Topics

• Overview, Forms and Deadlines
• Application Requirements and Tips
  • General
  • 1. Statement of purpose
  • 2. Personal History Statement
  • 3. Writing sample
  • 4. Letters of Rec
  • 5. GRE scores
  • 6. Official transcripts
  • 7. Fellowship application
  • 8. Resume or CV
  • 9. Application fee
  • Contacting Faculty and Students
• The Process
• FAQ

Application Requirements and Tips

Cultural Studies at UC Davis is an interdisciplinary graduate group that draws from scholarship and faculty across many departments and programs. Unlike traditional disciplines, in which students select faculty mentors and course offerings from within a single department, Cultural Studies students are encouraged to build a dissertation committee with graduate group faculty members from a variety of departments; they also have the opportunity to construct a highly individualized and project-oriented course of study. The flexibility and relative decentralization of the Cultural Studies program works best for students who are self-motivated, resourceful, and disciplined. Admission to the Cultural Studies graduate program is competitive; we receive between 100 and 150 applications each year for approximately 10 positions. The admissions committee is composed of 8-10 faculty from a variety of departments and 2 graduate students in the program.  We do not use a waiting list. At this time, we are not accepting applications for the M.A. program.

In what follows we offer you guidelines for making a strong application to our program. We cannot admit everyone who applies. But we can give you the fairest opportunity to do your best if you think we are a good fit with your interests and goals. After reading the information on this site, if you have additional questions regarding the application process or materials, please email: culturalstudies@ucdavis.edu.

You can apply for graduate admission online. Please use this on-line application to submit all of your application materials. Applications must be completed by December 1.

Components of the application

1. Statement of Purpose

Due to the new format for admissions, the Statement of Purpose is limited to 500 words. You will need to use this very short space to tell us a great deal. We would like to know what you plan to do in a Ph.D. program, including the proposal of a specific dissertation project and what has prepared you for this project thus far. At this early stage in your work, what do you plan to focus on and with whom at UC Davis will it be necessary for you to work and why?

Organization is key. This is the most important component of your application. Statements that articulate interest in undertaking a particular project have a competitive edge over statements that indicate interest only in broad topics or areas of research. It is alright if you change your mind once you are enrolled in the program and you have discovered new fields and methods (this happens quite frequently). We have found, however, that students who can propose a credible dissertation level project are much more ready for a Ph.D. program than those who may be very bright and capable in many ways but who are still expressing interests only in generalized ways.

TIPS:

• Show that you are ready to work with us, in particular, rather than desiring to stay in school in general. Some research into programs and faculty at UC Davis shows that you are ready to embark on your project at our campus in particular (why this program and not another). Regardless of how interesting your project might be, we have to pay close attention to your “fit” with available faculty at UC Davis (who would serve on your qualifying and dissertation committees) .
• Keep it academic. You may include autobiographical information in your Personal Statement. Do not use the very limited space in the Statement of Purpose for personal or autobiographical details.
• We are more interested in what you plan to do in your advanced studies in the Ph.D. program than in a narrative of what you have already done in the past. Draw on your past education and experience to bolster your proposal (to show how well-prepared you are in specific ways) rather than make that history serve as the proposal itself.
• We are not currently accepting applications for the M.A. program.

2. Personal History Statement

Graduate Studies at the University of California at Davis requires a 500 word “Personal History Statement.” In this statement please tell us how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Please include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how you might contribute to social or cultural diversity within your chosen field; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree.

3. Writing sample

The writing sample is a 10-20 page scholarly paper that demonstrates originality of ideas, familiarity with the conventions of academic research, and writing proficiency. Ideally, the writing sample should complement the project described in your statement of purpose. That is, if your statement of purpose tells us about the project you’re interested in pursuing in graduate school, your writing sample should show us what pursuing that project might look like. On the other hand, if you do not have a writing sample that reflects a tight fit with your statement of purpose, just send us an example of your best academic work.

TIPS:

• Don’t over think the writing sample. Send us your best work but do try to observe page length.
• Multimedia are acceptable as a supplement but we also need a writing sample.
• These materials must be uploaded to your online application. We are not accepting hard copies.

4. Letters of Recommendation

We ask for three letters of recommendation, preferably from professors in your field(s). Letters of Recommendation must be submitted electronically through the online application. Please do not have recommenders send letters in hard copy--we will not accept them. This requires you to request and collect your letters early. We do not accept late materials.  Since circumstances beyond your control may cause you to submit your application without all of your letters, it is still your responsibility to make sure the letters are received in our office by the deadline.

We believe that the strongest letter of recommendation comes from an academic who can speak to your readiness to embark on advanced research in a Ph.D. program. Letters from teaching assistants or employers are less helpful since these writers may not have long term experience in extended scholarly research of the sort that you are proposing to begin and the quality of which we are required to assess.  On the other hand, it is always good to include letters from writers who know you well rather than a 2 sentence scrawl from an over-extended, famous person.  The best rule of thumb is to aim for recommenders in your academic field who know you well and who can describe you honestly and in detail. Getting letters of recommendation is fraught for almost everyone but it is good practice—everyone needs letters of recommendation throughout their academic and work life.

TIPS:

• Please contact your recommenders before you contact our office  to ask about the status of your file (keep in mind that our office  receives  a large number of applications in a short period of time).
• If you have been out of school for some years and feel you cannot find three former professors to write for you, do the best you can. Collect letters from people who can speak to the strengths you need to draw upon in graduate school.
• At this time, we are unable to accept recommendations from letter services such as Interfolio. Requests for an exception will not be granted.
• Letters must be submitted by December 1st. No exceptions.

5. GRE scores

Only the general GRE Examination is required. There is no subject exam in our field.

We do not establish a minimum GRE score for admission to the program. Test scores are only one component of the overall application.  They are rarely the deciding factor in admissions, but we do take scores into careful consideration for a well-rounded sense of the applicant (especially for consideration for some fellowships).  If you have a very low GPA and a very low GRE, along with an overly general or poorly written statement of purpose, we will be unlikely to admit you for all of those reasons rather than one alone. If your application contains a mixture of factors, we will try to evaluate it in the context of your letters of recommendation and all of the available materials. Very high scores do not cancel out a poorly written or weakly argued statement of purpose. Our field requires a great deal of reading and writing so the verbal section of the examination is particularly important but, as explained above, not determining.  As you can see, there are many factors taken into consideration in the admissions process.

Exam scores should be submitted electronically. For exam purposes use Institution Code: R4834 and Department Code: 2999. To insure that the program receives scores before our deadline, you should take the exam no later than October 15.

TOEFL Exam

In addition to the GRE, applicants whose native language or language of instruction is not English must take the TOEFL (The Test of English as a Foreign Language) Exam.

TOEFL is given by:

Educational Testing Service (ETS)
PO Box 6151
Princeton NJ 08541-6151
(215) 750-8050.

Official score reports must be sent from ETS directly to UC Davis Graduate Studies. The minimum score required for admission to UC Davis is 550 on the paper exam, 213 on the computer-based exam, or 68 on the internet-based exam. There is no conditional admission. The score report is required before application processing begins.

TIPS:

• GRE scores should be submitted electronically.
• If you have arranged to receive a copy of  your scores, send us a copy.
• Keep it current. If your GRE scores are more than 5 years old, you need to retake the exam. If your TOEFL scores are more than 2 years old, you need to retake the exam.
• We are unable to accept scores for exams taken after December 1st.
• What happens if your scores come in after the deadline? We will have to consider your application during our deliberations as “incomplete”. Please don’t badger or cajole the staff person in our office if your scores are coming in late. We need them by the deadline. Period.

6. Official transcripts of all graduate and undergraduate work

Like GRE scores, grades are an important but partial part of your accomplishments. The UC Davis Graduate Studies office requires a minimum GPA of 3.0. While we take GPA very seriously, some people have abilities that are not reflected, for one reason or another, in their undergraduate or M.A. program GPA. But we need substantive context and information to make a request for an exception. GPA may determine whether or not you are eligible to be put forward for most fellowships. Transcripts must be received in the Cultural Studies office by the December 1st deadline

Please send transcripts to:

Cultural Studies Graduate Group
University of California, Davis
2201 Hart Hall
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616

TIPS:

• Applicants should submit only one transcript for each university or college they have attended and listed on their application. That transcript will be made available to faculty in each graduate program to which the applicant has applied, as well as for the review of the fellowship application.
• Please send your transcript directly to the graduate program to which you have applied; in the case of multiple applications, applicants should send only one transcript to their first choice of graduate programs or to the first completed graduate program application.
• Help us to help you. If your GPA has been under 3.0 make sure you include some information to assist us in making the case for your admission. If this information is sensitive or confidential, contact the chair of the program.
• If appropriate, ask your recommenders to comment on your abilities in relation to your GPA. 

7. Fellowship application

The Cultural Studies Graduate Group has no endowment or other resources that would enable us to offer our own fellowships.  UC Davis has some “internal” fellowships  and we urge everyone to apply for them. We have some success in getting these fellowships for our incoming students but they are small in number and we cannot promise that you will receive them.

A link to the application is available at the Graduate Studies Web site. Fellowship applications must be submitted electronically on or before December 1. Domestic students must also fill out the FAFSA form in order to be considered for grants, fellowships and loans.  The 2010-2011 FAFSA is available online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ on January 1st.

TIPS:

• Take the time to apply for the fellowships
• No FAFSA, no fellowship.  File your FAFSA form!

8. Résumé or Curriculum Vitae

9. Application Fee of $70.00

The application fee is $70 for the domestic application and $90 for the international. The fee may be paid by credit card or e-check. The fee must be paid before the application will be considered as complete, and the fee must be paid for each application submitted.

Please note that the fee is not refundable under any circumstances, nor will an application be processed until the fee is received. Applicants with demonstrated financial need may apply for a waiver of the application fee. Fee waivers forms can only be obtained from the Office of Graduate Studies by calling (530) 752-0650 (please do not contact us for this).  Funds for waivers are extremely limited and are available only to citizens and permanent residents of the U.S.

Contacting Faculty and Students

We encourage you to contact faculty members you would like to work with as well as Cultural Studies graduate students to get a better feel for the program.  Current students are often the best resources for getting a sense of how the program actually works on a day-to-day basis in terms of funding, class offerings, student life in Davis, etc. Many of our students make their e-mail addresses available on our website (see the Students page).

Students are often excellent peers in the application process (and beyond). If you know current graduate students in any program who have gone through the admissions process, ask them for strategies they used and, if possible, read over their application material.

Faculty may be very busy at the time of year that application materials are due. Try to give them plenty of lead time when you contact them.  If you can, talk to faculty members at your undergraduate institution who have served on admissions committees in your intended field(s). Ask them for information about both successful and unsuccessful applications—learning what not to do is as important as learning what to do. Work closely with those professors who are writing letters of recommendation for you. Ask them to review your application packet before submitting it. In particular ask them for feedback on your statement of interest and writing sample, and rewrite as many times as necessary.