Answers to frequently asked questions about our graduate programs:
1. What are the deadlines to apply for your graduate programs?
2. What are the requirements for the application?
3. When should I hear about my admission status? How does the admission process work?
4. Tell me about graduate assistantships and tuition waivers for M.S. thesis and Phd students?
5. When do you offer courses/Can I look up current course offerings?
6. Do you offer online courses?
7. How long does it take to complete each degree?
1. What are the deadlines to apply for your graduate programs?
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate program: June 1st, fall admission only
M.S.(non-thesis)/FLPE program: March 15th, fall admission only.
M.S. (thesis) and MS/Phd program: January 15th, fall admission only
M.Ed (BKISED) program: June 1st, fall admission only
Phd Program: January 15th, fall admission only
2. What are the requirements for the application?
Prospective graduate students submit their application to the Graduate School (not the department). This includes the online or printed out application, application fee, three references, official GRE scores, and TWO copies of official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended. The HDF Department also requires a professional statement, which may be submitted directly to the HDF department or to the Graduate School. The professional statement is a chance for the applicant to express interest in specific areas of research and specific faculty members the student may wish to work with. Applicants should also indicate any previous background or research experience in this field in the professional statement. The professional statement should help HDF faculty understand why you're interested in our program, what you'd like to accomplish in our program, and your career goals upon graduation.
International students should visit the International Programs Center for information about international requirements. For score reporting, UNCG's institution code is 5913. There is no HDF Dept code, so you may list the department code for "other," which is 5199. No GRE Subject test is required for admission into the HDF Department. Ph.D applicants are encouraged to include a resume and writing sample with their application materials.
3. When should I hear about my admission status? How does the admission process work?
Once all required materials have been received in the Graduate School, the complete application is forwarded to the HDF Department. The application is then reviewed by a committee of HDF faculty and by the department's Director of Graduate Studies. If the student is admitted, a preliminary advisor is assigned at that time. The student is then sent a letter from the HDF Department notifying him or her of the department's recommendation to the Graduate School. If the student has been admitted, he or she should expect to receive an official admission letter from the Graduate School within two weeks of the departmental letter. The entire admissions process may take a couple of months from the time the complete application is submitted. Since an application does not begin to be reviewed until it is complete, students wishing to expedite the processing of their application should make sure to submit all required materials, including the professional statement, well in advance of the application deadline. To review the status of your application, click here.
4. Tell me about graduate assistantships and tuition waivers for M.S thesis and Phd students:
The Department attempts to provide support for all eligible M.S. thesis and Ph.D students. Typically, departmental financial support is limited to two years for Master’s only students, three years for Ph.D. only students, and five years for M.S./Ph.D. track students from the semester the student first enrolls in the program of study. The support is intended to (a) assist you in meeting the expenses of graduate study without having to find employment outside of the University, and (b) provide assistance to faculty in meeting their research and teaching responsibilities. Most support comes from departmental Research Assistantships, but other sources of support are available.
Departmental Assistantships. Initial offers of support are made to the best qualified applicants to the graduate program at the same time, or shortly after, an offer of admission is extended. If you are not offered support at the time of admission, you may be offered support later, as it becomes available. In addition to an assistantship, out-of-state students may be granted an out-of-state tuition waiver (or money in lieu of the waiver) which pays the out-of-state portion of tuition costs only. Tuition waivers are in limited supply. If you are NOT already a North Carolina resident, we urge you to seek residency as soon as possible so as to reduce the demand on the limited number of tuition waivers available. Please note that if you are granted an out of state tuition waiver ONLY, you will still be responsible for paying in-state tuition. The out of state tuition waiver covers the difference between in state and out of state tuition. Tuition waivers do not cover fees; therefore, students are still responsible for paying fees. If you are granted an assistantship or tuition waiver, you must fulfill all student immunization requirements before August 1st in order to be credited your financial aid.
Fellowships and Scholarships: In addition to Departmental assistantships (which have a service requirement), UNCG has non-service fellowships and scholarships that are awarded by the Graduate School to exceptionally qualified students who meet the particular requirements of the award. Included among these awards are Greensboro Scholar Awards, Excellence Fund Fellowships, Charles A. Hayes Fellowships, and Adelaide Fortune Holderness Fellowships. Students who have been granted non-service university fellowships are able to select an HDFS faculty member of their choice to work with, and do not have the required service responsibilities that Research Assistants have. However, the Department believes that, if fellowship students are to progress most successfully through their graduate programs, they also should align themselves closely with the research program(s) of one or more HDFS faculty members. This should be accomplished by meeting with your selected faculty member at the beginning of each Fall semester to contract a mutually agreeable plan of collaborative participation for the year.
5. When do you offer courses?/Can I look up current course offerings?
Most of our graduate programs are designed for full time students, and therefore, most classes are offered during the day on weekdays. As of Fall 2009, the BKISEDand LECE programs are now online. Currently we do not have any plans to offer other online programs. Applicants are encouraged to visit UNCG's online course search to see when HDF classes have been offered in the past few semesters and in the upcoming semester. Class offerings do vary from semester to semester -- we do not guarantee that the same classes will be offered every semester, or that classes will be offered at the same time every semester. However, the online course search helps to give a general idea of HDF classes offered. Some faculty members also have course syllabi and other information on their courses on their faculty web pages. For questions about when a specific class will be offered, please contact Dan Perlman, HDF Department Chair.
6. Do you offer online courses?
Most of our courses are designed for traditional delivery with students meeting face-to-face with a professor on UNCG's Greensboro campus. Starting in Fall 2009, the BK:ISED/M.Ed graduate program is now completely online. Because our Certificate (LECE) courses overlap with the required BK:ISED courses, the Certificate program will also be offered online (with the possible exception of the elective course that the student chooses to take). Currently we do not have any plans to offer other online programs. The FLPE program is offered jointly with NCSU and uses mixed methods of instruction. UNCG offers required and elective courses in the FLPE program. Students are expected to attend these classes in person and they are typically scheduled during the day rather than at night. For the required courses UNCG offers in the FLPE program, there is a video link between campuses so students can select at which site they will attend. UNCG's elective offerings in the FLPE program are typically only available as face-to-face classes taught at UNCG's Greensboro campus. NCSU offers some of its FLPE classes via online delivery. In short, the FLPE program is NOT a distance education program, so students entering this option should be prepared to attend several of their courses at scheduled times in Greensboro or at NCSU.
7. How long does it take to complete each degree?
Although students vary in how long they actually take, course offerings and programs are designed so that full-time students can complete their degrees in the following time spans:
M.S. nonthesis (FLPE): 2 years
M.S. thesis: 2 years
MEd: 2-3 years
Phd: 4-5 years
after Bachelor's degree
Certificate Program: 1.5 years