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Getting Started

Application Steps - Getting Started

To be eligible for admission for graduate study at the University of North Carolina Wilmington applicants must:

  • Regionally Accredited Bachelor's Degree: Hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university in this country or its equivalent in a foreign institution (as evaluated course-by-course through a NACES approved credit evaluation service) by the first official day of classes for the term of the application.

    • Seven Accrediting Bodies for Regional Institutions:
      • Higher Learning Commission, North Central Association (NH)
      • Middle States Commission on Higher Education (M)
      • New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (EH)
      • Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NW)
      • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SC)
      • Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities (WC)
      • Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (WJ)

  • Student Holds (Current/Previous UNCW Students): Applicants with an application hold will not be allowed to move forward in the application process until the hold is released. Check your SeaNet Account to view your account hold(s).

  • Grade Point Average: Have a strong overall academic record with a B average or better in the basic courses prerequisite to the area of proposed graduate study. Provisional admission may be considered by some programs. Contact the program coordinator for additional information regarding their acceptance policy.

  • Level: Graduate and undergraduate programs may not be pursued simultaneously.

  • Online Accelerated Programs (OAP): OAP programs must be pursued independent of any other program. 

  • Additional Requirements: Meet any additional admission requirement(s) as outlined by the graduate program.

  • Professional Licensure in State-Regulated Professions: State laws may require practitioners to be licensed to practice in their state. Learn more about UNCW's participation in the NC-State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement
  • You will create your account after choosing a Regular Term Instruction (RTI) or Online Accelerated Program (OAP) program option on our application page.
  • Please create only one account. Use the same log-in anytime you start or continue an application.
  • Review the deadlines for your program of interest on our Key Dates page.
  • A $75 USD (non-transferable and non-refundable) application fee is due upon submission and is payable by MasterCard, Visa, or Discover via the online application.
  • Applicants will be prompted by the system to pay the application fee upon submission. 
  • If you are eligible for an application fee waiver, complete the proper form (including any required approvals) from the choices below and upload it into the application when prompted.
  • You will be prompted to add a discount code, in addition to the document upload.
  • Why does the graduate application ask for my social security number?
    • Financial Aid
    • Working on campus
    • Helps to match test scores

  • To ensure that your supplemental documents are matched properly to your application:
    • Use your full legal name
    • Include any previous names

Recommendation Info

  • Recommendations
    • Required by some programs. View the key dates pages to see if your program requires recommendations.
    • Recommenders submit the recommendation through the online application.
    • During the application process, applicants will be prompted to enter the names and contact information of your recommender.
    • An e-mail notification will be sent on your behalf, prompting the recommender to complete the survey.
    • Your application may be submitted prior to recommender completion.
    • Self-monitor the progress from your online application and application checklist.

Recommendation FAQ

My recommender has not received the e-mail with the login information. What do I do?

  • Notification e-mails will indicate "gradschool@uncw.edu" as the sender. If the recommender's e-mail uses a spam-blocking tool, ask that the recommender add gradschool@uncw.edu to their safe/known recipient list.
  • Type the recommender email address to avoid the addition of invisible characters by using copy/paste.
  • Ask for a personal email address (i.e., Gmail or Yahoo)

How do I change a recommender?

  • As long as the recommender has not already submitted the recommendation, you may log back into your online application and choose 'cancel' and add an alternate recommender.

May I reuse recommendations from a previous application?

  • Recommendations may be reused from a submitted application (with paid application fee) for up to one academic year.

My program only requires 2 recommendations. What happens if I list 3 recommenders?

  • Listing more than the required recommendations will delay the processing of your application.

I did not waive my right to review the recommendation. How may I view the recommendation that was submitted on my behalf?

  • Recommendations from a submitted application (with paid application fee) may be viewed by making an appointment. We are happy to meet with you virtually to review the recommendation(s) that were submitted on your behalf. Please note that state-issued photo identification is required.
  • Check the key dates for your program of interest to find out if additional forms or documents are required for your application.
  • Uploads are added to the application after submission.
  • Campus Safety Questions
    • Series of UNC System-required questions on the application related to safety.
    • These questions are required.
    • Answer these questions truthfully.

Application Fee Waivers

Essay/Statement of Interest Program

  • Biology & Marine Biology, M.S. (form coming soon)
  • Psychology, M.S. (form coming soon)

International Applicants 

Internal Forms 

Test Score Waiver 

  • Residency for UNC System students is determined by the Residency Determination Service (RDS).  
  • We know money matters.
  • You can find the financial information you need for the graduate school, including tuition, scholarships and payment options.

Financial Support

Request Official Transcripts

  • The Graduate School requires one official transcript from each university, college, community college, junior college and high school dual enrollment institution attended.
  • Transfer credit listed on another institution's transcript is not acceptable.
  • Transcripts are not required for short term study abroad work that is transcripted (i.e., the courses and/or grades from the study abroad experience are listed) by a regionally accredited U.S. institution. 
  • Transcripts may be sent prior to application submission.
  • List your full legal name and any and all past names on your application.
  • The Graduate School does not return or reissue documents submitted as part of the application, including transcripts.

Submit Official Transcripts To:

  • Electronic Method:
    Password protected transcripts requested directly from the institution. 
    You may choose UNCW Graduate School, UNC-Wilmington, etc. or they may be sent directly from the system by email to UNCW.


  • Paper Method - Official Transcript (Envelope Sealed by the Institution):
    UNCW Graduate School
    Attn: Kimberly Goerne Harris
    601 S. College Rd.
    Wilmington, NC 28403-5955
  • You do not need to request a UNCW transcript if you have ever attended UNCW
  • List UNCW as an institution on your application.
  • The Graduate School will be responsible for obtaining your academic record from SeaNet (at no cost to you*), including any transfer work reflected on your UNCW transcript.
  • Submit official transcripts from any institution not reflected on your UNCW transcript or any institution attended after UNCW.
  • Do not send unevaluated foreign transcripts directly to the Graduate School.
  • Credential evaluations are not required for short-term study abroad experiences sponsored and transcripted through a regionally accredited U.S. institution.
  • The Graduate School does not return or reissue documents submitted as part of the application, including transcripts.

  • Applicants with International Transcripts: 
    Applicants may complete the request below to consider unofficial international transcripts during the admissions process.  

  • Admitted Students with International Transcripts:
    All foreign course-by-course transcript evaluations should be requested from one of the evaluation companies belonging to the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). The course-by-course credit evaluation will determine the institution accreditation, degree, credits, and course equivalents earned. The evaluation should be sent directly to the Graduate School.

Department of State Agency Applicants (i.e.. Fulbright, AMIDEAST, Laspau, or USAID)

  • Certified true copies of the transcript(s) in English may be submitted electronically directly from the Department of State Agency to the Graduate School. Original transcripts are supplied by the agency if an offer of acceptance is extended.

If admitted, the electronic password protected Official Course-by-Course Evaluation (Directly from the evaluation service to include a copy of the original documents used to conduct the evaluation) should be requested.:

  • The course by course evaluation must come directly from the evaluation service, typically through their electronic transcript portal.

Submit - Official Course-by-Course Evaluation (Directly from the evaluation service to include a copy of the original documents used to conduct the evaluation):

  • UNCW Graduate School
    Attn: Kimberly Goerne Harris
    601 S. College Rd.
    Wilmington, NC 28403-5955

Additional Information

  • Upload a complete application fee waiver when prompted through the online application.
  • In addition to any other non-military institution attended, have all military transcripts sent to the Graduate School.
  • Military transcripts can be requested online through JST (Joint Services Transcript)

Submitting Transcripts

  • Electronic Method:
    Password protected transcripts requested directly from the institution. 
    You may choose UNCW Graduate School, UNC-Wilmington, etc. or they may be sent directly from the system by email to UNCW.


  • Paper Method - Official Transcript (Envelope Sealed by the Institution):
    UNCW Graduate School
    Attn: Kimberly Goerne Harris
    601 S. College Rd.
    Wilmington, NC 28403-5955

Benefits

  • Approved Deferments are available to previously accepted Regular Term Instruction (RTI) students.
  • Deferments need to be approved by the program coordinator.

Deferment Instructions

  • Visa Sponsorship:
    Newly admitted students requesting visa sponsorship will be contacted by the Office of International Programs (OIP) to issue the required immigration documents. Immigration documents are not collected during the admissions process and are not required during the application review.

  • Language Tests:
    The TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo tests are required for all international applicants, unless you are a Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder), from a country where English is the primary language (India, Ghana, Nigeria, etc.)*, or your baccalaureate or graduate degree was conferred from a regionally accredited U.S. institution. Standardized test scores expire after two years.

    *Please contact Graduate Admissions to determine if your home country qualifies for a waiver.

Test Codes and Score Requirements:

  • TOEFL
    • School Code: 5907
    • Minimum Score Requirement: 79
  • IELTS (GENERAL)
    • School Code: UNCW Graduate School
    • Minimum Score Requirement: 6.5 for acceptance, 7.0 for TA consideration
  • Duolingo
    • School Code: UNCW Graduate School
    • Minimum Score Requirement: 115

Rejection of Visa Sponsorship Form

  • The graduate application fee is waived for McNair Scholars.
  • The waiver form is available within the online application
  • Use your existing credentials to re-apply
  • When prompted, list specific documents to be reused from a submitted UNCW Graduate School application.
  • Note: Reusing recommendations from submitted applications older than one year or between programs is not advised and may cause unnecessary delays, including missing the program deadline.
  • Upon submission, pay the non-refundable/non-transferable application fee
  • Upload required documents required after application submission
  • Meet the published deadlines
  • The graduate application fee is waived for eligible UNCW Faculty/Staff and Dependents.

Monitor Your Application Status

  • Once you have submitted your application, you can monitor the arrival of supplemental documents on your application checklist.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure that all application materials arrive, and to follow up with any recommenders or transcripts that are not checked off on your Application Checklist.
  • Complete applications are forwarded to programs for review.

To access your application checklist:

  1. Log in to the application portal.
  2. Select 'applications'.
  3. Review the application checklist to confirm that all items have been received.
  • It typically takes 5 business days for items to be processed once received by the Graduate School.
  • Allow a couple of days after submission for your application checklist to appear and update. 
  • An email notification once a decision has been reached on your application.
  • Decisions may not be shared over the phone.

Graduate Degrees and Programs

We offer a wide variety of programs to meet your needs. Explore our doctoral, master, certificate, add-on licensure and non-degree programs to find the right fit for you.

Connect With Us

Hours:
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Summer Hours:
Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Friday, 7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

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