Graduate Admissions

Office of Graduate Programs
251 Frances Willson Thompson Library
(810) 762-3171
Fax: (810) 766-6789
Email: FlintGradOffice@umich.edu
www.umflint.edu/graduateprograms

Director of Graduate Programs: Christopher A. Lewis, Ed.D.
Assistant Director: Debbie Samida
Business Administrator: Mary Deibis
Recruitment and Communications Specialist: Erin Strom
Administrative Assistant Senior: Jaquetta Redwine
Student Administrative Assistant Associate: Theresa Kennedy

The Office of Graduate Programs manages graduate education and oversees graduate admissions at the University of Michigan-Flint. The office collaborates with the colleges and schools to coordinate recruitment and retention efforts. 

Programs

The University of Michigan-Flint offers over 50 graduate degree and certificate programs. A complete list of all available graduate programs is available under Program Listings.

Students who have been admitted into other University of Michigan graduate programs and are in good standing may register for graduate courses at the University of Michigan-Flint but are advised to seek assistance regarding procedures from their respective campuses. Information on graduate degree programs offered by the University of Michigan-Flint is available in the Office of Graduate Programs.

Admission

Students who have earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States, or its equivalent in another country, that meets the minimum degree requirement for a given program of study are considered for admission without regard to sex, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, age, marital status, handicap, or Vietnam-era veteran status. See the appropriate section below for admission requirements specific to the various degree programs.

An applicant who holds a degree from outside the United States that is not the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree may be granted conditional admission to a degree program upon the recommendation of the academic program and the concurring opinion of the Director of Graduate Programs. Such an admission decision will be based on a careful evaluation of the applicant’s qualifications, acceptable evidence of the institution’s competence in the student’s principal areas of preparation, and other relevant factors. If granted conditional admission, the student must complete a number of hours of graduate or upper-level undergraduate qualifying coursework. Note: Current Rackham School of Graduate Studies policy does not allow admission of students with three-year bachelor’s degrees. Therefore, this policy does not apply to Rackham programs at UM-Flint.

Students admitted with conditions of any kind must fulfill such conditions to register for classes beyond the first term of admission. Extensions to this deadline may be granted in extenuating circumstances by the Office of Graduate Programs or the program’s administration. All conditions must be fulfilled before a student can graduate with the degree.

Application Deadlines

Each graduate program at UM-Flint has deadlines for applying for admission. Deadlines vary by program as well as by semester. Some programs admit students in all entry terms (Fall, Winter, and Summer), while others limit admission to specific terms. Please check the Graduate Programs website for application deadlines and admission terms.

International students may be required to apply before the program’s deadline, which is earlier. The final deadlines for international students are May 1 for the fall semester and October 1 for the winter semester. International students should apply by the earlier deadline (program deadline or the international deadline).

How to Apply

Each graduate program at the University of Michigan-Flint has its own policies and procedures for admission. To apply, you must submit an application, pay the application fee, and submit all supporting materials (transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc.) required by the program you wish to apply by the application deadline. Please go to the appropriate graduate program website to access admission and application information for your intended program of study.

Application related forms are available from the Office of Graduate Programs online.

Prospective students may telephone (810) 762-3171 or email FlintGradOffice@umich.edu with questions about their application.

Application Fees

Submission of an application requires payment of a $55.00 application fee. The application fee can be paid by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or Discover) or by a check or money order drawn on a U.S. bank. We do not accept checks drawn on a bank outside the United States. The application fee is non-refundable and cannot be credited toward tuition or any other fees. In the rare event where a program has gone into moratorium, the fee can be transferred to another graduate program. All fees are subject to change without prior notice.

English Proficiency

If English is not your native language, even if you are currently a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and regardless of how long you have resided or been educated in the U.S.*, you must demonstrate English proficiency by providing evidence through one of the following methods:

• Take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test, the Michigan English Test (MET) (replaces MELAB), Duolingo English Test, or Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English (ECPE). Scores must be no more than two (2) years old. The minimum acceptable scores are as follows: 

  • TOEFL Internet-based test: 84 (institution code 1853)

  • TOEFL Essentials: overall score of 8.5

  • IELTS: 6.5 (Academic Writing not General Training)

  • Duolingo: 110

  • Cambridge English B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency: 176 (scores should be from within the past five years)

  • PEARSON PTE ACADEMIC: overall score of 56

  • MET: overall score of 52 (B2 level)

  • ECPE: Certificate of proficiency
• Provide an official transcript showing one of the following: a degree earned at an accredited U.S. college or university OR a degree earned at a foreign institution where the language of instruction was exclusively English** OR successful completion (‘C’ or higher) of ENG 111 or ENG 112 or its equivalent.

Some programs may have English proficiency requirements that exceed the minimum requirements. It is recommended that international applicants check the program’s admission requirements to be sure.

*If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and wish to waive this requirement, you may make your case to the director of your program of application. The director, in turn, must make the case to the Director of Graduate Programs. You must provide sufficient evidence that you have the requisite English proficiency. Please note that some programs or departments may prohibit exceptions to the requirements.

**The university reserves the right to require an applicant to provide other evidence of English proficiency if independent sources cannot verify that the language of instruction was exclusively English.

Physician Assistant (MS) applicants: see Physician Assistant (MS) Requirements for details on English Proficiency requirements.

International Student Transcript Evaluation

Non-U.S. transcripts require an evaluation to confirm institution accreditation, U.S. education equivalency, and to convert grades/cumulative GPA to the 4.0 scale. Read the following for instructions on how to submit your transcripts for review.

Financial Certification Requirements for International Students

All international students seeking an F-1 visa must submit an Affidavit of Financial Support form. This document can be accessed through iService, and is required to secure an I-20 required for F-1 status. This affidavit must be accompanied by one of the following: a) an original, currently dated bank statement; or b) an original, currently dated letter with a bank official’s signature; or c) a detailed letter of sponsorship from a government, employer, or other organization sponsoring the student indicating the exact dollar amount for expenses in U.S. funds.

The bank statement must show the required available funds as specified in the affidavit. The Affidavit of Financial Support is valid for one year. If the applicant is in the U.S., the bank statement must be dated no more than six months before the month of the term of admission; if the applicant is outside the U.S., the bank statement must be dated no more than one year prior to the month of the term of admission.

Transfer of Credit

To recognize graduate credits earned in other accredited institutions of higher education and other schools and colleges of the University of Michigan, the University of Michigan-Flint has policies that provide for the transfer of graduate credit to its master’s degree programs. 
Credit may be transferred per these policies only if it is to be used to meet master’s degree requirements. (This policy does not govern the credit transfer into doctoral or certificate programs at UM-Flint; doctoral and certificate programs set their own policies.)

Course credits must be transferred in total or not at all. The transferred credit appears on the UM-Flint graduate record, but the associated grades received for this credit do not appear and are not computed in the student’s cumulative GPA (with the exception of credits
earned through the Michigan Intercollegiate Graduate Studies program). Credit from all quarter-system schools will be transferred according to the standard ratio of two semester hours for three-quarter hours or two-thirds of a semester hour for each quarter-hour.

For Rackham programs, please see the Rackham School of Graduate Studies Programs section of this Catalog for the policy. For all other UM-Flint master’s degree programs, the policy is as follows:

UM-Flint differentiates between two types of course credit that may be transferred to its non-Rackham programs:

1. Graduate credits completed in residence at another accredited institution (other than the University of Michigan); or 
2. Non-UM-Flint graduate credits completed in another University of Michigan school or college, e.g., Rackham School of Graduate Studies (any campus), University of Michigan-Dearborn, Ross School of Business, etc.

Outside Institution Transfer of Credit Policy: Up to nine (9) semester hours required for a master’s degree program may be transferred from any combination of the above institutions to a student’s UM-Flint graduate record. Graduate programs may elect to allow
fewer than nine semester hours or prohibit transfer credits.* Such credit may be transferred only for approved graduate-level courses and if all of the conditions below are met. (Please note there are variations on the number of credits a program may allow for transfer;
check each program’s section in this Catalog for a specific limit on transfer credit.)

University of Michigan System Transfer of Credit Policy: Up to one-half (1/2) the minimum number of credit hours required for a master’s degree program may be transferred to a student’s UM-Flint graduate record from both category one and two sources combined.
Such credit may be transferred only for approved graduate-level courses and if all of the conditions below are met.

Conditions That Must Be Met To Transfer Credit:

• Student must be in a master’s degree program.
• Students must submit official final undergraduate transcripts/credentials.
• Submission to the Office of Graduate Programs of the completed transfer of credit form signed by the student and the department or program graduate chair signifying approval along with a current official final transcript from the institution to which you wish to transfer the
  credit.

Courses Cannot Be Transferred for Credit If:

• Already applied in whole or in part, in any way, toward any undergraduate degree, graduate degree, or certificate.
• Credit(s) will be applied in whole or in part, in any way, towards any other current or future U-M degree or certificate.
• Taken more than five years before first enrollment in the present UM-Flint graduate program.
• A grade below “B” was earned.
• Graduate-level work was not done.

Courses taken while enrolled as an undergraduate may be reviewed for transfer to the student’s graduate record if:

• The courses have been approved for graduate credit by the institution’s graduate school.
• The Registrar or Senior Auditor of the granting institution certifies that the courses were not used in whole or in part, in any way, to meet the requirements for the bachelor’s degree.

Courses taken while enrolled as an undergraduate are not acceptable for graduate credit if:

• The courses were taken at an exclusively undergraduate institution.
• The courses were taken for undergraduate credit.

*UM-Flint-approved articulation agreements with other institutions may increase the number of credits allowed for transfer.

The purpose of graduate Lifelong Learning status is to permit and facilitate access to UM-Flint graduate courses to students not formally admitted to a UM-Flint graduate degree program.

General Policies

• Students must have a bachelor’s or master’s degree from an accredited institution and wish to take graduate courses without being formally admitted to a UM-Flint degree program.  Proof of degree is required.*
• Instructor and/or program director approval is required for each course the student wishes to elect.
• Prerequisites, grading standards, class assignments, and attendance requirements of a course apply to all students in that course.
• Colleges, departments, schools, and programs determine rules of access to their courses and may limit enrollment of graduate Lifelong Learning students in certain courses.
• Graduate Lifelong Learning students are not eligible for most sources of financial aid.
• Graduate Lifelong Learning students who wish to be admitted to a UM-Flint graduate degree program in the future must apply for that program using the Graduate Application for Admission per established application deadlines. Courses taken as a graduate Lifelong
  Learning student do not guarantee admission to a program.
• In general, up to six (6) graduate credit hours elected as a graduate Lifelong Learning student may apply toward a UM-Flint graduate degree. Some programs may accept up to nine (9) credits in certain circumstances. The student must receive admission to a degree program,
  and the program director must determine that the courses are acceptable.
• Graduate Lifelong Learning admission is for one term only. Students wishing to enroll in a future term as a Lifelong Learning student must submit another Application for Graduate Lifelong Learning or Guest Admission and receive course approvals.

*Students who are in their final semester of their undergraduate studies at UM-Flint who wish to elect a graduate course for the following semester as a graduate Lifelong Learning student must submit a memo from their academic advisor stating when all degree requirements for
their baccalaureate degree will be completed as well as a signed Statement of Understanding.

How to Apply

Complete the Application for Graduate Lifelong Learning or Guest Admission (available online) and submit it together with the following supporting documents to the University of Michigan-Flint, Office of Graduate Programs, 303 E. Kearsley St., Flint, MI  48502-1950:

• A transcript or diploma with a bachelor’s or master’s degree posted.
• Applicants whose native language is not English (this includes U.S. citizens and permanent residents whose native language is not English) must demonstrate English proficiency.
• Applicants who are in their final semester of their undergraduate studies who wish to elect a graduate course for the following semester as a graduate Lifelong Learning student must submit a memo from their academic advisor stating when all degree requirements for their
  baccalaureate degree will be completed as well as a signed Statement of Understanding.

While most departments do not have a deadline to apply to take a graduate course under Lifelong Learning status, it is highly recommended that you apply with sufficient time to get instructor permission, submit any required supporting documents, register for the course(s), and
take care of any university business (ID card, parking pass, tuition payments, etc.) associated with your course(s). Check with the department or program that offers the course regarding deadlines.

More information on Lifelong Learning Admission can be found here.

Guest Graduate Admission

Graduate students at other colleges and universities can take UM-Flint graduate courses without being formally admitted to a graduate degree program. There are several ways a graduate student at another institution can take graduate courses as a guest student at UM-Flint. 
Please read the section that best applies to you.

Michigan Intercollegiate Graduate Study (MIGS)

The University of Michigan participates in the Michigan Intercollegiate Graduate Study (MIGS) program. The MIGS Program creates exchange possibilities for graduate students currently enrolled in Michigan universities. Students can take advantage of course and research opportunities
offered at another Michigan university provided such opportunities are not available on the home campus. Students in master’s or specialist degree programs may enroll for six hours at a host institution, while doctoral students may enroll for up to nine credit hours at a host institution. 
The application is available online.

Rackham Students from UM-Ann Arbor or UM-Dearborn

Rackham students from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan-Dearborn may elect a course(s) on the Flint campus using the Rackham Graduate Guest application for UM-Flint. Students must obtain permission from their program chair on their home campus
and approval from the program director of the course they wish to take on the Flint campus.  Upon completion of coursework at the Flint campus, the student will request an academic transcript from the Flint campus to be sent to the appropriate office at Ann Arbor or Dearborn for the
credit to be evaluated. Students must obtain, complete, and submit a UM-Flint Rackham Graduate Guest Application each semester they wish to enroll at the Flint campus.

General Guest Student Status

Students who have a bachelor’s or master’s degree from an accredited institution, are currently graduate students attending another institution and wish to take graduate courses not necessarily leading to a UM-Flint degree, and who cannot participate in the MIGS or Rackham guest
programs (described above) are considered general graduate guest students.

General Policies

• A transcript, diploma, or other proof of a bachelor’s or master’s degree earned at an accredited institution is required for admission.
• Guest students must obtain instructor and/or program director approval for each course they wish to elect.
• Guest students must also obtain approval from their advisor in the program in which they are currently enrolled or admitted.
• Prerequisites, grading standards, class assignments, and attendance requirements of a course apply to all students in that course, including guest students.
• Colleges, departments, schools, and programs determine rules of access to their courses and may limit enrollment of guest students in certain courses.
• Graduate guest students are not eligible for most sources of financial aid from UM-Flint. 
• Guest admission is for one term only. Students who wish to enroll in a future term as a guest student must submit another application.

How to Apply

The application process depends on the type of guest admission you seek. Please visit the website for detailed information.