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Doctoral Admissions

Admissions Procedures

For admission consideration, applicants should submit the following documents:

1. Application for admission to Graduate School
2. All official college transcripts, graduate and undergraduate
3. Graduate Record Examination scores taken within four (4) years before the date of application. In addition, all applicants whose native language is not English must submit a score of at least 550 paper-based, at least 213 computer-based, or at least 79 internet-based on the TOEFL examination, except for those who have recently completed a bachelor’ s degree in the United States.
4. Statement of professional experiences and career aspirations
5. Professional resume
6. Two (2) Reference letters
7. A writing sample (see below)

Directions: Send items 1 and 2 to the Office of Admissions and Records, West Virginia University, PO Box 6009, Morgantown, WV 26506-6009. Send items 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 to the Program Secretary, West Virginia University, PO Box 6122, Morgantown WV 26506-6122

Contacts for Additional Information
Public Schools:
Dr. Richard A. Hartnett, Coordinator
Telephone: (304) 293-3708
Send Email
Higher Education:
Dr. Elizabeth A. Jones, Coordinator
Telephone: (304) 293-1886
Send Email

Admissions Requirements

The decision to admit a student to doctoral work constitutes a major commitment from the faculty of the department in the form of advising, teaching, chairing and serving on the committee, preparing and evaluating examinations, and guiding the successful completion of the dissertation. To be considered for admission, the applicant must meet these minimal criteria:

1. The undergraduate grade point average will be no lower than 3.00 (on a four-point scale).

2. The graduate grade point average from the master’s degree will be no lower than 3.25 (on a four-point scale).

3. The standardized test scores *for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) will be no lower than 460 for the Verbal section, 550 for the Quantitative, and 4.0 for the Analytical section. (The MAT exam will no longer be used for admission purposes.)

4. All applicants will furnish a *writing sample in the form of a master’s thesis, one of the following: two exemplary papers from previous graduate courses, or another form of scholarly writing.

5. All applicants will provide a personal statement of their academic and professional goals. The personal statement should be a one-to-two page cover letter that includes academic and professional goals and explains how the Ed.D. program promotes the realization of those goals.

6. Resume or curriculum vitae.

7. Two letters of recommendation.

8. Only those applicants who meet grade point and GRE score requirements as outlined above, whose writing examples are exemplary, and whose academic and career goals align with the departmental mission will be interviewed by program faculty as part of the admission process. In some cases, the interview may take place through video conferencing. A set of standardized interview questions will be used in either case.

The applicant should note, however, that the decision to admit students to the doctoral program is a collective judgment of the faculty and represents their determination of the likelihood of the candidate to succeed in all major phases of the degree program. These judgments take into account the candidate’s professional experiences, communication and thinking skills, and other relevant capabilities. Thus, a candidate is not automatically admitted on the basis of meeting only the minimal criteria to be considered for admission.

Admissions Decision Procedures

All completed applications must be received by February 10, 2010 in order to be reviewed for admission for the Fall 2010 semester. Students will be notified of their status, and if accepted, they will receive information about their assigned advisor.

Appointment of Advisor

The notification of acceptance into the program shall include the name of the faculty member who will serve as advisor until the doctoral committee is constituted. The selection and approval of committee members should occur during the semester when 12-18 hours of program work taken after admission is completed. Either the student or the initial advisor may request that the Program Coordinator make a change in the faculty advisor at any time before the doctoral committee is constituted.