Follow these easy steps...
1. Schedule a meeting with the Director of Graduate Studies. In this meeting, the DGS will invite you to share your interests and discuss your options for graduate studies.
2. If it feels like the MLS program is a match, the DGS will walk you through the application process.
a) Writing a personal statement of no more than 750 words that explains your goals in the MLS, the faculty and staff you'd like to work with, the courses you'd like to take beyond the three required courses, and the unique strengths you bring to the program
b) Writing an academic resume, called a "Curriculum Vitae"
c) Securing your transcripts from your prior colleges and universities. The application system will use
d) Assembling three letters of recommendation, one of which, at minimum, must come from a person who already holds a graduate degree (so they can vouch for your ability to succeed in the challenges of graduate education). These letters can come from former professors, professional supervisors, colleagues and leaders in local nonprofits, and more.
There is a recommended timeline for securing recommendations.
- About a month before you anticipate admission, email or phone call those folks you'd like to recommend you. In a polite, friendly, but brief email, explain your goals and ask whether the person will be willing to write a letter of recommendation within the next three weeks.
- If the recommender agrees, you will share your personal statement and CV with them, so that they can speak to your specific goals.
- Enter the email addresses of your recommenders into the application system. The recommenders will be prompted to upload their letters electronically. Your work here is done.
3. Schedule a follow-up meeting with the DGS. The DGS will review your materials before you upload them to the University of Minnesota Apply Yourself System (https://app.applyyourself.com). The materials are typically reviewed by a committee. The DGS can't guarantee that their approval before the upload will yield an acceptance, but the DGS can identify flags that will cause non-acceptance.
4. Upload your materials to the University of Minnesota Apply Yourself System (https://app.applyyourself.com).