Ph.D. Application and Deadlines

Ph.D. Application and Deadlines

Application deadline

Application deadlines for the fall term are December 1 of each year.

The Ph.D. program only admits students for a fall semester start — no students are permitted to begin the program in spring.

Application forms for the Ph.D. program are available from the Rutgers Graduate Admissions website: https://newbrunswickgrad.rutgers.edu.

IMPORTANT: Official application materials (transcripts and TOEFL scores) should be sent to the Graduate and Professional Admissions office:

  • Use institution code 2790 to send official test scores
  • Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Proctor Hall, Suite 308, 65 Davidson Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 U.S.A.
  • 848-932-7711 (phone), 732-932-8231 (fax)

Please do not send any application materials or documents to the School of Communication and Information.

Evaluation of the Application

We consider students holistically when making admissions decisions, taking into account the entire package of materials to determine a candidate's fit in the program and likelihood of success. An application for the Ph.D. program will be evaluated based on:

  1. A personal statement from the student relating experience and research interests to the Ph.D. program (3-4 pages is typical).
  2. A writing sample. Examples of acceptable writing samples include a chapter or portion of your master's thesis, a term paper from a previous class, an academic conference paper or journal publication, a professional work product, etc.
  3. A curriculum vitae (CV) listing academic degrees, positions, and accomplishments, or a professional resume.
  4. Three letters of recommendation from persons with a relationship to the student in academic (or professional) contexts.
  5. Undergraduate and graduate academic transcripts (records equivalent to at least the 3.0 or B level). Applicants whose studies were undertaken outside the United States must submit an official course-by-course transcript evaluation. The PhD program in Communication, Information and Media will accept transcript evaluations from any member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), such as WES (World Education Services). A full list of eligible evaluators may be found at the NACES website. Students must submit the NACES Official Evaluation to Rutgers along with the required transcripts. Applicants from Chinese institutions should also request and submit official transcripts through CHESICC. Please see gradstudy.rutgers.edu for details about how to submit your transcripts.
  6. Non-native English-speaking applicants must submit the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Duolingo English Test (DET). Results must be from within the last three years. You are exempt from submitting TOEFL, IELTS or DET scores if you have already completed (at the time of application submission) three or more consecutive academic years in an undergraduate or graduate curriculum where the only language of instruction was English. Here are the minimum score requirements for admission to the School of Communication and Information:
    • Paper-based TOEFL score: 550
    • Computer-based TOEFL score: 213
    • IBT-internet-based TOEFL: Writing 24, Speaking 24, Reading 22, Listening 19
    • IELTS score: bandwidth 8.0
    • Duolingo score: 130

Graduate Records Exam (GRE) scores are OPTIONAL for applicants. All applications will be reviewed equally with or without GRE scores. Not submitting GRE scores will not hurt an applicant's chances of admission, nor will submitting GRE scores give applicants an advantage in admissions.

Students applying for admission to the Ph.D. program typically have completed a master's degree in communication, information science, library studies, media 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.

We also encourage applicants to reach out to faculty in the Ph.D. program to express interest in working with them, learn more about their program of research, and gain insights into the program.