Being a top program, we have a number of great students applying for a position in our cohort. Successful applicants usually have a 3.0 or higher GPA in a program that prepares them for our research intensive program. We look holistically at applications, so research statements and personal statements are carefully reviewed by the committee for clear connections to our areas of focus. Our program is a STEM program. To apply for any master’s program at MSU, students need to have the equivalent of a 4-year bachelor’s degree. Our applicants who have a 3-year applied sciences degrees often have another 1-year master’s degree before applying to our program. Per MSU requirements an official copy sent directly from your institution to: Director of MA Studies, Department of Media and Information, 404 Wilson Road, Room 409, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824. 2. Each applicant will submit a personal statement. This is your opportunity to tell the M.A. Committee about yourself, your background, your passion and professional interests and aspirations. In addition, this is the opportunity to communicate to the M.A. Committee any factors that may have contributed to any prior academic performance and anything you would wish for the M.A. Committee to take into consideration during the review of your application. 3. Applicants also submit an academic statement. This should reflect what the applicant hopes to do with their training and what they want to study in their master’s program. It helps to look carefully at our research focus areas and faculty expertise. 4. A resume or CV 5. An example of your skills. To get a better assessments of student potential each student must submit at least one of the following: a portfolio showing the student’s work, a research paper clearly showing the student’s work, or a GRE. See below for more details on what to submit. The master’s experience includes working closely with faculty and engaging in classes and projects that teach research both qualitative and quantitative research skills. We are committed to being an inclusive and supportive learning community. So we look for students who have a passion to learn. We encourage applicants who come from diverse backgrounds, but have a strong interest in game studies, UX design, usability, media policy & society, or information management to apply. MSU has TOEFL/ IELTS minimum scores of 80, our department has a minimum TOEFL of 85. No subscore below 19 for reading, listening, and speaking and no subscore below 22 for writing. The minimum average score for IELTS is 6.5 with no subscore below 6.0. Duolingo scores must be 105 or higher. See MSU Graduate Studies website for more information. Our International students who have a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. institution do not need a TOEFL/IELTS score. A portfolio: Because our program has both a creative and research focus, we encourage students to submit a portfolio of their work to demonstrate their skills and previous training. This portfolio could be in the form of a pdf that has images of your work; a personal website with links to your work or detailing your achievements; an app or part of the game you developed; papers from one or more research projects where you participated, or any combination. The stipulation is that the student make it very clear exactly what is their work, especially if it is part of a larger project that was produced by a team. The GRE: Traditionally, The Graduate Records Examination (GRE) has long been used to evaluate and rank applicants to graduate programs. In theory, the test is supposed to help admissions committees to efficiently and objectively sort candidates into ranked tiers. The GRE is sometimes helpful for students who have worked for several years and want to demonstrate their academic potential. The scores can potentially provide evidence of likely success in a graduate program.