Admissions

The Master of Arts in Humanities program is open to all qualified holders of a B.A. or B.S. degree and is designed for full-time or part-time students, students who have recently completed their bachelor's degree, as well as nontraditional or adult students. Although admission is selective, the Humanities program recognizes that each individual has unique qualifications that should be taken into consideration.

In addition to meeting general University requirements for admission, applicants must:

• Possess an undergraduate GPA of 3.25 or better
• Have taken a minimum of 24 credit hours in liberal arts disciplines

To be considered, applicants must:

• Submit official transcripts from all institutions of higher education from which they earned their undergraduate degree
• Submit a writing sample reflecting their ability to do research and write effectively
• Submit two recommendation letters
• Submit a statement of purpose that proposes an interdisciplinary program of study, discusses personal, intellectual and professional goals and explain the relationship of those goals to the intended program of study

We accept students for all semesters (Fall, Spring, or Summer). There is no deadline to apply (though the student may not be admitted for a semester that is already under way).

Students who have earned graduate credits prior to applying to the Humanities MA program may request up to 12 credits be considered toward the degree.

All application inquiries should be made to the ODU Office of Graduate Admissions.

To be admitted to the Linked B.A./B.S.-M.A. Program, students must have declared a major housed in the College of Arts and Letters and complete a minimum of 60 undergraduate credit hours, including at least six hours of 300/400 level courses in the major. At the time of admission to the linked program, students must have an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.25 or better or with permission granted by the Humanities Graduate Program Director to be in the program.

Admission Procedure

Interested students who meet the admission requirements should apply to the Humanities Graduate Program Director as soon as possible after completing the required 60 undergraduate credit hours. In consultation with the undergraduate advisor for their department and the Humanities Graduate Program Director, students will:

1. Draft a schedule of graduate courses to be taken as an undergraduate, which will be placed in the student's undergraduate and graduate advising files.
    
2. Submit an Old Dominion University graduate application, a 500-word personal statement, a sample critical/analytical essay or research paper, and two letters of recommendation.

Application materials should be submitted directly to the Humanities Program Director.

Students will be officially admitted into the Master of Arts in Humanities program once they have been awarded their bachelor's degree and have fulfilled all regular admission requirements for the MA in Humanities program. (Please refer to the appropriate section of the undergraduate catalog for information on the requirements for the fulfillment of the student's undergraduate degree.)