Admissions

Applying for the Physics Graduate Program

All applications must be submitted through the K-State Graduate School at https://www.k-state.edu/grad/admissions/application-process/.

The Graduate School’s admission process uses a holistic review to assess the preparedness for graduate education based on qualifying academic credentials. Detailed information about the admission process and requirement can be found in the Graduate Handbook.

Our graduate admissions committee carefully considers all of the parts of your application to build a complete picture of you as a student and researcher to help us determine if you can succeed in our program.

Below is the information you will need to apply:

Deadline

• January 8 for fall (August) enrollment.
• We do not admit students for spring or summer admission.

Transcripts

Applicants, including current K-State students, must upload copies of transcripts. You can upload unofficial copies. Do NOT send or email transcripts to our department or the Graduate School in place of uploading to your application. Official copies will be requested at a later time or along with an admission offer.

International applicants should upload copies of degree certificates along with transcripts. All documents should be in English or certified translations to English. Follow the prompts in the application.

Application fee and waivers

The application fee is payable when submitting your application.

Domestic applicants: $65 application fee
International applicants: $75 application fee

McNair Scholar applicants will receive a fee waiver, which is provided directly in the online application.

K-State's Research Experiences for Undergraduates will also receive a fee waiver. Your program sponsor will send a letter verifying your participation in our department REU program.

Letters of recommendation

You will be prompted to enter contact information for your references in the online application. Your referees are automatically contacted and recommendations are added to your application as they are completed.

Personal statement of objectives

A personal statement of objectives should briefly describe your interest in our program, previous academic and/or research experience, research interests, and long-term career goals. In addition, you can mention the names of any faculty members you are interested in working with. Limit your statement to a single-spaced page if at all possible.

GRE requirements

Our program does NOT require GRE scores and lack of a physics GRE subject score will not influence your application at all. If you wish to include your score, you can submit an unofficial score. The institution code is 6334 for Kansas State University and the department code is 808. Remember that lack of physics GRE will not harm your application.

English proficiency requirements

English proficiency test scores are required if English is not your native language. Specific countries exempt from this requirement are listed here. Valid scores accepted are TOEFL, PTE, and IELTS. We do not accept ‘Duo Lingo’ or TOEFL IPT. For admission purposes, if you received a U.S. degree in the last two years, test scores are not required.

Test	Minimum Score
IBT TOEFL (internet based)	79*
IELTS academic test	6.5*
Pearson Test of English (PTE)	58

*Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA):

Please note that any non-native English speakers, whether a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or international student, offered a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) must meet the speaking requirements as specified in Chapter 1, Section G in the Graduate Handbook.

Funding and cost of attendance for international students

Our program typically offers assistantships to our graduate students. You do not need to have funding offered in order to start your application.

Estimated cost of attendance for international students

The estimated costs information shows the current minimum estimated funds an international applicant must show they have in order to receive required documents for travel and admission. The funds may be your own, provided by a sponsor, or from a scholarship or a combination of these. See below for information on the affidavit required to document your funds.

Affidavit of Financial Support

Each international applicant must indicate the source of financial support. If you do not currently have a sponsor or funds, you may enter 'No' to the question 'Do you have funds?' in the 'Financial Affidavit of Support' section of the application. Upload financial support documentation and a completed Affidavit of Financial Support form verifying that financial support is available while attending Kansas State University. Sponsors must sign the financial affidavit; electronic signatures are not accepted. This documentation is required in order to issue an I-20 or DS-2019 and has no bearing on the admission decision.

Download the Affidavit of Financial Support form
K-State Manhattan (Main) campus:	PDF Form

International applicants may not need to submit the affidavit of financial support form if they meet the following criteria:

• H1 visa holder employed full-time, not planning to change visa type
• H4 dependent of H1 visa holder, not planning to change visa type
• F1/J1 student visa holder, enrolled full-time at another U.S. institution and will not be requesting an I-20 or DS-2019 from Kansas State University now or in the future.

Typically we only admit students for whom we provide full financial support unless a student requests to be admitted on their own scholarship funds.

Application review and decision

• Applications are reviewed by our graduate admissions committee after the January 8 deadline. The review process may take some time. Questions about the status of your application should be directed to graduate@phys.ksu.edu.
• After our committee has completed the review of your application and made an offer to a student, the Graduate School will review the application and make the final admission decision. You will then receive an email notification of the decision.
• If you are offered admission, please complete the 'Decision Form' on your status screen to let us know whether or not you accept the offer so we know if you will be attending K-State. Contact the academic program if you wish to defer your admission to a later semester.

If you have any questions on the process, please email graduate@phys.ksu.edu.