All applications require the following:

• $75 application fee
• Essay articulating your qualifications and interest in the program
• Current professional résumé
• One letter of recommendation
• Official transcripts from each college or university you have attended
• TOEFL or IELTS exam (if you do not hold a degree from a U.S. institution or an English-speaking country)
• Exposure to program-specific relevant coursework.

Application Deadlines

Candidates can expect an admissions decision within 4 weeks after submitting a complete application. This timeframe assumes the applicant promptly replies to requests from the university during the review process, if applicable.

Spring

• October 15
• November 16
• December 5

Fall

• March 1
• April 1
• June 1

Applications are accepted after June 1 on a rolling basis.

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Admitted students will need to submit a $500 deposit 4 weeks after their decision is released in order to confirm their seat in the program. Candidates admitted within 3 months of the program start date will have a shorter deposit deadline timeframe. Log in to your application portal to view your admission letter for the exact deposit deadline. You will also be able to confirm your decision and submit your deposit in the portal.

Application Portal

UMD Smith appreciates the value active duty members and veterans bring to our community. We offer application fee waivers to active members, veterans and veteran family members of the U.S. military.

• Application Fee Waivers
  This waiver is available to active-duty members, veterans or veteran family members using transferred VA GI-Bill benefits. When applying for the waiver, contact the MS Admissions Office at least 48 hours before submitting your application to ensure all paperwork is managed accordingly. To activate your waiver, email a copy of your transcript, DD Form 214 or proof of Active Duty to smithmasters@umd.edu. Your fee waiver must be activated before submitting your application.

Email smithmasters@umd.edu to request the waiver. Your military experience will be taken into consideration with your professional resume, required essay and letter of recommendation.

For TOEFL scores, contact www.toefl.org to request an official copy of your TOEFL test score to be sent to the University of Maryland at College Park. We will accept the "My Best" TOEFL score from ETS. For IELTS, the University of Maryland downloads scores that have been transmitted to our e-download account. IELTS test takers should contact their IELTS test center directly to request electronic test scores be sent to the following IELTS e-download account:

University of Maryland — The Graduate School
The Graduate School
2123 Lee Building
College Park, Maryland 20742-1815

Please note we cannot accept paper IELTS forms.

If you are a student coming from any of these countries, you are not required to submit TOEFL or IELTS scores. PTE test takers can send their score reports to the University of Maryland through their Pearson account.

TOEFL institutional code is 5814.

MINIMUM REQUIRED SCORES

The online application allows you to upload a scanned official transcript(s) for each college or university attended. If the official transcript where you received your degree does not state the degree was conferred, please also upload an official diploma or official copy of your degree received (most schools already list the conferred degree on the transcript). If you are formally admitted to the University of Maryland, you will be required to submit an official transcript to the graduate school. If your transcript is not in English, please also submit an official transcript translated into English.

The University of Maryland Graduate School requires all admitted students to have a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 2.80/4.00. Applicants who have a grade point average below 2.80 are encouraged to use the optional essay to address this.