PhD Admissions

Graduate school online application: choose.umn.edu/portal/grad_appy

All applicants must submit an application fee.

The fee is set by the University of Minnesota Graduate School and cannot be deferred. The current fee is $95 for international applicants and $75 for U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The fee is paid online when you submit your application.

Applicants may submit a request to be considered for an application fee waiver by emailing an extenuating circumstances statement to our program email ([email protected]) for review by the Director of Graduate Studies and Department Coordinator. All application fee waiver requests are due by Friday, December 11 (12:00 PM (Noon) CST) 2026. 

Please include in your request: 

• extenuating circumstances statement (required for consideration)
• most recent resume or CV (optional)
• most recent academic transcript (optional)

Either a GMAT (Focus) or a GRE official score is required. The test cannot be more than 5 years old from the application submission date. Please use the information below when submitting your test scores:

GMAT (Focus) - institution code D2N-VJ-74 ; 02
You may self-report GMAT scores on the online application, but official score results are also required

GRE - institution code 6874
You may self-report GRE scores on the online application, but official score results are also required

International and domestic applicants whose first language is not English must provide proof of English language proficiency. Proof of English language proficiency is measured according to the categories detailed below.

Applicants providing an exam score must have an exam date within two years of the application submission date. Exams exceeding two years will not be accepted.

For exams taken before January 21, 2026: Minnesota Carlson expects a total TOEFL score of 100. For matriculated students, if your TOEFL speaking score is less than 27, you will be required to take the Spoken English Test for Teaching Assistants (SETTA) once on campus. For the IELTS, we expect a score of 7.0 or higher.

For exams taken on or after January 21, 2026: Minnesota Carlson expects a total TOEFL score of 5.0. For matriculated students, if your TOEFL speaking score is less than 5.5, you will be required to take the Spoken English Test for Teaching Assistants (SETTA) once on campus. For the IELTS, we expect a score of 7.0 or higher.

English Language Proficiency exam scores are not required if you have completed 16 semester credits of post-secondary coursework in an English-speaking country within the past two years from the application submission date. Otherwise, you must include exam scores with your application.

For additional details about this requirement, please visit the Office of Graduate Admission's website or contact them at [email protected].  

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities does not consider MyBest Scores: Sum of Highest Section Scores of the TOEFL iBT Score Report/IELTS to meet the minimum total score requirement for admission. Applicants should self-report their highest Total Score from the one test date in the Application for Admission. Applicants should also submit the official IELTS/TOEFL iBT scores via ETS.

Please use the information below when submitting your test scores:

• For the TOEFL designate the institution code"6874"
• Contact the IELTS administrators to determine the institution's code