to determine admission standards and class size based on availability of academic advisors, financial support, laboratory space, student distribution within interest areas, and other resource constraints. The Office of Admissions reserves the right to require additional indicators prior to reaching an admission decision. Neither an academic record exceeding minimum requirements, satisfactory scores on standardized tests, nor professional expertise alone will assure a student's admission in this competitive environment. Rather, the total record must indicate the strong likelihood of successfully completing graduate study.
Assessment of Previous Academic Work
The grade-point ratio representing an assessment of an applicant's
undergraduate work will be based on the last half of the coursework listed
on the transcript(s). In conventional cases, this will equate to the full
junior and senior years. As a minimum, 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours)
will be examined; and in no cases will a partial term, session, or enrollment
period be utilized. Courses graded on a pass/fail basis and certain electives
having no relationship to a curriculum are excluded in the computation.
Departments are at liberty to discount additional courses in assessing
an applicant's academic record. Certain professional programs may use the
total undergraduate grade-point ratio to satisfy accreditation standards.
In evaluating the grade-point ratio of an applicant's graduate work, departments
will use all graduate coursework except research and/or courses graded
on a pass/fail basis.
Nondegree students may not be candidates for advanced degrees and may not receive a graduate appointment for financial assistance. Should the student subsequently be admitted to a degree program, a maximum of 12 semester hours of graduate credit (nondegree and/or transfer) may be applied toward the degree. In all cases the nondegree student must receive permission from the program coordinator or the department chair before enrolling in graduate courses. This classification is not open to international students.
Students enrolled in a nondegree status are subject to the same academic regulations regarding continuous enrollment as students in degree programs.
Students who hold a bachelor's degree or higher and who want initial certification in the teaching areas of early childhood, elementary, secondary, or special education must complete the undergraduate courses needed for certification in a postgraduate status administered by the College of Health, Education, and Human Development Academic Advising Center.
Prospective students should understand that the material in this catalog applies only to requirements for graduate degrees and has no direct relation to certification or recertification for public school teachers. The Graduate School gives no assurance that a program for a graduate degree and a program for a certificate or recertification thereof, will coincide. Students interested in professional certificates should confer with the Academic Advising Center in the College of Health, Education, and Human Development.
Applicants will be classified as postbaccalaureate if they are not qualified to take at least one graduate course per semester which can be included in the minimum hours required for the graduate degree. Additionally, students required to complete eighteen or more semester hours of undergraduate credits prior to enrolling in graduate credits will be classified as postbaccalaureate. The postbaccalaureate status will remain in effect until the number of required undergraduate credit hours is less than or equal to eighteen and the student is qualified to take, each semester, a graduate course which can be included in the minimum hours required for the graduate degree. Departments or students may request postbaccalaureate status even though the above criteria are satisfied.
Once postbaccalaureate students become eligible for classification as graduate students, the decision as to eventual admission status (full or provisional) will be made based on criteria utilized by the department and Graduate School for all other applicants to the degree program. Postbaccalaureate students are expected to maintain a B average and receive no grade lower than C to qualify for admission to a graduate program.
Postbaccalaureate students can enroll in the same number of credits per semester as undergraduate students but cannot enroll in graduate courses or receive graduate assistantships. No degree or certificate shall be awarded to students in a postbac-calaureate status, and such students who subsequently wish to obtain an additional baccalaureate degree must apply through the Office of Admissions. The applicability of credits earned toward the undergraduate degree will be determined by the policy pertaining to transfer students. Tuition and fees for post-baccalaureate students shall be those applicable to undergraduate students and are subject to out-of-state fees, if applicable.
Students possessing undergraduate degrees or graduate degrees who wish to enroll in undergraduate courses for reasons other than future admission to graduate study shall not be classified as postbac-calaureate and shall be governed by policies established by the Office of Admissions.
Students who were enrolled within the last two years must complete an Application for Readmission, available from the Graduate School or on the Web. Students are readmitted into the degree and major they were in when they last attended Clemson University Graduate School.
Students who were enrolled more than two years but less than six years previously must complete a new application. The application must show any intervening graduate work, and appropriate official transcripts of the work may be required by the Graduate School.
Students who were not enrolled within the past six years are considered new applicants and must submit a new application, application fee, and all supporting materials.
Former graduate students who wish to return to pursue an undergraduate degree should contact the Registrar's Office for procedures. Former graduate students who wish to pursue undergraduate course-work with no immediate plans for graduate work should contact the Admissions Office for procedures.
The University requires that all new students have documentation of two red measles (rubeola) vaccinations on or after their first birthday. Students born before January 1, 1957, are exempt from the measles requirements. A tuberculin skin test (PPD or Mantoux) is required within the past year. If there is a history of a positive skin test, a chest X-ray is required within the past year. Students not in compliance with immunization requirements will not be allowed to complete registration.