Based on input from focus groups of graduate students, faculty, graduate fellowship holders, directors of graduate programs, and associate deans, the University developed the NCSU Graduate Programs Bulletin as a recruiting brochure that presents an overview of the excellence of graduate education across the NCSU campus. This forty-page, full-color brochure includes general admission information as well as information required by departments for admissions decisions. The NCSU Graduate Programs Bulletin is mailed to each prospective student who requests an application and/or graduate-program information and who has a U.S. mailing address.
Table 6.4
Total Graduate School admissions by college or school, 1992-93
College or school Applied Accepted Entered Accepted Entered
per applied per accepted
Agriculture and Life Sciences 911 388 208 43% 54%
Design 309 124 71 40% 57%
Education and Psychology 798 416 324 52% 78%
Engineering 1,906 927 412 49% 44%
Forestry 176 105 55 60% 52%
Humanities and Social Sciences 664 433 257 65% 59%
Management 77 43 36 56% 84%
Physical & Mathematical Sciences 633 313 142 49% 45%
Textiles 102 63 41 62% 65%
Veterinary Medicine 48 16 15 33% 94%
Total 5,624 2,828 1,561 50% 55%
African-American total 353 163 116 46% 71%
College or school Change in Change in Change in Change in Change inapplied accepted entered accepted entered Agriculture and Life Sciences 5.52% .43% -.14% .43% -.14%
Design 16.58% 3.44% 1.43% 3.44% 1.43%
Education and Psychology 11.14% 15.09% 18.86% 15.09% 18.86%
Engineering 6.96% 4.94% 2.92% 4.94% 2.92%
Forestry 11.95% 9.80% 5.36% 9.80% 5.36%
Humanities and Social Sciences 12.78% 12.65% 9.87% 12.65% 9.87% Management -- -- -- -- --
Physical & Mathematical Sciences 12.40% 7.66% 1.35% 7.66% 1.35%
Textiles 7.18% 1.81% 8.80% 1.81% 8.80%
Veterinary Medicine 4.76% 2.58% .67% 2.58% .67%
Total 9.46% 7.14% 6.26% 7.14% 6.26%
African-American total 9.79% 7.63% 19.17% 7.63% 19.17%
Minimum requirements for admission to the Graduate School with full graduate standing include a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with an average grade point average of "B" or better, or an average of "B" or better in the student's most recent graduate degree program [4.2.2.1]. Individual departments and programs evaluate prospective candidates for graduate school on the basis of their potential to undertake graduate studies and research. Some have admission criteria more stringent than the institutional requirements [4.2.2.1; 4.2.2.10]. Departmental and program material and the NCSU Graduate Programs Bulletin list special requirements for admission to particular graduate programs [4.2.2.2; 4.2.2.11].
Provisional admission is granted to students who may lack the undergraduate coursework deemed necessary for success in a particular graduate program or to students whose undergraduate degree was granted by a nonaccredited institution. Students in provisional status may not hold fellowships, teaching assistantships, or research assistantships. Students may move from provisional status to full graduate status when their academic record warrants the change and upon recommendation of the student's director of graduate programs [4.2.2.9].
Students whose native language is not English and who have not completed at least one year of full-time study in a degree program with acceptable grades at a U.S. institution or do not have a degree from an institution in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom are required to submit an official Test of English as a Foreign Language score report from the Educational Testing Service. A minimum score on the TOEFL of 550, with scores of 50 on at least two of the sections and no score below 45, is required for admission. No exceptions are made to this requirement. Some departments require higher TOEFL scores for admission. Students scoring between 550 and 590 on the TOEFL are required to take an English Placement Test prior to registration to determine if they will need special courses in English. The Graduate School is now rigorously monitoring enrollment in the required English language courses and will no longer permit students to continue their graduate study if they do not take these courses on the prescribed schedule. As long as this policy is strictly enforced, the admissions standards described above are appropriate.
At the graduate level, program-based graduate faculty are best positioned to select the most qualified applicants from the pool available each year and to recommend those applicants to the Graduate School.
The Graduate School ensures that the minimum criteria for admission (as described above) are met and that fairness and equal treatment are maintained in admissions.
The procedures followed in evaluating an applicant's potential for success in graduate work and the criteria used for admissions decisions vary according to departments and programs and colleges and schools. They also vary according to the degree program and level. Although all applicants must have at least a "B" average in their undergraduate studies for full admission (as stated above), those applicants intending to pursue the Ph.D., Ed.D., and thesis masters are also evaluated on their potential to conduct original research. Those applying to professional degree programs are evaluated according to standards set by the profession [4.2.2.8].
Departmental admission policies are reviewed continuously at the department or program level by the faculty and graduate-studies committees [4.2.2.12]. They are reviewed periodically by the Graduate School as a part of the Graduate Program Review process. Institutional review of admission policies takes place periodically through review of the Administrative Board of the Graduate School. In 1989 such a review led to raising the minimum TOEFL score from 500 to 550.
When an application for admission is received in the Graduate School, the application is processed and forwarded to the appropriate department or program. The method of processing the application varies among individual departments and programs. In all cases either the graduate faculty, the graduate studies committee, or both evaluate the application with respect to department or program requirements. If the applicant meets those requirements, if the department or program resources are sufficient to accommodate the applicant, and if there is an appropriate faculty match, the department or program customarily recommends that the Graduate School admit the student. Applicants who meet the Graduate School academic requirements are offered admission by the Graduate School. If the applicant does not meet the minimum academic requirements of the Graduate School, then the department or program must provide justification for an exception. The statement justifying the student's admission is maintained in the applicant's file. Candidates who are not accepted may appeal by writing to the director of graduate programs in the department or program to which they applied, and they may ultimately appeal to the Graduate School.
When a student wishes to transfer credits to NCSU from a foreign institution, exceptions are sometimes made to the requirement that transfer course(s) be from accredited institutions. In such cases, if the department or program requesting transfer credits from a foreign university provides documentation that the credits are at a level comparable to those in its own graduate program and that the courses are taught by faculty who have terminal degrees and experience teaching at a graduate level similar to those of the faculty in its program, then the credits will be allowed [4.2.2.5]. The documentation provided by the department or program is maintained with the student's file. Graduate credit is not awarded for portfolio-based experiential learning that occurs prior to the matriculation into a graduate program at NCSU [4.2.2.5; 4.2.2.6; 4.2.2.7]. Also, graduate credit is not allowed for courses taken in noncollegiate settings, including military schools [4.2.2.5].
A faculty committee selects the students from two pools of candidates: nonresident and resident. Admissions standards and requirements for admissions are made available annually to interested candidates. Both subjective and objective criteria are used in selecting candidates for admission. The College of Veterinary Medicine and the admissions process are annually reviewed by the Council on Education for the American Veterinary Medical Association. Candidates who are not accepted may appeal in writing to the college committee [4.2.2.1; 4.2.2.12].
An applicant to the House Officer program also applies to the College of Veterinary Medicine. The college participates in the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program sponsored by the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians. All applications are reviewed by a faculty coordinator in each clinical specialty area, who ranks the acceptable applicants. The ranked applicants are identified and then forwarded to the Matching Program, which selects the House Officers.
