Application Instructions

Thank You For Your Interest In Applying To The
Department Of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences.

Important Note: Be sure to answer ALL questions on the application form BEFORE submitting. Once you have submitted your application, you cannot go back to edit your application. If you are unsure of your answers, you can “save” your application and then go back and edit.

In order to be reviewed for admission, the application fee MUST be paid. If you expect someone else to pay your application fee, they must do so before the application deadline.

Geography major codes:
Ph.D.:   4347
MS:      7669

Before beginning your application
please read the IMPORTANT submission instructions below.

Start a Graduate Application

Personal Statement or Academic Statement:
It is not required that you submit your Personal Statement or Academic Statement with your application (either online or to the department). 

The Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences requires a "Statement of Purpose." This statement needs to include a discussion as to why you want to pursue a degree in geography or GIS, your background to do so, and your career goals. It is a CRITICAL part of the application as it provides an indication of your academic focus and writing ability.

When uploading your "Statement of Purpose" into the applicant portal, please select "Statement of Purpose" from the menu.

Be prepared to answer the following questions in the online application:

• Areas of interest (You may indicate up to 3 choices)
  • Nature-Society
  • Physical
  • Spatial Methods
  • Urban-Economic
• Identify Geography faculty with your similar interests
  Find the GEO faculty on our website under the Directory
• List of all the Geography Courses you have taken
  List course title and the grade received
• List other geography-related technique courses taken as an undergrad
  List course title and the grade received. For example, geology, biology, economics, sociology, statistics, mathematics, computer programming, and languages.
• List relevant academic or non-academic professional experiences
  Include all publications and presented papers. Also, include fieldwork, work experience, internships, or other activities.
• Statement of Purpose
  This statement will need to include a discussion of why you want to pursue a degree in geography or GIS, your background to do so, and your career goals. As mentioned above, it is a critical part of the application packet, as it provides an indication of the applicant’s academic focus and writing ability. Your statement must be concise and neatly typed. The statement must be a maximum of 4,000 characters (including spaces).

Letters of Recommendation:

Please retain your application ID and password throughout the application process. You will need this information to request and receive Letters of Recommendation.

We require 3 letters of recommendation.

Ph.D. Students: One of your recommendations will need to be from your major advisor and/or the chair of your master’s degree department.

Department: 2203
Institution: 1465

GRE Waiver Requests: These are only granted if the GRE is not given in your country. 

At the Master’s level, we like to see a combined score of 300 of the verbal and quantitative scores and the written score at the 50% percentile. At the Ph.D. level, we like to see a combined score of 306 of the verbal and quantitative scores and the written score at the 75% percentile. These scores are not requirements but rather what we hope to see. If your scores are lower, we do look at your entire application.

Transcripts:

One official copy of all records of any previous postsecondary schooling (mark sheets, transcripts, diplomas, certificates, etc.) must be submitted as official documents directly from each institution. These records must show courses taken and grades earned and must be translated into English if the original records are in another language. Translations must be done by the issuing institution, a certified translator in the country of study, or by an American Translator’s Association certified translator in the US.  The original record should also be included.

Transcripts uploaded into the application system by the applicant are considered unofficial. It is the applicant’s responsibility to request undergraduate and if applicable, graduate official transcripts be sent to MSU in one of the following ways:

1. In sealed institutional envelope(s) mailed directly from the institution to the Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences at the address below.
2. In sealed institutional envelope(s) mailed directly from the institution to the MSU Office of Admissions, 426 Auditorium Road, Room 250 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-2604
3. In a sealed institutional envelope(s) mailed directly from an international institution to a certified translator in the country of study or by an American Translator’s Association certified translator in the U.S. The translated documents must be sent from the translator directly to the MSU Office of Admissions or the Geography Department.
4. Electronically, directly from a United States institution via email to either GEOGrad@msu.edu or admis@msu.edu.

If your transcript is from Michigan State University, you do NOT need to submit your MSU transcript(s).

Joni Burns
Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences
673 Auditorium Rd, Rm. 116 Geography Bldg.
East Lansing MI 48824-1117

Specific to International Applicants

English Language Proficiency Requirement

Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 Applicant Information:

With the current Covid crisis continuing, Michigan State University is allowing for substitutions to the TOEFL test requirement for Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 applicants. Please refer to the following webpage for information regarding which English Language Proficiency tests are acceptable for these two application cycles:  https://grad.msu.edu/english-language-competency.

TOEFL Scores (Test of English as a Foreign Language):
Scores uploaded to your application are considered unofficial. Official TOFEL scores must be sent directly from ETS to MSU. 

Destination code (DI) 1465
Department 70 

TOEFL score is required for all international students whose native language is not English. To be acceptable, the TOEFL test must have been taken within the last 2 years. The submission of TOEFL scores is a University requirement. The Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences generally does not admit students whose TOEFL scores are less than 600/paper based; 100/iBT; 250/computer based. Funding is unlikely for persons with scores below 630/paper based; 109/iBT; 267/computer based.

IBT TOEFL scores: For regular admission, the university requires a minimum score of 80 with no subscores below 19 for reading, listening, and speaking; no writing subscore below 22.  A score below 80 or subscores below the minimum would be a “Provisional” admission.  NOTE: The Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences do not admit students as an English language Provisional admit.

TOEFL Waivers: If you have a degree from an English-speaking country and your work was primarily in English OR If you have a U.S. undergraduate degree with the majority of credits earned in the U.S., you can request a TOEFL waiver. Submit a written request for a TOEFL waiver and mail it directly to the Geography Department. 

You receive an automatic TOEFL waiver if you earned a Bachelor’s degree in the U.S. The BA or BS program should be a regular 4-year degree with the majority of credits earned in the U.S.

If you received a Master’s degree from one of these universities (see link below), you will receive an automatic TOEFL/English Language exam score waiver. You must request in writing a TOEFL waiver/English Language exam score waiver (upload request in Online Student Portal) if you have a Master’s degree from a U.S. university not on this list.

In your written TOEFL waiver request, please go into detail as to why you believe that you qualify for a TOEFL waiver.  At a minimum, include time in the U.S., a graduate degree from a university in the U.S (note which university), and that a previous/expired TOEFL or IELT exam you took in (date) meets MSU minimum requirements.  NOTE:  If your country is NOT on the list below, even if all your education was conducted in English, MSU REQUIRES a TOEFL or IELT score.  This requirement cannot be waived.

Graduate degree Universities with automatic TOFEL waiver:  http://www.aau.edu/about/default.aspx?id=16710

Below is a link to the Graduate School's English Language Competency webpage, which contains a list of English-speaking countries for which MSU generally waives the English Language Competency test requirement. If you are a citizen of and your education was in one of these countries, you are usually exempt from submitting an English language competency test score (i.e. TOEFL/IELT).

If your country is NOT on the English Speaking Country List, MSU requires that you submit official English language competency test scores.

List of English Speaking Countries

If you have any questions or for more information, please refer to the Graduate Handbook 2020-2021 or contact:

Joni Burns
Academic Program Coordinator
Geography Building
673 Auditorium Road, Room 116
East Lansing, MI 48824