Penn State College of the Liberal Arts Department of Applied Linquistics

Graduate Admissions

MA TESL Admission Requirements

In our admissions process, we attend to the entire picture generated by an applicant's record of achievements, statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, GPA and GRE scores. Successful applicants to our program have at the minimum:

  • A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution
  • 3.0 undergraduate grade point average (GPA)
  • Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores
  • 3 strong letters of recommendation from academic and professional references
  • A strong statement of purpose describing the applicant’s professional interests and reasons for wanting to pursue an M.A. in TESL.

International applicants without an undergraduate degree from a U.S. institution also have:

  • a minimum TOEFL score of 600 (paper), 250 (computer-based), or 100 (internet-based) or a IELTS score of 7.0