Graduate Students

Download as PDF

Graduate Admissions Requirements

In addition to all other program specific requirements, minimal requirements for admission include:

  • Graduate Application—A complete online graduate application. Graduate programs may have their own deadline for applications. See program specific information for those deadlines. For programs with rolling admission, applications will be considered as they are submitted and a program may be filled prior to the semester or term it begins.

  • Graduate Application Fee—Nonrefundable application fee of $50.

  • Minimum Undergraduate GPA—Minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale.

  • Letters of Recommendation—Three letters of recommendation, as specified by the intended program of study, preferably including one from the last school attended.

  • Application Essay—An essay of personal statement describing educational objectives and professional interests.

  • Official Sealed Transcript of All Undergraduate and Graduate Course Work—An official final transcript showing bachelor's degree conferred along with official transcripts from all regionally accredited institutions of higher education attended. NOTE: Due to admissions deadlines, graduate students are sometimes admitted before conferral of a bachelor's degree. Students who are awaiting their undergraduate degree will be permitted to register for their first semester (or term for programs starting in the summer) of classes. However, the degree conferral date must be prior to the beginning of the graduate program. Continuation in any graduate program requires an official transcript which verifies conferral of a bachelor's degree. Students enrolled in classes who have not submitted the required proof of degree will have a hold placed on their record. This hold, which will prevent final registration, will not be released until the proper documentation has been submitted. An exception occurs when a student is enrolled in an accelerated bachelor to master program where the student is taking both master and bachelor degree courses during the fourth year.

  • Coursework Completion—Completion of all deficient coursework required for admission into the graduate program, including but not limited to, prerequisite and degree specific requirements.

  • Additional Program-Specific Requirements —Other materials specified by the program, including specific exam scores from graduate admission exams (such as GRE or GMAT), departmental forms, portfolios, interviews, on-site and/or phone interview, etc.

  • English Language Proficiency—An applicant whose first language is not English and/or does not have a degree from an institution where English is the primary language of instruction is required to demonstrate English language proficiency by submitting a score from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) taken within the last two years. The minimum score required to display English language proficiency for admission to a graduate program is TOEFL: 89 iBT or 573 PBT or an IELTS score of 6.5.

  • Additional Requirements for International Students—In addition to the aforementioned items, international students should read the International Student Admission section for additional required documentation.

Graduate Admissions Classifications

Unconditional—the applicant has met all College and program requirements for admission to a graduate program.

Conditional—the applicant's admission materials are missing one or more areas required by the College or program, e.g. reference letter, official test scores. A student will be admitted without condition upon providing all deficient information. Students electing to enter the bachelor to master accelerated program and meeting all admission criteria except for the completion of the bachelor degree will be admitted to the master program under conditional classification while completing the bachelor program.

Provisional—the applicant is admitted to the graduate program under some described probationary status. These applicants have not met all of the specific program requirements for the graduate program to which they are applying. The student must perform to a level that warrants removal of provisional admission status within the timeframe defined by the program.

Denial—the applicant is not admitted to the College for graduate studies.

International Graduate Student Admission

See "International Student Admissions" for more details.

Transfer Graduate Student Admission

Bridgewater College will accept up to six semester hours of equivalent graduate work transferred from institutions credentialed by accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. International institution credits will be evaluated by the registrar and the World Education Services evaluations process. Candidates for transfer admissions must demonstrate evidence of good standing and eligibility to return to their former institution. Additionally, all institutional and program-specific admissions criteria must be fulfilled.

Credit is allowed only for those courses in which a grade of C or better has been earned within the previous five (5) years. Only credits are accepted in transfer; grades are not transferred and do not affect the student's cumulative grade point average. Credit from institutions on a system other than the semester hour system is converted to semester hours. Students receive no more, and may receive fewer, than the number of credits earned at the host institutions. The student is responsible for supplying official descriptions of courses and any other supporting information such as course syllabi as requested to determine course transferability.

Transcripts will be evaluated by the registrar on a course-by-course basis. Only work comparable to that offered at Bridgewater College in level, nature and discipline will be accepted for degree credit. Official transcripts must be submitted. Students wishing to receive prior approval for course transfers should submit a completed Permission to Take Courses for Transfer Credit Form to the registrar in advance of enrolling in a course outside of Bridgewater College.

Policies governing transfer credit may vary by graduate program and in some cases be far more delimiting than general institutional requirements. All program-specific information is detailed in subsequent sections.

Graduate Student Deposits

Students who have been accepted for admission must confirm their intention to enroll by making a $500 reservation deposit. The reservation deposit is applied to the entering semester charges for the upcoming year.

Summer Term—The deposit is refundable if requested in writing before February 1. Students admitted after February 1 must make a deposit within 10 days of admission.

Fall Semester—The deposit is refundable if requested in writing before May 1. Students admitted after May 1 must make a deposit within 10 days of admission.

Spring Semester—The deposit is refundable if requested in writing before December 21. Students admitted after December 21 must make a deposit within 10 days of admission.

Enrolling students must present a written health report on a form supplied by the College. The form must be returned to the College before official registration can begin.