The Graduate School at CU Boulder has established minimum standards for admission.
Qualified students may be recommended for admission to regular degree status by approved programs of the Graduate School provided they meet the following criteria. Individual graduate departments may have additional or more restrictive standards by which they evaluate graduate applicants. Be sure to visit the admissions pages of the programs that you are interested in for a full list of program specific application requirements.
Applicants must:
WORK IN PROGRESSFor International Students: To accept your offer of admission by paying your confirmation deposit, you have a few steps to complete in order for the payment portal will become available. 1) On your status portal and click "Your Admission Next Steps" to begin the process and learn more. 2) "Your Admission Next Steps": This form will provide: - A list of all the documents required -Passport and Proof of Funding submission guidelines, including how much funding you need to demonstrate as available for your first year of attendance (see the Estimated Cost of Attendance Worksheet) - How to submit your documents We will process your documents and reach out to you if anything more is needed. Please allow 1-3 business days from the day you submit your documents (add additional time if more documentation is needed).Once your documents are processed you will be instructed how to confirm your enrollment by paying your confirmation deposit. After you confirm by paying your deposit, we will create your I-20 and send it to you through email within 3-4 business days. Print out your I-20 and bring this with you to your visa appointment. Please review the U.S. Department of State's Visa Appointment Wait Times about making a visa appointment at your nearest embassy. These wait times vary for each country, and will need to factor the wait time into your visa timeline. Thanks again and we look forward to welcoming you to campus!
Do History graduate students receive funding?
Yes, our admissions package usually includes funding for all graduate students - usually 5 years for PhD, and 2 years for MA students.
Do you provide funding for MA students?
Yes, we provide 2 years of funding for MA students.
What does graduate funding from the Department of History consist of?
Graduate funding consists of TA-ship (12-20 hours of teaching assistance per week) and fellowship (for most students; reserved for the last year of PhD program.) Graduate funding covers tuition, fees and 90% of health insurance, in addition to a stipend.
Do you provide graduate funding for non-US citizens?
Yes, we provide funding for non-US citizens. But due to the high cost of non-resident tuition, non-US citizen students may receive all of their funding in History TA-ships. History Department fellowships may be offered to non-US citizen students if there is funding availability.
Q: What are the associated tuition and fees for graduate school?A: Up-to-date tuition information and rates are available on the Bursar's Office website.
Q: What are the potential sources of financial support for domestic graduate students?A: Please refer to the Tuition & Money Matters page and the Graduate School Funding page for additional information. See the "International Student Questions" section for a response directly addressing international students.
Q: What time does the application close?A: All application deadlines are at 10:00pm MST (midnight EST).
Q: How do I know if my application was submitted?A: When the application is submitted you will have the opportunity to view your status page. You will also receive an email notifying you that your application has been submitted.
Q: Are fee waivers accepted? How do I request one?A: The Graduate School offers application fee waivers to U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are participants in the following programs only:
If you are affiliated with one of these programs, you will be able to indicate your involvement within the online application under ‘Additional Information.’ We ask that you describe your involvement with the program, and upload supporting documentation there. If you are in the U.S. military you will receive an automatic fee waiver as a thank you for your service (active duty, veteran, previously served, and active reserve are all eligible for this automatic fee waiver). If you are undocumented and/or a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiary, please submit a ticket through this form to inquire about possible fee waivers. You may also contact the department directly to ask whether they have fee waivers.
Q: Are fee waivers accepted for international students? How do I request one?A: The Graduate School does not offer application fee waivers to international students. If you are undocumented and/or a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiary, please submit a ticket through this form to inquire about possible fee waivers. You may also contact the department directly to ask whether they have fee waivers.
Q: I also applied to another University of Colorado campus. Do I still need to pay the application fee?A: Yes, if you are applying to another University of Colorado campus in addition to CU Boulder, you must submit a separate application, official credentials and appropriate fee to each campus. You will use the same log in credentials for any of the three campuses to log in to the applications, but you must complete a different application for each campus.
Q: I had an error or clicked ‘cancel’ during the payment process. How do I submit my payment to complete my application?A: You can pay your application fee on your status page. If you still experience difficulties please continue through this form and submit a ticket to inquire about payment options. If you are an international applicant paying through Flywire, it is best to work with Flywire directly to complete payment at support@flywire.com.
Q: Are application fees refundable?A: Application fees are non-refundable.
Q: What if I am not ready to pay at this time?A: If you are not ready to pay at this time, you may save your application and log back in when you are ready to pay. Payment is required to submit the application and your application will not be considered until the fee has been paid. Application fee payments should be made by the application deadline unless a grace period has been provided by the department/program.
Q: My international payment is still processing/pending, how will this impact my application?A: If you have initiated the application fee payment before the deadline, generally there is a 2-3 day grace period for processing. It is normal for international payments to take a few days to process and be completed. If your payment is marked as 'pending,' please contact the Flywire directly for assitance with cancelling or completing payment. You can reach Flywire Customer Support at support@flywire.com. If you need to cancel your payment, you will receive a new link on your status page to complete the application fee.
Q: Should I apply as an undergraduate or graduate student? How do I evaluate my level?A: You are a Graduate School Applicant if you have completed or will complete the equivalent of a four-year U.S. bachelor's or master's degree and you wish to pursue further education (a master's or doctoral degree). To be eligible to apply to the University of Colorado Boulder, graduate applicants must meet the Minimum Admission Requirements. This includes holding a baccalaureate level degree from an institution that is recognized by the Ministry of Education of the country where the institution is located. Three-year degrees meeting such criteria can be considered. It is acceptable to apply if such a degree is currently in progress, but will be awarded before attendance at the University of Colorado Boulder. See more here. You are a Transfer Undergraduate Applicant if you have enrolled at another college or university since graduation from secondary school, but have not completed a bachelor's degree. Preparatory years do not count as university-level work. Admissions Criteria for Undergraduate Transfers is here.
Q: Do you offer conditional admission?A: At this point we do not offer conditional admission. Some departments do not require you to provide TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo results as part of the application process, but if you are offered admission, you will be required to provide sufficient and official English proficiency scores before we can finalize your admission. If you are admitted, but have not yet met the English proficiency requirement, you may continue to take the tests and submit results as you attempt to get the necessary score. If you are not able to obtain a sufficient score, you can inquire about an admission deferral from your department. You may also consider applying to our International English Center. Please note that we do not accept completion of an English language program as “proof of English proficiency.” Only scores from a TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo test will satisfy this requirement. See here for information about the International English Center.
Q: What are the potential sources of financial support for international students?A: Please refer to the Tuition & Money Matters page and the Graduate School Funding page for additional information.
Q: Are there any online course restrictions I should know about for international students?A: Due to current restrictions imposed by U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, webcourse delivery cannot be provided to the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, the Region of Crimea. Students who are resident, or may be a resident in any of these countries during their CU study may require prior U.S. Government approval. Students resident in a sanctioned country should not enroll or begin an academic program at CU. CU can seek prior U.S. Government approval on a case by case basis. If you are interested in seeking prior approval, contact the Office of Export Controls at exportcontrolhelp@Colorado.edu.
Q: Can you provide more information on the F-1 Student Visa?A: The F-1 student visa is used by most students. If you are admitted, and after we receive proof of funding for your studies and proof of your English proficiency, the CU Boulder Office of Admissions will send you a Form I-20, which is the application for the F-1 student visa. Information from the I-20 will allow you to pay the government visa fee (online) and thus to make a visa appointment at the nearest US Embassy or Consulate. You will also be required to pay a visa fee. In addition to your application materials, passport, and admission offer, you’ll need to bring this I-20 to your visa appointment. Both the F-1 student visa (stamped into your passport if approved) and the I-20 Form are necessary to enter the US. If you are an F-1 student already studying in the United States, you must complete the F-1 immigration transfer form and arrange to have your current F-1 immigration record transferred to us before your “transfer pending” I-20 can be issued. A link to this form is included in your formal admission email.
Q: Can you provide more information on the F-1 Student Visa Transfer Process?A: The F-1 immigration transfer process pertains only to F-1 students currently attending a US school or college in the United States. The immigration transfer process is an electronic F-1 record transfer from your current school to the University of Colorado Boulder. If any of these steps or items are missing, we cannot begin the immigration transfer process or issue a CU Boulder transfer-pending I-20. You must be eligible for an academic I-20 from CU Boulder. This means that you have applied, been admitted to, and have confirmed your intent to enroll. You must complete the first page of the CU Boulder F-1 immigration form and give, fax, or email it to the Designated School Official (DSO) at your current school (other than CU Boulder). You and the DSO at your current school must agree on a SEVIS release date. This is the date that the DSO at your current school will transfer your electronic record to CU Boulder. The date may not be until classes are over for the semester, or even after graduation (if you are finishing a degree at your current school). The DSO at your current school must complete the rest of the form and fax or email it to us. Information on how to complete this form is on the form itself. On the SEVIS release date, your record will appear in our Transfer In list in the SEVIS database. We can issue the transfer-pending I-20 only on or after this date, but not before the date. If your record does not appear on or after the SEVIS release date, check with the DSO at your current school to make sure that your record was released to the University of Colorado – Boulder. Sometimes it is mistakenly transferred to the International English Center at CU Boulder. On the SEVIS release date, and if your record appears in our Transfer In list, we will issue a transfer-pending I-20. If your current F-1 visa is not expiring, you can travel in and out of the US with that visa and your transfer pending I-20 from CU Boulder. If your current F-1 visa is expiring, you can use the CU Boulder transfer pending I-20 to apply for a new visa without having to repay the SEVIS fee (other visa fees may still apply). If you are not leaving the US before starting your CU Boulder program this semester, it may be easiest for us to hold on to your I-20 until you arrive in Boulder. You can pick up your transfer pending I-20 from our front desk in Regent Hall room 125. When you arrive on the CU Boulder campus you must check in with International Student and Scholar Services. To do so, go to their website and sign up online for an appointment.
Q: Can you provide more information on the J-1 Student Visa?A: The J-1 exchange visitor (student category) visa is designed for certain non-privately sponsored students, such as those whose funding comes from their government. If you are admitted, CU Boulder's International Student and Scholars Services (ISSS) office or your sponsoring organization will send you the DS-2019 form necessary to obtain this visa. Information from the DS-2019 will allow you to pay the SEVIS fee (online) and thus to make a visa appointment at the nearest US Embassy or Consulate. You will also be required to a pay a visa fee. In addition to your application materials, passport and admission offer, you’ll need to bring this DS-2019 to your visa appointment. Both the J-1 student visa (stamped into your passport if approved) and the DS-2019 Form are necessary to enter the US.
Q: What pre-arrival steps are there for international students?A: If you are an F-1 or J-1 student, please take note of your program start date. All F-1/J-1 students MUST arrive no later than the program start date which is reflected on your I-20/DS-2019. Note: You may not enter the U.S. more than 30 days prior to this date. Pre-Arrival Information for International Students can be found on the ISSS website including information about the following topics:
Q: How do I get an I-20?A: In order for our office to generate an I-20 for you, you need to complete the online application, submit all required materials, be reviewed for and offered admission by the department to which you are applying, and meet all immigration regulations (which include proof of English proficiency and proof of funding).
Q: When do I need to provide my financial statement?A: You do not need to provide the financial statement until you have been admitted to the University of Colorado Boulder.
Q: If I live off campus, do I still need to demonstrate living expenses funding?A: Yes. While the estimate for living expenses is based on rates for living in campus housing, you should expect to pay at least a similar amount (if not more) if you’ll be living off campus.
Q: My source of funding has changed, should I get a new I-20 to reflect this?A: Yes, you should get a new I-20 to reflect the funding change. Please let us know this information immediately so we update it in the SEVIS system. Whenever any information that appears on your I-20 changes, please let us know immediately by continuing on and submitting a ticket through this form.
Q: The major that appears on my I-20 is not the exact name of the major/department to which I was admitted. Is this an error?A: The major on your I-20 is known as the CIP Code. Not all majors at CU have the exact name of the CIP Code used on the I-20. This is not an issue. (This site has more relevant information.)
Q: I received the I-20 but there’s an error on it. What should I do?A: Please communicate any issues with your I-20 by continuing on and submitting a ticket through this form.
Q: How do I answer the citizenship question if I am an undocumented or DACA student?A: Applicants who are undocumented or DACA should select the following options within the application: For "Citizenship", select your Country. Then, for "Specify the visa type you currently have or expect to obtain. If you already have a US Visa, complete all fields below. If you are unsure of the visa type you will obtain, select "F-1 -Student" and leave the "Issue Date" and "Expiry Date" blank.", select "Other" for the first box and then select "NA/NA".
Q: What should I know if I am here on a different visa type than F-1 or J-1?A: Students here on other visa types (or who have come as dependents on another person’s visa) are generally permitted to study full time at the university. This includes H-4s, L-2s, and E-2s, among others. If you have one of these visas already, please indicate such on your admission application. U.S. Immigration law prohibits any full-time study for students who enter the U. S. on the visa waiver program or on B1/B2 tourist visas or F-2 visas. If you’re here already and unsure of your visa type or immigration status, please indicate “Other” as your US citizenship on the CU-Boulder admission application.
Q: What are the Proof of Funding Requirements for students on a visa?A: Please see the links below for information depending upon your visa type.
Q: May I use a credential management company such as Interfolio to submit my letters of recommendation?A: Yes, as long as the letters are confidential you may use one of these services. Within the application you should complete the recommender section and just let your recommenders know they may ignore the request from CU admissions. Interfolio (or whatever service you are using) should email your letters to gradprocessing@colorado.edu, or mail them to:
Q: When is the request sent to the recommender?A: The request for a recommendation will be sent out as soon as you hit the 'send to recommender' button. You may log in to your status page to send a reminder to the recommender any time after you submit your application.
Q: Is my recommender notified of the application deadline?A: They are not notified of the specific deadline. An email will be sent to your recommender with a link to an online recommendation form. We recommend notifying your recommender(s) that you have listed them as a recommender and reminding them when the form should be completed by.
Q: Who do I contact if one of my recommenders has not received the link?A: If a recommender informs you that they did not receive a link to the recommendation form, log into your application status page. From there you can update your recommender's email address and resend the notification.
Q: Can letters of recommendation be mailed in?A: We strongly discourage mailing physical letters as this can cause delays in the processing of your application. It is best to have recommenders upload their letters electronically via the link that is sent to them. If a letter must be mailed in, the letters should come in signed and sealed envelopes. They may be mailed to: For Domestic Applicants
Graduate Admissions University of Colorado Boulder 3100 Marine Street - 553 UCB Bldg RL3 Suite A122 Boulder, CO 80303-1058
For International Applicants For standard international mail or mail within the US, including USPS Priority and Express:
Office of Admissions/International University of Colorado Boulder 3100 Marine St Suite A122 65 UCB Boulder, CO 80309-0065
USA Overnight/Express Mailing Address (DHL, UPS, FedEx): Office of Admissions/International University of Colorado Boulder 3100 Marine Street - 65 UCB Bldg RL3 Suite A122 Boulder, CO 80303-1058 USA 303-492-6301
Q: Will I be notified when my recommender(s) submits the letter of recommendation form?A: Yes, you will receive an email when we receive a recommendation on your behalf if you are using our online system to request recommendations. You will not receive an email if your letters are emailed or mailed to us from the recommender and/or a credential management service.
Q: Can I upload letters of recommendation with my application?A: No, letters uploaded by applicants are not considered official and will not be used.
Q: How do I send reminder emails to my recommenders after my application has been submitted?A: From your status page, under the checklist, there is a link to resend notifications to your recommender. Select edit next to your recommender's name and click "send reminder".
Q: After I have submitted, how do I replace a recommender or update a recommender’s email address?A: In order to change the email address of a recommender or replace a recommender (as long as the letter has not been received yet), you will need to edit the recommender and then choose to ‘Exclude’. This will then allow you to reenter the corrected recommender information as a new entry. Start this process from your status page under the checklist.
