Graduate Student Resources

Application Information

Graduate Application Information

Application Deadline: February 15th

For domestic students seeking Fall admission, applications will be reviewed until June 1st and for international students until May 1st.

The MA programs in Humanities, American Studies, and Film Studies accept applications only for Fall admission. We do not admit new students to begin their studies in the spring or summer.

Minimum Admissions Requirements

  1. GRE Scores:
    • Greater than or equal to 153 on the Verbal section of the GRE (> 500 in the old scoring system)
    • Greater than or equal to 4.5 on the Analytical Writing section of the GRE

  2. GPA of greater than or equal to 3.0 in upper division undergraduate courses

  3. An Academic Writing Sample that demonstrates the applicant’s ability to critically engage cultural texts

  4. Personal Statement that discusses the applicant’s goals and demonstrates how the applicant believes their research interests can be supported by their chosen program. The personal statement should be 2-3 pages in length and address the following points:
    • the applicant's intellectual and academic background
    • why the applicant wants to go to graduate school
    • the applicant's interest in the particular program to which he or she is applying
    • the areas of interest that the applicant wishes to study while in graduate school
    • which faculty members with whom the applicant may wish to work
    • what the applicant's career plans are


Application Submission

All applicants to all tracks must submit the following to the USF Office of Graduate Studies via the online admissions form.

  1. Application form and fee. PLEASE NOTE: Applicants to the M.A. in Liberal Arts program must designate the track of the M.A. in Liberal Arts to which they are applying: AMS (American Studies), HTS (Humanities), or FLM (Film Studies). Two other tracks are available AFA (Africana Studies) and SPT (Social and Political Thought) but they are not administered by our department.

  2. Official transcripts

  3. GRE Scores

  4. Academic Writing Sample

  5. A Personal Statement that demonstrates how your research interests fit into and will be supported by our program.

Applications need to be sent to the Office of Graduate Studies. For more information about the application process, please contact our Graduate Director.