Transcripts, Letters of Recommendation, and Statement of Purpose
Do I have to have transcripts sent for every college-level class that I have taken?
Applicants to every degree program offered by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences are required to upload transcripts of each college or university attended to the online application. A college senior should submit a transcript of work completed in the first semester of the senior year as soon as it is available.
If you attended a study abroad program or enrolled in college courses while in high school, we do not need separate transcripts sent if the course names, credits, and grades are listed on your main institution’s transcript.
Applicants who have received degrees from institutions outside the U.S. must provide certified copies and certified English translations of transcripts or records of all previous post-secondary education. Transcripts, translations, and certified documents from institutions outside the U.S. should be uploaded to the Documents section of the online application.
I attended and/or graduated from an institution outside of the U.S. Should I submit a transcript from that school?
Applicants who have attended and/or received degrees from institutions outside the U.S. should upload an unofficial transcript and degree certificates to the online application. If the transcript is not in English, applicants must also submit certified English translations of transcripts or records of all previous post-secondary education and of all degrees conferred.
Please note that applicants who have earned three-year bachelor’s degrees from an Indian institution must have both a bachelor’s degree as well as a master’s degree or a bachelor’s degree with a post-graduate diploma in a relevant field to be eligible to apply to any master’s or post-bachelor’s PhD programs at the Graduate School. Applicants with questions on eligibility are encouraged to email scanned transcripts to grs@bu.edu for assessment. When applying, applicants must submit individual mark sheets from their institution. Consolidated mark sheets are not able to be reviewed without individual mark sheets. Please note that if your school has not received accreditation through NAAC or you received your degree more than five years before your expected matriculation date, you may be required to submit a WES evaluation.
I will not receive my degree until the summer. Must I submit another transcript showing the degree was conferred?
If you are offered admission, you must submit official transcripts and certified documents showing all degrees conferred as soon as they become available, even if the degree will not be conferred until the semester of matriculation begins.
How many letters of recommendation are required?
Two letters of recommendation are required for the Graduate School; however, most departments/programs require three letters. Please refer to our Application Requirements and Deadlines page for more information. Please remember that letters of recommendation should be in English and written by faculty members in your proposed field of graduate study who are familiar with American higher education.
Can letters of recommendation be faxed or e-mailed to the Admissions Office or to the department?
No, we will not accept emailed or faxed recommendations as official credentials for your application. Recommenders must submit an online recommendation. An email request will automatically be sent to your recommenders once you have saved an online recommendation. Please advise your recommender to look for this email in their inbox, as well as their spam or junk-mail folder, as emails do occasionally get filtered out.
Will you accept letters of recommendation mailed from my university’s career center, letter service or Interfolio?
Unfortunately, we cannot accept letters of recommendation that are received in any manner besides the online application system.
Where do I send letters of recommendation and transcripts?
All letters of recommendation and transcripts should be submitted directly through the online application system.
What should I write in my statement of purpose?
Applicants to every degree program offered by the Graduate School are required to submit a Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose of not fewer than 200 words. This statement must describe your qualifications and the objectives of your intended educational program at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. If you need any further details about the contents of the Personal Statement, please contact the department to which you are applying.
How do I submit my statement of purpose?
When applying online, you can upload your statement. Your uploaded document should be no more than 5 pages and should be in a Western European or other English-language setting. Whichever way the statement is submitted, it should contain on every page the following identifying information: your name, date of birth, and the department to which you are applying.