Admission Requirements

Application Process

Applicants must submit:

• A completed application form with the nonrefundable application fee.
  
• An official transcript issued to Saint Mary’s University from each undergraduate college or university attended, including an official transcript from the institution posting the applicant’s completed bachelor’s degree.
  ***  If you are submitting foreign transcripts, please follow instructions given on the Admissions webpage
  
• An application narrative - See "Application Narrative" below for details.

• Two completed application reference forms that verify professional and/or volunteer experience, academic ability, professional experience, aptitude for proposed career path.
  
• An interview form filled out with the appropriate education site coordinator.

Application materials should be sent to the attention of the Office of Admission on the Twin Cities Campus.

Application Narrative
 

The application narrative is designed to provide an opportunity for you to assess your current professional status and to assist you in formulating personal and professional goals for your master’s program in education. The specific contents to be included in the narrative are:

1. Past experience:  Autobiographical information with particular emphasis on formal and informal learning experiences which have had the most impact on your life.
2. The present:  Where do you see yourself in terms of your present teaching (or related) position? What are your strengths? What are your potential areas for growth? What helped you to choose the Saint Mary’s education program?
3. The future:  Identify both your short and long-term goals. Based on items 1 and 2 and your goals, describe a course of study that would enhance your strengths, develop your desired areas for growth, and raise challenging concepts/questions to enrich your knowledge base.
4. Individual needs:  What kinds of support do you think you will need to successfully complete the course of study and goals that you identified in item 3? What questions do you have about undertaking your commitment to complete the Master of Arts in Education program?

Note: Your application narrative possibly will be shared with your instructors and advisor unless you request otherwise in writing. It is not uncommon for instructors and advisors to read the narratives in order to get a feel for the makeup of a cohort or class. However, if you request, in writing, that your narrative remain confidential, your narrative may be read only by admission staff, program directors and site coordinators.

Students may apply for admission at any time during the year and, if accepted, begin the program during any one of the three semesters. Applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution and must have maintained an overall GPA of 2.75 on a 4.00 scale. If the grade point average upon admission is below 2.75, or if a grade point average is not available, a student may be admitted with provisional status.