The Fall 2013 Application is now closed. Application Deadline for Fall 2014 is January 15, 2014.
Applicants for the Ph.D. Program will be evaluated on the basis of:
- Graduate Records Exam (GRE) scores (Verbal and Quantitative combined scores normally exceed 1100 on the prior score scale, or 300 on the new scale; a strong writing score is valued also). Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning concordance tables are available at: http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/concordance_information.pdf.
- Undergraduate and graduate academic records (applicants should have records equivalent to at least the 3.0 or B level)
- Three letters of recommendation from persons who know the applicant in academic (or professional) contexts
- Personal statement portion of the application relating experience and research interests to the Ph.D. Program
- Score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for non-native English-speaking applicants (applicants ideally should have a score above 600 paper-based or 80 Internet-based).
Students applying for admission to the Ph.D. Program typically have completed a Master's degree in Communication, Information Science, Library Studies, or another related academic or professional field. Highly qualified students from strong programs or research backgrounds without a Master's degree may also apply in special circumstances, but should contact the program director before doing so.
The application deadline for the Fall term is January 15 of each year (with late applications to be considered at a May 1 deadline). Students requesting financial aid must apply by January 15.
We only admit students for a fall semester start (no one begins the program in the spring).
Application forms are available from the office of Graduate and Professional Admissions, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 18 Bishop Place, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8530, or at http://gradstudy.rutgers.edu/
Financial Support
Several types of financial support are available to highly qualified students. In most cases students applying by Jan. 15 are considered automatically for this as part of the admissions process. A few awards are also for students further along in their doctoral studies. All awards are highly competitive.
In the School (SC&I), we offer the following highly competitive forms of support:
- Teaching Assistantships
- Graduate Assistantships
- Assistant Instructor/PTL positions
- SC&I Fellowships
- Pam Richards Fellowship
- Grant funding
- Hourly graders/research assistants
Many of these include a stipend, general health benefits, and tuition remission. We also provide travel grants/assistance to all students presenting scholarship at scholarly conferences regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Rutgers University also provides various forms of highly competitive support:
- Presidential Fellowships
- Diversity Fellowships
- Bevier Fellowships
- Teaching/Graduate Assistantships in other departments
- Grant funding outside SC&I
- Learning Community Coordinators, Dorm RAs, and other Full-time staff jobs
The Graduate School – New Brunswick also provides some travel grants/assistance. Notably they also run the Chaser Resource Center for Graduate Student External Support. Chaser helps graduate students at Rutgers receive over $2 million annually from a variety of funders outside Rutgers. For more information, see http://chaser.rutgers.edu/.
Our students also find various other forms of support (e.g., Spectrum Fellowships; Fulbrights; international government and corporate sponsorships; and part-time, adjunct, and full-time teaching positions at nearby schools). In many of these cases, we are able to provide tuition remission or some matching support. Students eligible for need-based financial aid should contact the Graduate Admissions office for additional information.
