{"id":24494,"date":"2017-09-14T15:15:05","date_gmt":"2017-09-14T19:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/?page_id=24494"},"modified":"2026-02-17T16:11:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T21:11:53","slug":"application-checklist","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/admissions\/phd-mfa\/apply\/application-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"PhD &#038; MFA: Application Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The application, application fee, and application materials must be received in the GRS Admissions Office by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/admissions\/phd-mfa\/apply\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">application deadline<\/a>.\u00a0 Please note that all documents should be submitted online through the online application.\u00a0 Please do not send additional paper copies of any materials submitted online to the Graduate Admissions Office.\u00a0 All materials and documents, including transcripts and reference letters, submitted as part of an application for admission become the property of Boston University and cannot be returned.<\/p>\n<h3>Required<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bu-grs.liaisoncas.com\/applicant-ux\/#\/login\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Online Application<\/a><\/li>\n<li>$95 Application fee<\/li>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/admissions\/phd-mfa\/apply\/frequently-asked-questions\/transcripts\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Uploaded Transcripts<\/a>. On the application, upload an unofficial copy of your transcript for each institution you have attended.\u00a0 Do not email or mail official transcripts directly to our office.\u00a0 You will be required to submit official transcripts only if you are admitted and accept our offer of admission.<\/li>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/admissions\/phd-mfa\/apply\/frequently-asked-questions\/letters-of-recommendation\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Three official letters of recommendation<\/a>.\u00a0 Recommendations should be submitted through the online recommendation system.\u00a0 Photocopies and other facsimiles, such as scanned\/emailed or faxed documents will not be considered official.<\/li>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/admissions\/phd-mfa\/apply\/frequently-asked-questions\/testing-requirements\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Official GRE General scores<\/a>, sent to BU by ETS using institution code 3087.\u00a0 Many departments do not require GRE scores; refer to the list on this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/admissions\/phd-mfa\/apply\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">page<\/a>\u00a0 for details.\u00a0 Applicants applying to MFA programs are not required to submit GRE scores.<\/li>\n<li>Personal Statement<\/li>\n<li>Resume or CV<\/li>\n<li>Writing Sample.\u00a0 A writing sample is required by some but not all departments.\u00a0 Check your department&#8217;s requirements at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/admissions\/phd-mfa\/apply\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Application Requirements and Deadlines<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/admissions\/phd-mfa\/international-students\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Official English proficiency test scores<\/a> (<strong>international applicants only<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/admissions\/phd-mfa\/international-students\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">International Student Documents<\/a> if you are offered admission (<strong>international applicants only<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Not required<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile<\/strong>.\u00a0 The CSS Profile is used by the Undergraduate Admissions Office to award non-federal institutional aid.\u00a0 It is not used by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GRS).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)<\/strong>.\u00a0 The FAFSA is used to apply for federal and state financial aid.\u00a0 Our PhD &amp; MFA admission offer does not include federal financial aid and therefore, the FAFSA is not needed during the admissions process.\u00a0 Students who are admitted and want to apply for federal educational loans after they matriculate must submit a FAFSA at that time (refer to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/admissions\/phd-mfa\/fellowship-aid\/loans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PhD &amp; MFA Student Loans<\/a> page).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The application, application fee, and application materials must be received in the GRS Admissions Office by the application deadline.\u00a0 Please [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13289,"featured_media":0,"parent":24478,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24494"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13289"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24494"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89233,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24494\/revisions\/89233"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}