Admission Information

Departments and/or schools may have more specific admission requirements.

Springfield College accepts men and women for graduate study who possess personal and professional potential for effective educational and social leadership. In harmony with the philosophy of education at Springfield College, consideration is given to the whole person-maturity, motivation, and purpose. At the same time, attention is given to conditions that may seriously interfere with the student’s performance in his/her academic work; therefore the following guidelines have been developed.

No student is admitted to full graduate standing with less than a 2.500 undergraduate index. Applicants with less than a 2.500 index, but not less than 2.000, will be considered for probationary admission if there is convincing evidence in examining their undergraduate academic record (and/or supporting documents, including appropriate tests, interviews, additional academic work, or experience) that, if given an opportunity, they will meet the academic standards at Springfield College. In all probationary cases of admission, there should be careful examination and full documentation of the basis for admission.

Admission to graduate study requires the submission of a completed application by the student. It is the student’s responsibility to have the registrars of all institutions he/she has previously attended forward official transcripts directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Admission to the graduate program requires the possession of a bachelor’s degree. The student must also return a completed medical examination form following acceptance.

Persons who have completed courses at Springfield College are not required to submit official transcripts for such work. (Also, they are not required to submit a medical form, provided their studies from undergraduate level to graduate level are continuous.) The applicant is notified when final action is taken on the application.

Springfield College faculty members with the rank of instructor or above may not receive a graduate degree from this institution. Full time non-faculty employees of Springfield College may not receive a degree beyond the Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) from Springfield College. Faculty and full time non-faculty employees may register for graduate courses and apply such credit to graduate degrees at other institutions, where applicable.

Students who wish to begin graduate work as an undergraduate must file a written request and secure the approval of the Associate Vice President for Graduate Education and Research before registering for such study. No request will be approved unless the student’s cumulative grade point average is 3.000 or better at the start of the semester during which the course or courses are to be taken.

An undergraduate student at Springfield College must be within eighteen semester hours of graduation before beginning graduate study. However, if students are required to do full-time, off-campus fieldwork during the final semester prior to graduation, they may be permitted to begin graduate work in the previous semester, provided they have no more than eighteen semester hours of undergraduate coursework requirements remaining.

Policy for Educator Licensure Programs

Requirements for admission:

1. Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
2. Minimum undergraduate grade point average of 2.50.
3. Transcript review (teacher preparation programs only).
4. Commitment to the field of education as demonstrated by past experience, essays, interviews and/or reference letters.
5. Demonstration of other measures of academic and/or professional achievement required by individual programs (e.g., GRE score, MTEL score, transcript review, professional experience).

See individual programs for additional requirements.

CORI Requirements

Springfield College students who will have direct contact with children as part of their educational program will be required by their host agency to complete a criminal history background check, (CORI), as a condition of participation in this activity.

Applicants for Whom English is a Second Language

Upon arrival at Springfield College, all students for whom English is a second language will be assessed for English language proficiency. Following the assessment, each student will receive appropriate academic advisement pertaining to specific course selection.

Applicants will be considered for conditional acceptance if they are in good academic standing and have met all admission requirements, except proof of English proficiency as determined by a minimum recommended TOEFL score of 550 (CBT equivalent is 213). Although unavailable in certain programs, the conditional acceptance will generally be available to those applicants who have scored between 450 and 549 (CBT equivalent is 133 to 212) on the TOEFL. Students with a TOEFL result below 450, or those who present no TOEFL result, will not be accepted to Springfield College.

A conditionally accepted student will automatically be enrolled in the Academic English Program and will petition for full matriculation upon the successful completion of the ESOL program or the TOEFL examination. Each conditionally accepted student must also obtain a letter of recommendation from an English program faculty member of the intensive English program in order to obtain graduate student status.