The application for admission to the program is completed online through the Rackham Graduate School website. The site is secure and it allows you to save your work and complete the application over time.

You must submit your application and pay the application fee or your application will be considered incomplete.

Applicants must provide one set of official final undergraduate and graduate (where applicable) academic records/transcripts, with the degree posted, to the Rackham Graduate School. Official documents must be provided from the institution awarding the degree. 

1. The Rackham Graduate School requires that applicants submit one official academic record/transcript from each institution where you have earned or will earn a Bachelor’s, Master's, Professional, and Doctoral degree. 
2. All applicants are strongly encouraged to submit official transcripts from all institutions attended to the Department of Communication Studies. 

It is your responsibility to request the release of any such records from the institutions involved.

Rackham Graduate School

Click here for instructions on submitting transcripts to the Rackham Graduate School and here for Rackham's Academic Record/Transcript Submission Form.

The Department of Communication Studies

Transcripts for the Department of Communication Studies should be mailed to:
Graduate Program Coordinator
Department of Communication Studies
North Quad
105 S. State Street, Room 5370
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285

If you are sending transcripts to the department as part of a larger packet, the documents must arrive sealed in the original envelope in which they were sent to you. Opened transcripts cannot be accepted as official.

The Ph.D. Program in Communication Studies at the University of Michigan is focused on a specific set of research initiatives. The statement of purpose is an important part of your overall application as this document provides you with an opportunity to summarize your credentials and your interests and allows you the opportunity to explain how your intellectual interests fit within the research interests of the departmental faculty.

When crafting a statement of purpose, applicants are encouraged to identify faculty with whom they share research interests and to align their work with our research initiatives in the statement of purpose.

The Personal Statement is not the same as an academic Statement of Purpose. In the Personal Statement, you should address how your background and life experiences (including cultural, geographical, financial, educational or other opportunities or challenges) have motivated your decision to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Michigan. For example, if you grew up in a community where educational, cultural, or other opportunities were either especially plentiful or especially lacking, you might discuss the impact this had on your development and interests. This should be a discussion of the journey that has led to your decision to seek a graduate degree.

Please limit your Personal Statement to 500 words.

Letters of recommendation can be submitted in one of two ways: as a part of the online application or via standard mail. The online submission of these letters is preferred.

If you wish to have your recommenders submit their letters through the online application, you will need to follow the steps to certify them within the application. You will provide some basic information about each recommender and the system will send a standardized message to the e-mail address you provide. These letters can be submitted at any stage of your application; it is not necessary or recommended to wait until your application is complete to certify your letter writers. If you plan to use this option, this should be one of the first things you do.

If you prefer to have your references submit their letters to the department via standard mail, this is also acceptable. 

Letters should be mailed to:
Graduate Program Coordinator
Department of Communication Studies
North Quad
105 S. State Street, Room 5370
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285

*Your reference must also submit this form, along with your letter of recommendation.

All applicants are required to submit official GRE scores to the department as a part of their application. Photocopies, faxes or other unofficial copies of the GRE scores are not acceptable. Applicants should schedule their GRE exam sitting far enough in advance to meet the December 1st deadline. This includes leaving time for ETS to grade the exams and deliver the scores to us. When requesting your GRE scores from ETS, please use Institution Code 1839.

We recommend taking the GRE no later than November 1st to ensure that the department receives your score prior to the December 1st deadline.

Official English Proficiency Score Reports

Please note that the departmental policy on an applicant's demonstration of English proficiency, found below, differs from Rackham Graduate School requirements and exemptions. All non-native English speakers must follow the departmental policy regarding demonstration of English proficiency.

Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English proficiency and are required to provide an official score report from one of the exams listed in the table below. Also note in the table below are the department's desired scores for each test, not the required scores for admission.

The department *does not* exempt non-native English speakers who have earned or will earn a bachelor's or master's degree from an institution where English exclusively was or is the language of instruction from submitting Official English Proficiency Score Reports. 

The department *does not* exempt non-native English speakers who have earned or will earn a bachelor's or master's degree from a country where the official language is English from submitting Official English Proficiency Score Reports.