Graduate admissions
Like everywhere in the world, in the USA graduate education offers a greater depth of training than undergraduate education, with increased specialization through instruction and research. Pursuing graduate studies in the United States means having access to top-level education and research facilities offered through master’s and doctoral degrees.
Overview
Pursuing a graduate degree is mostly about finding your research & study specialization or niche and putting a significant amount of effort into advancing your professional and academic skills.
Do keep in mind that there are roughly two types of graduate programs – academic and professional – and two levels of graduate study: MA/MSc and PhD. A master’s degree usually takes 1-2 years to complete. It provides additional education and training in a specialized branch of knowledge, well beyond the level of a bachelor’s degree.
The doctoral degree is designed to train research scholars and, in many cases, future professors. Receipt of a doctoral degree certifies that a student is a trained research scholar in a specific discipline. The PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is the most common doctoral degree awarded in academic disciplines, but there are professional doctoral degrees as well.
Please note that in the United States law and medical degrees can only be studied after completing a BA degree in related disciplines.
5 Steps to Graduate Studies
Research your options
There is no easy recipe for success, so when you make your choices you need to clarify your objectives and consider the factors that are important to you both in terms of education and lifestyle. You may like to take into consideration the following criteria: program focus/specialization; financial support for international students; entrance difficulty; department size and location; rankings and ratings.
Finance your studies
There are two avenues leading to a PhD or master’s degree in the U.S.
Through the Fulbright Awards for Romanian citizens you have the opportunity to study, do research, or teach at excellent schools in the U.S. for up to one academic year with funding provided through this most prestigious grant program of the U.S. government.
The other avenue is the independent student approach, which requires that you either self-fund your studies or receive financial support from the university in the form of a tuition waiver or reduction as well as a graduate assistantship (research or teaching assistantship or, more rarely, a fellowship) for the duration of your studies. This requires that you locate those programs that do in fact offer such funding opportunities, mainly PhD programs.
Complete your application
Although U.S. educational institutions vary in their procedures and requirements for admission of international students, applications usually include the following items:
- Application form, usually online
- Official transcripts or certified copies of educational documents (“diploma / adeverința de student / licență “; “foaia matricolă” / ”suplimentul la diplomă”) as well as certified translations of these documents, whenever necessary
- Standardized test scores (GRE/GMAT, TOEFL/IELTS)
- Statement of purpose/Admissions essay, as required
- Letters of recommendation
- Non-refundable application fee
Apply for your student visa
Unless you are a Fulbright grantee, you will need to apply for an F-1 student visa as soon as you receive the official documentation from the university whose offer you have accepted.
You can find up-to-date information about visas on the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs website and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Study in the States.
Prepare for your departure
Make sure you prepare well in advance, budget accordingly and keep in touch with the Office for International Students at your chosen university. You will likely receive from your DSO (designated school official) all the information you need to know before your departure.
Moreover, we warmly encourage you to attend the Pre-Departure Orientation event organized each year by the Fulbright Commission for all outgoing Romanian students, which will be widely publicized on the Commission’s website and on the social media pages of the Commission and its EducationUSA advising center.
Please refer to the following website for official information on visa regulations for students: https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/students/getting-to-the-united-states
Connect with us!
The Fulbright-EducationUSA advising team is ready to guide you through the application process one step at a time!