Official transcript(s) verifying receipt of an undergraduate degree and previous graduate credit (in English or with translation). Transcripts must be complete (e.g., if currently enrolled, work-in-progress coursework must be included, foreign transcripts must include a grading scale, and for countries that issue, copy of degree certificate/diploma i.e., India, Nepal, etc.). The USD Graduate School and/or academic units retain the right to require credential evaluations from organizations, such as Educational Credential Evaluators/World Education Services (ECE/WES), for a student if such an evaluation is deemed necessary.
An undergraduate degree in Art or other related discipline from an institutionally accredited institution with an undergraduate cumulative GPA of 2.7 on conferred degree and/or graduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, based on a 4.0 scale, on all graduate coursework is required for full admission. Each graduate program may admit students on provisional status per university policy.
Applicants with degrees from countries other than the United States who have obtained an undergraduate or graduate degree from an institutionallyaccredited American college or university or from an accredited institution in the following English-speaking countries: United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Canada (Excluding Quebec), Australia, and New Zealandare not required to submit an approved English proficiency exam score.For all other applicants, a minimum score of 71 on the Internet-Based TOEFL (iBT), 550 on the Paper-Based TOEFL (PBT), 8 on the TOEFL Essentials, 6.0 on the IELTS Academic, 53 on the PTE, or 105 on Duolingo is required for graduate admission.
Applicants are required to submit a statement of purpose in which the applicant expresses interests, intentions, and expectations for wanting to attend graduate school generally, and more specifically, in the MFA program at the University of South Dakota.