Admissions

Admission to the Global Studies MA program is highly selective. An undergraduate degree from an appropriate college or university, or its international equivalent, is required. Students should have maintained at least a B grade average (cumulative 3.0 GPA) during their undergraduate career. Prior experience, academic or work-related, dealing with global issues will be an asset.

Global Studies has waived the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) requirement for all applicants. 

As part of the admissions process, students must submit the following:

• $95 application fee (fee waiver information here)
• Transcript(s) of undergraduate work
• TOEFL or IELTS scores (for international applicants only)
• Three letters of recommendation
• Statement of purpose
• A writing sample
• Proficiency in a foreign language demonstrated through completion of three years of language courses at the university level (on university transcript) or through certification from the appropriate foreign language department at UNC-Chapel Hill. (*exceptions made on a case-by-case basis- see Foreign Language Requirement statement at the bottom of this page)

The Fall 2023 Global Studies MA online application is open and available here.

Applicants who wish to be considered for teaching assistantship and fellowship opportunities should apply by December 13th, 2022.  All other applications should be submitted by the final deadline of February 14th, 2023.

All required and supplemental application materials should be uploaded via the online application and not sent to our program.  Applications are only evaluated after all materials have been received and the application fee ($95.00) has been paid.

If you have any questions about the MA admissions process, please contact Dr. Erica Johnson, Director of Graduate Studies.

Foreign Language Requirement

We strongly believe that foreign language ability is an integral part of a global education.  Students may demonstrate proficiency through completion of three years of language courses at the university level or through certification from the appropriate foreign language department at UNC-Chapel Hill. As appropriate to their chosen concentrations, students are encouraged to continue language study while pursuing the Global Studies MA.

We do, however, also expect to encounter very strong candidates for admission who might not have a specific need for a foreign language. For example, native-English speaking students interested in studying labor and migration issues in the United States, Great Britain, or any number of English language speaking places would not necessarily need a foreign language to conduct astute policy- and theoretically-relevant research. For this reason, we will allow the Global MA admissions committee to make exceptions to the language admissions requirement on a case-by-case basis.