Application Procedure. All students seeking to register for the first time in the Graduate College of the University of Iowa must secure formal admission from the director of Admissions. Applicants may obtain the proper forms from: Director of Admissions, 107 Calvin Hall, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242. Prospective students may also download the application or apply online from the admissions web site.

In addition to these forms, official transcripts, test scores and other supporting material must be submitted by the designated deadline prior to the session in which admission is expected. Specific deadline dates will be established by the dean of the Graduate College and the director of Admissions and printed in the Catalog and elsewhere.

English for International Students. Prior to consideration for admission, international student applicants whose native language is other than English must take and pass either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic, or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), unless they have received a degree from an accredited college or university in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada (except Quebec), Australia, or New Zealand. These examinations are given at various times of the year and in many centers throughout the world.  Beginning in spring 2020, the Graduate College approved limited acceptance of the Duolingo English Test (DET) during the global coronavirus pandemic.  Resulting from the duration of the pandemic, the Graduate College has extended limited approval for accepting the DET through fall 2022 and fall 2023 admissions cycles. Beginning with the fall 2025 admission cycle (i.e., students admitted for fall 2025), the DET will continue as acceptable for a three-year period (or through fall 2027 admission cycle, i.e., students admitted for fall 2027). However, the minimum score required has been raised from 105 to 120 beginning in fall 2024. The DET will be reconsidered for limited acceptance until it receives permanent approval or is rejected as an option by Graduate Council.

International students transferring from unfinished degree programs of other universities in the United States who have not taken either of these examinations, or who have received a score lower than the minimum established by the Graduate College dean, must take the TOEFL, or PTE Academic, IELTS or DET examination and receive a passing score prior to consideration for admission.

Students who barely pass the established minimum on the TOEFL, or PTE Academic, as well as all IELTS and DET submitters, will be required to sit for an English evaluation (the English Placement Evaluation) upon arrival in Iowa City. The Graduate College will require these students to take and pass recommended course work for English development and support at The University of Iowa designed especially for international students.

1. Regular. For students who have met the minimum requirements for admission and who have been accepted by a department, or interdepartmental degree program, for work leading to a graduate degree or certificate, or for professional improvement. The minimum grade point average for admission as a regular student to all graduate programs is 3.00.

   Departments or programs may petition the Graduate College dean for admission of a student whose grade point average is less than 3.00, if there is sufficient evidence of the student's academic and/or professional achievement indicating their potential for success in a graduate program.

   Departments, or committees in charge of interdepartmental degree programs, may, and often do, set higher minimum admission requirements than those set forth above for the Graduate College as a whole. Information concerning departmental or program requirements may be obtained directly from the executive of the department concerned.

2. Conditional. Students who are interested in working toward a graduate degree or certificate but who are required by a department to demonstrate their ability to do satisfactory graduate work before being admitted to regular status. To be admitted on conditional status the student must be recommended by a department, which will assume responsibility for advising the student. The student on conditional status must achieve regular status within two sessions of registration in the Graduate College by achieving a UI Cumulative GPA of at least 3.00, and acceptance by the major department, or be dismissed.
3. Non-degree (Special). Students with a valid bachelor's degree and at least a 2.5 grade-point average are eligible to register for no more than two courses per semester. In addition, a non-degree student may not accumulate more than two courses within a given department/program under this classification. These students must be approved for admission by the Graduate College and Office of Admissions. Non-degree graduate students are not eligible for a graduate degree.