Minimum Admission Requirements

Admission to the Graduate School is open to anyone holding a U.S. bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university. In cases, where a program’s accrediting body allows alternate admissions standards, exceptions may be made. Applicants should have completed undergraduate or graduate work of sufficient quality and scope to enable them to successfully pursue graduate study. The University of Memphis offers equal educational opportunity to all persons without regard to race, religion, sex, creed, color, national origin or disability.

Students are admitted to the University of Memphis through a cooperative effort of the Graduate School and the departments, colleges, and schools of the University. When the Graduate School receives the student’s application material, an official file is established and reviewed. The department then reviews the application file and makes a recommendation to the Graduate School. The Graduate School notifies applicants as soon as a decision has been reached. In many degree programs, the number of applications received from individuals qualified for graduate study regularly exceeds the number of applicants who can be accommodated. In such cases, only the most highly qualified are offered admission. The number of spaces available in various departments is limited according to the availability of faculty, special resources, and funds for students requiring financial assistance.

Applicants are required to meet admissions criteria established by the Graduate School in order to enroll in graduate courses. In order to be admitted to a degree program in any academic unit, applicants are also required to meet any additional standards set by the unit or college. Applicants are selected on a competitive basis and, therefore, admission is not granted to all applicants who meet only the minimum requirements. Past behavior and classroom performance can be considered in admissions decisions. Some academic programs have individual application forms and additional requirements such as portfolios, proficiency examinations, auditions, etc.

The following Graduate School admissions requirements are minimum standards that identify the pool of master’s and doctoral level applicants from which each academic unit makes its selection. Many academic units have separate departmental applications and/or additional requirements for admission. Prospective students should check with the appropriate program for specific deadlines and admissions requirements.

Minimum Admissions to Masters Degree Programs

1. Baccalaureate Degree: The applicant must provide an unofficial transcript showing that a U.S. bachelor’s degree or its equivalent was awarded by an accredited college or university or is expected to be awarded within one term. If accepted to the University of Memphis, the student must provide an official transcript by the end of their first semester. In addition, transcripts from any other college or university attended may be requested. Only transcripts received directly from an issuing institution are considered official. Personal copies are not acceptable as official documents. If you are a UofM undergraduate student applying to Graduate School at UofM, you do not need to request that an official transcript be sent to Graduate Admissions. 
2. GPA: The applicant must have earned an acceptable grade point average, typically a minimum of 2.5 on a scale of 4.0, but departments may make exceptions for students whose overall GPA does not adequately reflect their ability to succeed in their chosen field. 

For students seeking admission for the Fall 2025 semester: the university council of graduate studies has initiated a minimum GPA requirement for all applicants that will take effect for those seeking admission in the fall of 2025. The new minimum GPA requirement for all masters programs is 2.75 (4.0 scale).  

Minimum Admission to Doctoral Degree Programs

1. A Baccalaureate or Master’s Degree: The applicant must provide an unofficial transcript showing that a U.S. bachelor’s degree or its equivalent was awarded by an accredited college or university or is expected to be awarded within one term. If accepted to the University of Memphis, the student must provide an official transcript by the end of their first semester. In addition, transcripts from any other college or university attended may be requested. Only transcripts received directly from an issuing institution are considered official. Personal copies are not acceptable as official documents. If you are a UofM undergraduate student applying to Graduate School at UofM, you do not need to request that an official transcript be sent to Graduate Admissions. 
2. GPA: The applicant must have earned an acceptable grade point average, typically a minimum of 2.5 on a scale of 4.0, but departments may make exceptions for students whose overall GPA does not adequately reflect their ability to succeed in their chosen field. 

For students seeking admission for the Fall 2025 semester: the university council of graduate studies has initiated a minimum GPA requirement for all applicants that will take effect for those seeking admission in the fall of 2025. The new minimum GPA requirement for all doctoral programs is 3.0 (4.0 scale) 

Language Proficiency Requirements

International students must provide evidence of English Language Proficiency (ELP). This can be done in one of the following ways:

1. If you are a citizen of one of the countries below or you have earned, or are in the process of earning, a four year bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in one of the countries below, this will serve as proof of language proficiency.  

2. Baccalaureate or Master’s Degree from an accredited institution in the U.S. or in one of the approved English-speaking countries.
3. Successful completion of an Intensive English Language course of study through our IEI program.  For information, please visit here.
4. English Proficiency Exams 

• • Please allow up to 10 business days for your checklist be updated after score submission.
  • When submitting scores, please ensure that the name and birthdate on your score report match the information on your application and the information on your passport.
  • Test scores expire after 2 years. Tests must be taken within two years prior to applying.
  • Expired scores are accepted for students who have been continuously enrolled at a college or university in the U.S. since before the scores expired.
  • Students must submit unofficial score reports at the time of application submission and have official score reports sent directly to the University of Memphis so that we can verify your scores. Admission decisions are not made on the basis of unverified language proficiency test scores.   

English proficiency test scores accepted by the University and minimums:

Please note: Some degree programs require higher scores; check department websites for specific requirements.

Graduate School Minimum Language Proficiency Test Scores