Requirements vary by program. The programs in Criminal Justice, Literacy Education, Public Administration and Teaching accept applications on a rolling basis for start terms of fall, spring, or summer. The programs in Architecture and Forensic Psychology admit students for the fall term only. Please refer to the back of the application form or to the relevant program brochure for specific program requirements.

General Requirements for Graduate Study

1. Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution
2. Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate records
3. International Students and Non-Native English Speaking Students: TOEFL or IELTS scores 
4. Personal statement discussing relevant past experiences and career goals. Please limit to two double-spaced pages.
5. Two or three letters of recommendation, depending on the program.
6. Entrance examination, depending on the program.
7. A completed application form signed and accompanied by the $50 application fee.
8. International Students must provide documentation of financial support for one year of study (including tuition, fees, and living expenses). The financial information is not needed to make an admission but must be submitted by the admitted student with the I-20 application. Official bank statements or a completed and certified RWU International Student Financial Statement are acceptable forms of documentation.

Educational Documents - Official and English Translations

International students are eligible to apply to the graduate program of RWU if they have successfully completed the equivalent of a United States bachelor degree program and have the appropriate diplomas and/or satisfactory results on transcripts or leaving examinations.

Applicants must submit all official college/university scholastic records in both the language of instruction AND an English translation. In addition, international applicants must provide a transcript evaluation from an independent credentialling agency such as Education Evaluators International or WES.

Official Documents
All documents submitted for review must either originals with a school seal and/or signature OR copies certified by authorized persons. (A "certified" copy is one that bears either an original signature of the registrar or other designated school official or an original impression of the institution's seal.) Uncertified copies are not acceptable. These documents should be sent directly to RWU from the institution of attendance in a sealed envelope. Submission of falsified documents is grounds for denial of admission or dismissal from the University.

School profiles, in English, including information on the school's grading/marking system will facilitate accurate evaluation.

English Translations
English translations do not need to be official but they should be literal (word-for-word, not interpretive) translations. They should include:

• Dates of attendance
• Name of each course
• Number of hours and weeks each course was in session
• Grade or mark earned in each course.

Final Transcripts
Since offers of admission are made with the expectation that all courses in progress will be successfully completed, we will require that you forward all final transcripts prior to matriculation.

English Proficiency Requriement - TOEFL or IELTS Score

Roger Williams University offers two types of admission for international and non-native English speaking graduate students.

RWU Graduate Degree Program - Direct Entry
Non-native English speaking students may enter the Roger Williams University graduate degree program directly, with no additional ESL courses, by submitting evidence of one of the following:

• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) greater than or equal to 550 Paper/213 Computer
• Completion of level 112 at an ELS Language Center

ELS Language Center at RWU - Conditional Admission
The ELS Language Center offers an Intensive English Program to English as a Second Language (ESL) students whose test scores do not qualify them for admission to Roger Williams University ELS Language Center students attend classes on campus and may live in the residence halls. For more information, contact the Center at: bri@els.edu or 401-254-5300.

Non-native English speaking students who do not submit evidence of English proficiency or have one of the following may be offered conditional admission to RWU. These students will be directed to the ELS Language Center before beginning their graduate degree program:

• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) less than 550 Paper/213 Computer
• Less than completion of Level 112 at an ELS Language Center