An applicant seeking admission to a doctoral degree program must hold a bachelor's or master's degree. For doctoral programs that will admit students with only a bachelor's degree, a minimum 2.5 undergraduate GPA (on a 4.0 scale) is required however most doctoral degree programs have higher requirements. International students are subject to additional specific requirements and should refer to the appropriate sections in this document or in the graduate catalog. The following must be submitted before an applicant will be considered for admission:

Nonrefundable application fee.
A completed application form.
One official transcript from each undergraduate or graduate institution attended, except previous coursework taken at ETSU. Applications will not be considered without all transcripts. For applicants seeking a Tennessee Instructional Leader license, the GPA for the applicant will be considered in context of the overall cohort GPA average, which must meet or exceed the accrediting body's (Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation) minimum of 3.0. ​
A personal essay.
Four (4) letters of recommendation.
All applicants must submit a current resume with their application.
Graduate students whose native language is not English must submit one of the following: Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): Score of 79 (Internet-Based), Score of 550 (Paper-based). International English Language Testing System (IELTS): Score of 6.5.

GPA - International applicants: 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale)