Graduate Students Admission

Application for Admission

We appreciate your interest in the Department of Recreation, Sport, and Tourism and welcome your application for admission. Applications for graduate admissions are processed through a system called ApplyYourself, accessed by clicking on the following:

https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=uiuc-grad.

This system allows applicants to track their admission progress and conduct most of the admission process, including credit card payments, electronically. Please read below for comprehensive information on our Admissions process.

Department Graduate Student Admissions

An underlying principle throughout these guidelines is to continually improve the quality of our graduate students and enhance the fit between graduate students and the collection of faculty teaching and research interests. These guidelines recognize the importance of high quality graduate students to our departmental culture, and are directed at a constructive development of culture through graduate student admission decisions.

Admissions guidelines include the following requirements:

• Transcript – must be original, directly from the institution. International students must provide transcripts in both English and the original language.
• GPA – 3.0 out of 4.0 (Graduate College minimum is the same.) The last two years, approximately 60 hours, of undergraduate coursework is calculated to determine the GPA.
• GRE – Required, but no minimum. However, the program is competitive so the scores are important. We do not accept GMAT, LSAT or other tests as a substitute.
• Recommendations – Three letters of recommendation are required, preferably from academic sources.
• TOEFL/IELTS - For international students’ language ability, a TOEFL score or IELTS test is required. Minimum scores are as follows:
  
  Paper TOEFL = 600
  IBT TOEFL = 103
  CBT TOEFL => 253
  IELTS => 7.5
• Statement of Purpose - Because the Department of Recreation, Sport, and Tourism does not require applicants to have a background in Leisure, the "statement of purpose" is reviewed closely to identify a match between interests of applicants and faculty. Listed below are specific questions for applicants to address, but not limit themselves to, within their "statement of purpose". These questions could be addressed in one whole essay, or as itemized responses to the questions:

1. Why are you pursuing a graduate degree? What possibilities do you see for your future career? In what ways would your degree contribute to your career?
2. At this point in time, what is your desired area of study and/or expected research program?
3. Why do you think University of Illinois is appropriate for you? Why do you think the Department of Recreation, Sport, and Tourism is a good fit for you? Discuss the ability for the interests of departmental faculty to overlap with your own interests?

The faculty understands that applicants' aspirations and interests in graduate school may change during the course of one's program, however it is useful to understand applicants' current perspectives.

Decision process

Faculty members review the applicant information as it is updated. As three separate groups, sport faculty, recreation faculty, and tourism faculty meet to discuss the applicant files within a month after the deadline and the majority of the admission decisions are made at that time. Both MS and PHD applicants need at least one faculty to volunteer to be their advisor before an applicant is accepted.

Internal applications for PhD program

Departmental MS students who would like to apply to the department's PhD program are required to go through the same application procedure as other applicants, the difference being, a petition is required, not another application. Acceptance into the PhD program is contingent on all requirements of the MS program being fulfilled prior to the start of PhD work.

Admittance on "limited" status

In the discussion of an applicant, there may be convincing reasons to admit the applicant yet concern about his/her ability to successfully transition into the graduate program. In such cases, applicants will be admitted on "limited" status. Students are generally removed from "limited" status if they achieve a 3.0 GPA.

Deadline for submission

For full consideration for fall admittance, all application materials should be received by February 1st, and for spring admittance the deadline is October 1st.

Apply On-Line