Graduate Application Process

Admission to the Department of Curriculum and Instruction for Current University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate Students

If you have already been admitted to the Graduate College as a Master’s or Doctoral student and would like to either: 1) transfer from your current academic program to the Department of Curriculum and Instruction; or 2) apply to the Doctoral program after completing the Master’s program in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, please submit the following materials to the Graduate Programs Secretary:

• Graduate College Petition.  This is the formal paperwork that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign uses to transfer a student from one academic program to another.  The petition must be signed by your current department approving your transfer to a new department.  The Graduate Programs Secretary will obtain the signatures required in this unit.  The petition will be processed by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction only after you have been recommended for admission.  The petition and guidelines are found here.  The petition must also include your new program code.  Program codes can be found here.  If you have not been enrolled in courses for an academic year, you will also need to complete the re-entry form.

• An up-to-date Application for Admission.  You will not complete the online application.  Download a paper application form and return this to the Graduate Programs Secretary, not the Office of Admissions and Records.  By applying this way, you will not have to pay another application fee.  (Hint:  Skip to page 10 to begin the application!)

• An up-to-date Statement of Purpose.  This statement should explain why you want to transfer to the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, what areas you wish to study and research within the department, and any future educational/professional goals that you have.  This should be no shorter than one full page.

• An up-to-date Résumé or Curriculum Vitae.  This should include any and all teaching or research experience, as well as any additional educational or professional experiences that may pertain to the degree you are seeking.

• An up-to-date Transcript from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

• Three up-to-date Letters of Reference.  We recommend that one of the letters be from your current or former academic advisor and the other two letters, ideally, should be from other faculty members at this institution.  The form is located here.

• GRE Scores.  These are only required if you are going into the Doctoral Program in the Mathematics, Science, and Technology (MST) Division, or the Masters or Doctoral Program with Early Childhood area of specialization. GRE scores are acceptable if taken within the last five years.

• A copy of your file.  If you are transferring to the Department of Curriculum and Instruction from another graduate department, you need to request that your former department sends a copy of your file to this department.  This should include a copy of all documents in your file.
  
  
• For Master's + Certification applications only: You must also fulfill the following requirements to be considered for admission:
  • Supplemental application and essay: Submit the Supplemental Application for Graduate Admission Teacher Education Programs accompanied by a three to four-page essay.  This application provides details of the special requirements for admission to certification programs.
  • The State of Illinois requires applications to take, and pass, the Illinois Certification Testing System (ICTS) Test of Basic Skills prior to admission
  • In addition, if you are applying to any of the following areas, you are required to take, and pass, the appropriate subject-matter examination required for your area of certification:
  • Secondary English Language Arts
  • Secondary Mathematics
  • Secondary Biology
  • Secondary Chemistry
  • Secondary Earth and Space Science
  • Secondary Physics
  • Secondary Social Science: History
  • For additional information regarding ICTS tests and certification, please contact the Council on Teacher Education or the Illinois State Board of Education. 
    
    
• For Doctoral applicants only:  We must have a sample of scholarly writing.  This should be a paper written in English that demonstrates your ability to synthesize and analyze academic literature.

If at all possible, the above materials should be forwarded to the Graduate Programs Secretary by the deadline.  The Department of Curriculum and Instruction will accept applications after the deadline; however, you must contact the Graduate Programs Secretary before submission so that we can anticipate your application materials. The deadlines are as follow:

Spring Admission - October 15
Summer Admission - March 1
Fall Admission - December 1 (for Master’s + Cert and for MA/MS/EdM/PhD/EdD interested in financial aid)
                            March 1 (for MA/MS/EdM/PhD/EdD not interested in financial aid)

After the Graduate Programs Secretary receives the above information, your file will be circulated to faculty in the appropriate division.  Any questions regarding the application process for the Department of Curriculum and Instruction should be directed to the Graduate Programs Secretary.  All of the above materials should be sent to the following address:

 

Graduate Programs Secretary
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
     311 Education Building, MC-708
1310 SouthSixth Street
Champaign, IL  61820
Telephone:  217/244-3391
E-mail:  cigradprograms@ed.uiuc.edu