NYU GSAS General Application Policies

The following policies apply to all applications to the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS):

 

General Admission Information

Admission is determined by the Graduate School and a faculty, departmental, or program committee that sets admissions standards and degree requirements for study in a particular area. Some departments require an interview and may require a writing sample. Please be sure to refer to your department's website to confirm all application requirements. A list of most department requirements is provided in Application Requirements and Deadlines for Departments and Programs.

Applicants may apply for admission regardless of their immigration status. Further, immigration status does not factor into decisions about admission or financial aid.  

All official notifications of admission decisions are made in writing by the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Science. Statements about admission, either expressed or implied (verbally or written) from any other source, are not official and may not be honored.

Application Fee Waivers

IMPORTANT NOTE: You must apply for the fee waiver BEFORE submitting your application for admission. We are not able to refund the application fee if you choose to pay the fee before a waiver is approved. Please apply for the fee waiver as soon as you start your application for admission. If possible, submit your request at least 10 days before the application deadline for your program.

 

GSAS will offer a waiver of the admissions application fee under certain circumstances to an applicant who meets each of the following conditions:

  • You are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or you have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status; and
  • You are applying to a master’s or doctoral program of study in the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS); and
  • You have a cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher; and
  • You have not yet submitted your online application for admission; and
  • You meet one of the following three criteria:
    1. Your family has financial hardship as reflected by your receiving a Pell Grant during your senior year of undergraduate study; or
    2. You have been offered a GRE Fee Reduction Certificate from Educational Testing Service (read about the ETS policy and apply early); or
    3. You participated in one of the following programs:
      • American Political Science Association Ralph Bunche Summer Institute Program (RBSI)
      • AmeriCorps (participation must have occurred between September 2013 and the present)
      • Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS)
      • California Alliance for Minority Participation in Science, Engineering and Mathematics (CAMP)
      • CUNY Pipeline Program
      • Gates Millennium Scholar Program (GMS)
      • HSI--Pathways to the Professoriate
      • Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers (IRT)
      • The Leadership Alliance
      • Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Program (LSAMP)
      • The McNair Scholars Program
      • Mellon-Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUF)
      • National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE)
      • NIH Blueprint Program for Enhancing Neuroscience Diversity through Undergraduate Research Education Experiences (ENDURE)
      • National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP)
      • NYU Center for Neural Science or Vilcek Summer Undergraduate Research Program (applicants to the Neural Science program in GSAS)
      • NYU Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) Summer REU Program (applicants to the Chemistry or Physics programs in GSAS)
      • NYU Pathways to the Ph.D.
      • Peace Corps
      • Philosophy applicants (either to the master's or Ph.D. program in the Department of Philosophy) who participated in Philosophy in an Inclusive Key Summer Institute (PIKSI), or a similar summer program in Philosophy aimed at diversity (e.g., at Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Brown. Please name the school's program in your request.)
      • Project 1000
      • Questbridge
      • Society for Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
      • Summer Institute for Literary and Cultural Studies (SICLS)
      • U.S. military
      • University of California Leadership Excellence through Advanced Degrees (UC LEADS)

If you meet the conditions stated above, start your online application. Then, email gsas.admissions@nyu.edu. In the subject line, please write "GSAS Fee Waiver Request for YOUR NAME." In your email, be sure to:

  1. Clearly state how you meet each of the conditions stated above.
  2. Name the department or program to which you will apply, the degree you are seeking, and the term of application (fall or spring).
  3. Provide the email address that you used when establishing your online application for admission. 

Please allow up to 10 days for your fee waiver request to be reviewed. You will receive a reply by email. Please do not submit your application until you hear back from us. We are not able to refund the application fee if you choose to pay the fee before a waiver is approved.

 

Multiple Applications

You must choose only one department and field of study and may submit only one application for consideration in a given term. If you submit more than one application for a term, all applications submitted after the first one will be held and will not be considered for admission. Thus, determine carefully the one program to which you will apply.

Applicants are permitted to submit admissions applications to two (or more) programs if they are within different schools at NYU. For example, you may apply to a program in the Graduate School of Arts and Science and to a different program at the Steinhardt School. However, you may not apply to both Computer Science and Economics at the same time because both are within the Graduate School of Arts and Science. If you choose to apply to programs that are in different schools, it will be necessary to complete and submit separate applications and pay each school a separate application fee. The following NYU graduate schools are separate from the Graduate School of Arts and Science: Tandon (Engineering), Tisch (Arts), Vilcek (Medicine), School of Law, Steinhardt (Culture, Education and Human Development), Stern (Business),  Public Health, Wagner (Public Service), Silver (Social Work) and Gallatin (Individualized Study).

Please note that if you are accepted to more than one school, you may not accept admission to both, unless you have been accepted into a dual-degree program. NYU does not allow enrollment in more than one school simultaneously.

 

Re-applying for Admission (Previous Applications)

Every year there are applicants who wish to reapply for admission to GSAS and want to know how to do so. These applicants may be:

  1. Applicants who were not offered admission.
  2. Applicants who were offered admission but did not enroll for the term in which they were admitted.
  3. Enrolled students who are applying for admission to a different program.
  4. Applicants who started but never submitted an application in a prior year.
     
  • If You Started or Submitted an Application Before the Spring 2017 Term:
    It will be necessary for you to provide a complete new application, including all new documents. Prior materials are not available for a re-application (except for test scores in certain circumstances; if you sent the scores to school code 2596 and they were taken on or after October 15, 2014, for GRE and October 15, 2017, for TOEFL or IELTS, then we still have them on record).

    If your new application is for the identical program and degree to which you applied previously, we ask that you write a short statement describing how you have enhanced your candidacy since your previous application. Please upload this statement on the “Additional Information” page of your application.


  • All Other Applicants: 
    Please email gsas.admissions@nyu.edu for instructions. Mention "Reapplication" in the subject line of your message.

 

Joint and Dual Degree Programs

Applications to joint degree programs are reviewed separately by both departments. Admission to a joint degree program is contingent upon acceptance by both departments. If one department does not accept your application for admission to the joint program, the other department, at its discretion, may consider you for admission to a program in the individual department.

Applicants to dual degree programs (programs that are offered by different schools) must apply to each school separately. Applicants must complete the application requirements of each school. Application materials are not shared between schools. Admission to a dual degree program is contingent upon acceptance by both schools.

 

Non-degree and Visiting Students

Occasionally an applicant will demonstrate a particular need to study at the Graduate School without entering a degree program. A few students are permitted to register each year as non-degree or visiting students. Potential applicants should contact the department before applying to confirm that non-degree or visiting students are considered for admission into the program.

Note: The online application for non-degree study is accepted only from U.S. citizens applying to the non-degree programs in General Biology, Computer Science, Data Science, Math, Math in Finance, Physics, or General Psychology. All other non-degree and visiting student applicants must complete the paper non-degree application. See Instructions for the Non-Degree Application for Admission for more information.

 

Applicants Previously or Currently Enrolled in GSAS Degree Programs

Applicants who were previously enrolled in a GSAS degree program at NYU and who did not complete that degree must reapply for admission.