Tis the application season and the January 15th priority deadline is quickly approaching. Our office is receiving a number of application-related questions so this post will address the top six commonly asked questions.
1.) Can I check the status of my application online?
Answer: You sure can! Go to the University of Denver’s (DU) webCentral. Your DU ID is 87XXXXXXX and initial passcode is your birthdate in MMDDYY format. You will need to change your passcode upon login.
After logging in to webCentral, click on myWeb > Banner Self-Service > Student and Financial Aid > Admissions. Then, select the processed application.
Please keep in mind that upon receipt of your documents, the processing time to upload it to your record is approximately 1-3 business days. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Office of Graduate Studies my calling 303.871.2831 or emailing gradinfo@du.edu.
2.) Do I need to submit an essay?
Answer: No, we do not require an essay. However we do require the following documents:
MA applicants
- A 500-750-word statement of purpose/intent
As concisely as possible, address why you want to pursue your degree at the Josef Korbel School, what experiences (academically and professionally) you will bring to the classroom and your career aspirations. For the latter, we do not necessarily need to know your three, five, or ten-year career plan or an exact position that you want to hold. Our committee wants to gain a better understanding about why you think the Josef Korbel School is a good fit for your general career trajectory.
- Resume or CV
PhD applicants
- A 500-750-word statement of purpose/intent
As concisely as possible, address why you want to pursue your degree at the Josef Korbel School, what experiences (academically and professionally) you will bring to the classroom and your career aspirations. For the latter, we do not necessarily need to know your three, five, or ten-year career plan or an exact position that you want to hold. Our committee wants to gain a better understanding about why you think the Josef Korbel School is a good fit for your general career trajectory.
- Resume or CV
- Writing sample
The doctoral program is highly competitive and the committee wants to ensure that we have the faculty to support our candidate’s dissertation research and field specializations. A writing sample is a 20-25 page paper which should be the finest representation of an applicants writing and research abilities, ideally focusing on his/her proposed dissertation topic.
3.) What’s the difference between the Office of Graduate Admissions and the Office of Graduate Studies?
Answer:
Office of Graduate Admissions
That’s us! We are the Josef Korbel School folks who meet with you at recruitment events, set up campus visits, answer your programmatic and admission questions, send admission decision letters, manage the website and provide as much information as possible about our school so you can make an informed graduate school decision.
Office of Graduate Studies
These are the fine folks who process your applications- saving us from paper cuts, date stampers and scanners. They are located in the building next to us (Mary Reed Building), manage the online application system and send emails about your application status. If you have any questions about the receipt of your documents, the fastest way to get an answer is to email (gradinfo@du.edu) or call (303.871.2831) them.
4.) Does my university’s registrar’s office need to send my transcripts directly to the University of Denver or can they send them to me?
Answer: Either submission method is aok. If the transcripts are sent directly to the Office of Graduate Studies, they will arrive a few days faster. However, if you are ordering a multiple transcripts and want to send one copy to us, that’s perfectly fine. Just don’t open the official envelope!
5.) Do you offer application fee waivers?
Answer: No, we do not offer application fee waivers. The $60 is an Office of Graduate Studies’ administrative fee for processing applications.
6.) Can I talk to a current graduate student?
Answer: Most definitely! In fact, if you’ve recently inquired or started an application, a student will likely contact you over the next few weeks. Brad and I can talk until we are blue in the face about how great the Josef Korbel School is – but our students have been through the application process, made an informed decision (we hope) to enroll and are experiencing, first hand, the classes, professors and grad school life. They will candidly share their experiences with you and can answer most if not all of your questions. If you want to chat with a student, feel free to email korbeladm@du.edu and we will set you up with one of our student ambassadors.
Sarah Crozier, a first year International Development student and Peace Corps Master’s International candidate, composed a fantastic blog post yesterday that includes her top 10 lessons learned after her first quarter at the Josef Korbel School. Definitely check it out, along with our other current student blogs.
I hope this information is helpful! Feel free to contact our office if you have any additional questions.
Kind regards,
Nicole
Nicole Vilegi-Sandage
Associate Director of Graduate Admissions
Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Nicole.Vilegi@du.edu
