Submission of Materials

We encourage all applicants to use the online application system.  The application form, recommendation letters, and statement of purpose can all be submitted online.  Transcripts still must be mailed in hard copy.  Additionally, recommendation letters may be sent in hard copy. Standardized test scores (GRE and TOEFL) should be sent to BU directly from ETS.

Please do not send any application materials directly to the IR Department. All admissions materials should be sent to the GRS Admissions Office.

Submission Address

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
GRS Admissions Office
705 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 112
Boston, Massachusetts 02215

Contact Information for GRS Admissions

Telephone: 617-353-2696
Email:  grs@bu.edu

Checking the Status of an Application

All materials are received by the GRS Admissions Office.  That office uploads all documents (paper materials are scanned) to a server so that departmental staff can access the documents.  If you wish to check on the status of your application, you are welcome to contact the IR Department.  However, please keep in mind that at the department level we can only see documents that have been processed and uploaded to the server.  The GRS Admissions Office is sometimes a few days behind in processing received materials, particularly in early to mid-January, when they receive an enormous quantity of material.  Please be patient.

Additionally, the documents required for processing a visa for international students (the international student data form and the financial documentation) are never made available to the IR Department.  To check to make sure that those documents have been received, students should contact the GRS Admissions Office directly.

Once an application is academically complete, it will be put in our queue for evaluation.  See the page on Notification for further details.