Apply to the Information and Media Ph.D. Program

The 4 steps of the application process are listed below. Please review all steps before you begin the application process. 

Explore our Ph.D. faculty. Check out their bios to locate two or three members of our faculty members with interest similar to yours. You may want to email them about your plans to apply for doctoral study at MSU, share your interests and ask about their current projects.

Explore Ph.D. Faculty

• The fee is $65 for domestic students, $75 for international, and can be paid with credit card, check (US Funds), or money order.
• If the application is not paid for, it will not move on to the review process.
• Please remember to write down your application ID number because it is needed for the next step.
• When you receive your email confirmation you will receive a link to the Student Portal to complete your application.
• You will want to use major code 6322.

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You should not use AI to write any of the documents listed below. We reserve the right to us an AI writing detector to evaluate your academic and personal statements, sole-authored writing sample, and CV.

When you receive your email confirmation of receipt of the MSU Graduate Application you will also receive a link to the MSU Graduate Application Portal. Please go to this portal and create your MSU Graduate Application account. 

The MSU Graduate Application system will require online submission of the following (NO HARD COPIES accepted):

• Academic Statement. A concise academic statement of your plans for doctoral study, your career goals and how the Information and Media Ph.D. program will help you meet your career and educational objectives. Be sure to relate your plans and goals to the interests of the faculty you have contacted. To help us connect you to our faculty please indicate which unit (Advertising and Public Relations, Journalism or Media and Information) fit you best. Designate multiple units if you see a fit in more than one unit. Tell us which faculty member(s) you would like to work with. We recommend statements be between 250-500 words long. 
• Personal Statement. A concise personal statement about how your background and life experiences, including social, economic, cultural, familial, education or other opportunities or challenges, motivated your decision to pursue a doctoral degree. We recommend statements be between 250-500 words long. 
• Sole Authored Writing Sample. For example, a conference paper, journal article, Master's thesis (methods and review literature only), or class project will fulfill this requirement.
• Resume (CV). Include all activities that account for your time since earning a bachelor’s degree (e.g. employment, military service, travel). Include the type of activity, name of employer, city/state and dates. List the most recent activity first. Also include all relevant professional experiences, locations, dates and any scholarly conference presentations or publications.
• Email Addresses for Your Three Recommenders. (Note: an email will be sent out to your recommenders providing them the information on where to submit their letters electronically. The department will only accept letters submitted via the online system)

*Our program no longer requires the GRE

• Name on Application. Please print your name on the application exactly as it appears in your passport. The information will be used to complete the necessary visa documents, so matching your passport information is critical. 
• English Language Proficiency. All international students whose first language is not English must demonstrate proficiency in English as a condition for regular admission to MSU. Test scores should be sent from the testing agency directly to MSU. Most testing authorities are able to send scores electronically. In the rare case that a physical copy must be sent, it should be sent to.
  • Office of Admissions
    Hannah Administration Building
    426 Auditorium Road, Room 250
    East Lansing, MI 48824-2604

MSU is currently accepting the following tests for international students applying for Fall 2024. Reported scores must be no older than 2 years. 

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Internet-based test (iBT): No subscore below 19 for reading, listening, and speaking; no writing subscore below 22; with a minimum average of 80. 
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS): A minimum average score of 6.5. No subscore below 6.0. 
• Duolingo English Test: 110 or higher
• Automatic waivers are permitted only for those who have completed a four-year college degree in the United States or an MA degree at an AAU Tier I Institution.

International Applicant Information

The applicant must request each college or university attended to date to submit one copy of the official transcript to the Office of Admissions. The transcripts should show the courses taken and the grades earned. 

• Domestic 

Transcripts from domestic institutions can be sent electronically from the institution to the Academic Program Coordinator, Nicole Bond at bondnic@msu.edu.

• International 

Official copies of ALL records from all postsecondary schooling attended/attending. Mark sheets, transcripts, certificates, and diplomas, must be submitted as official documents directly from each institution. In most cases, these documents will need to be sent in official, sealed, issuing institution envelopes. If you are not in your home country, you can arrange for a friend or family to pick up the documents, sealed in an envelope from the institution and mail them to the address listed below on your behalf. The documents need to be in a sealed envelope from the institution in order for it to be considered official. 

Records must show courses taken, 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 be also included.

Note that MSU requires final, degree-granting academic records to be sent as proof of degree award. Many international transcripts do not indicate degree award information, and therefore MSU requests applicants send official copies of their final degree diplomas as proof of degree award.

For applicants who have been awarded degrees - final, official records should be sent during the application process. For applicants completing degree programs during the application process, the latest, official, available academic records should be sent, with final records sent as soon as possible after admission.

Review MSU's International transcript requirements for country-specific transcript information. 

• Submit Through an Online Service
  • Parchment
  • Common App
  • Coalition for College
  • Naviance
  • eScrip-Safe
  • National Student Clearing House
• Send Through Mail
  • Office of Admissions
    Hannah Administration Building
    426 Auditorium Road, Room 250
    East Lansing, MI 48824-2604 

Applicants may upload copies of their transcripts to their student application portal for the review process only. Official international transcripts will need to be sent from the degree granting institutions themselves directly to MSU in a sealed envelope to be considered official. If admitted, you will have until the end of the first month of your first semester to get all official transcripts turned in to avoid a hold being placed on your account. 

• Email your faculty contacts to inform them that you have submitted your application. Ask them about their current projects to continue a conversation about mutual interests.
• Track your progress and verify the receipt of documents through the Student Portal. We strive to update the system regularly but during high volume times we ask for your patience.

Questions? Additional information about the Information and Media PhD program may be obtained from:

Nicole Bond
Academic Programs Coordinator
bondnic@msu.edu