Applicants must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. Applicants must also have a grade point average of 3.000 or better. No more than 6 credit hours of graduate credit from another institution will be considered for transfer into the liberal studies program.

Interested students must submit an application to the Wichita State University Graduate School. Applications must include two letters of recommendation, at least one of which addresses the student's academic abilities. Students must also contact the MALS office for an initial interview with the graduate coordinator. In addition, students must complete a brief essay describing their motivation for selecting the liberal studies program, outlining their proposed areas of study and showing how the program will contribute to their educational and career goals. Deadlines for application are April 1 for the fall semester and October 1 for the following spring semester. Soon after the deadline, the MALS supervisory committee will meet. This committee, made up of graduate faculty representing the various disciplines, reviews and votes on each complete application.

To be acceptable, the score must be sent to WSU directly from the testing agency, and must be less than two years old. The minimum acceptable scores for most programs are: TOEFL - 79 on the Internet-based test, or 550 on the paper-based test. IELTS - minimum overall band score of 6.5 is required.