Application Deadlines and Requirements

The Master of Liberal Arts program (MLA) is designed for individuals from a variety of backgrounds and requires no specific prerequisite courses. However, for your admission to the program, it is necessary that you have previous coursework in the liberal arts and evidence of preparedness for graduate-level work, such as independent research and writing experience.

Applicants must hold either a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited US institution. International students should make sure that their degree is the equivalent of a four-year degree in the US. Successful applicants to the Master of Liberal Arts program must possess at least a 3.0 grade point average in their undergraduate studies.

Standardized tests such as the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) are not generally required when applying for the Master of Liberal Arts. However, you may choose to submit standardized test scores in support of your application. Most international applicants are required to demonstrate English proficiency via Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores.

Master of Liberal Arts application deadlines

You may apply to begin Master of Liberal Arts studies during the fall, spring or summer terms. Note that Penn LPS does not offer an admission deferral option; please be sure to apply to the term for which you plan to begin your studies.

Your application portfolio, including all transcripts, must be received by the following deadlines:

Applications for the Master of Liberal Arts program are accepted on a rolling basis. Candidates under serious consideration are invited to interview with a member of the Admissions Committee on campus or remotely.

Application materials checklist

Since all required supporting documents are submitted through the online application system, hardcopy material other than official transcripts or letters of recommendation will not be accepted.* Please urge your recommenders to submit their letters through the online system. Please note that all application materials become the property of the University of Pennsylvania and will not be returned. Remember to retain a personal copy of your application.

*Unsolicited material will not be used for review.

Applications must contain all of the following in order to be considered complete:

• Completed online application
• Current resume
• Nonrefundable $75 application fee
• Application essays, listed below
• Unofficial transcripts from each post-secondary school attended uploaded through the online application system
• Standardized test scores, if applicable (details below)
• Two letters of recommendation (details below)

After a complete application is received and reviewed, candidates under serious consideration are invited to interview with a member of the Admissions Committee on campus or remotely.

Master of Liberal Arts application essays

Your application will include essays addressing the following topics. Please compile all essays together in one document. Number your essays clearly and begin each essay on a separate page. Responses may be as long or as short as you feel necessary.

• In a 350-word essay, discuss your interest in the program and your reasons for wanting to enroll, drawing on your previous academic experiences, your current intellectual interests, and including any biographical information that may be relevant.
• To help up advise you, identify as concisely as possible the topical area, intellectual problem or set of issues you hope to explore within the program.
• If you believe your transcripts and other records do not present an accurate picture of your ability, please explain.
• Describe an experience, event or person that has been important to you in your development.
• Is there other information about yourself that you consider important that has not been covered in the previous questions?

Letters of recommendation

Each applicant will submit two letters of recommendation. Letters should come from individuals in a position to evaluate your professional and/or academic work, such as a supervisor or professor, and who know of your desire to enter the Master of Liberal Arts program. Recommendations may be submitted online (preferred) or by mail. For online recommendations, please follow the instructions in the Recommendations section of the online application.

Standardized test scores

Standardized test scores are not required for admission to the Master of Liberal Arts. However, you may choose to submit standardized test scores, such as the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), in support of your application. Request that your scores report for the GRE test be forwarded to the College of Liberal and Professional Studies, using ETS institutional code 2986.

A strong command of the English language is necessary for successful study at Penn. A TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is required for applicants whose native language is not English.

TOEFL: The minimum TOEFL scores required for admissions consideration are Internet Test (iBT) = 100; with no subscore below 24, and listening and speaking scores of 25+; Computer-Based Test (CBT) = 250; Paper-Based Test (PBT) = 600.

To locate a testing site near you or schedule an exam, visit the TOEFL website. Please note the at-home TOEFL is accepted. Official TOEFL scores must be sent electronically from ETS to the University of Pennsylvania’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS), testing school code: 2986.

IELTS: The minimum score for consideration is a 7.0 composite, with listening and speaking scores of 7.0 or higher.

You may upload an official or unofficial copy of your IELTS test to the standardized test score section of your application or email it to lps-admissions@sas.upenn.edu. We encourage applicants to have IELTS send their official score report to the University of Pennsylvania College of Liberal and Professional Studies IELTS Results Service E-Delivery account. To locate a testing site near you or schedule an exam, visit the IELTS website.

This is a strict requirement for the Master of Liberal Arts application process to ensure all students who enter the Master of Liberal Arts Program can be successful in a fast-paced learning environment. In rare occasions, someone might qualify for an exemption, however, the following are not considered sufficient for exemption: working in the US for many years, having a degree from a school where the instruction was in English, and/or working or living in an English-speaking country. Exemption requests will ONLY be considered AFTER your application has been submitted and all other application materials have been received; the exemption review will naturally add additional time to your application review process, which may impede your ability to schedule and submit the required test scores by the application deadline if your exemption request is declined. For those reasons, even if you feel you have mitigating factors that would qualify for exemption, we strongly recommend that you take the TOEFL or IELTS if English is not your native language, as it will strengthen your application and ensure its timely processing and completion. If you have questions about how this requirement impacts you, please email lps-admissions@sas.upenn.edu.

International transcripts from institutions outside the United States

Applicants who have attended a college or university outside the US are required to have a course-by-course credential evaluation (with grade point average and course levels) performed by an outside evaluation service. Credential evaluations will be reviewed by our administrators, and the determination of degree equivalency to US degrees is at the discretion of the College of Liberal and Professional Studies. The following evaluation service is acceptable:

World Education Services Inc. (WES): WES must complete a course-by-course evaluation of all post-secondary credentials. The course-by-course evaluation should include the comparability level of your education and list each of your courses along with the equivalent US marks and credit. Please select the WES basic course-by-course evaluation (with grade point average and course levels) and request that WES send your evaluation to Penn College of Liberal and Professional Studies Admissions. The school can be found by searching the University of Pennsylvania and then selecting College of Liberal and Professional Studies. The evaluation becomes an official academic record and sole property of the University upon its receipt. For additional information about the WES application and their review process, please visit the WES website.

The World Education Service will provide instructions for how to request and submit the required academic documents for review, and the process can take several weeks to complete. We encourage you to begin this process at least eight weeks in advance of the application deadline.

Please note that this service charges a fee for the evaluation.