School of Information

Admissions

Application Deadlines

Fall: July 1
Spring: November 1

Admission to the Specialist in Information is highly competitive. The decision is made based on a holistic review of the application, including:

• Minimum 3.0 Upper-Division Undergraduate Grade Point Average (on a 4.0 scale)
  • The upper-division GPA is comprised of the grades of the courses taken in the semester where the 60th credit hour is earned and beyond. This worksheet can help you determine your upper-division GPA. You do not need to send us your calculated GPA. 
• Minimum 3.2 Graduate Grade Point Average (on a 4.0 scale) 
• Graduate Admissions Entrance Examination Scores (GRE, MAT, LSAT, or GMAT)
  • NOTE: This requirement has been waived for all master’s and specialist programs through the fall 2026 semester. 
• English Language Proficiency Exam Scores (international applicants only).
  • The departmental minimum scores are as follows:
    • TOEFL iBT: Minimum Total Score of 96
    • IELTS: Minimum Total Score of 6.5
    • Duolingo: Minimum Overall Score of 125

NOTE:  If you have earned a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree from a U.S. institution, this requirement may be requested to be waived. 

Application Requirements

To apply, you will need to submit the following: 

• University Graduate Application and a $30 Application Fee online via the University Graduate Admissions Application Portal 
• Current Resume 
• Statement of Purpose
  • Please discuss (in approximately 1 page, single-spaced) your motivation for graduate study in this field, your professional plans after completing this degree program, and how this degree program will help you achieve your goals. If there are additional details about your professional, academic, or personal history you wish to be considered as part of the application process, please include them in this document. If there is a specific School of Information faculty member you wish to work with as your advisor, please list their name and the reason(s) why you would like to work with them in this document. Please note that while we recognize that AI-based assistance programs can be a valuable editing tool, we do require that application materials submitted be your own original content. The Statement of Purpose should be approximately 1 page in length, single-spaced, with 1-inch borders, and use 10–12-point sans serif font (e.g., Arial, Helvetica).
• Writing Sample
  • Submit a sample of substantive academic or professional writing (preferably recent). The paper should be lengthy enough to fully demonstrate your abilities. 
    • Submitted as a Word document 
    • Not to exceed 1200 words (excluding references)  
    • May be an excerpt of a research paper or thesis 
    • May be a summary and analysis of a research journal article on a topic of interest 
• Official Test Scores
  • Graduate Admissions Entrance Examination Scores (GRE, MAT, LSAT, or GMAT)
    • NOTE: This requirement has been waived for all master’s and specialist programs through the fall 2026 semester. 
  • English Language Proficiency Exam Scores (international applicants only) 
• Official Transcripts
  • A copy of official transcripts from each college or university attended must be sent directly to the University. If you previously attended FSU, you do not need to submit an official FSU transcript. All official test scores and transcripts must be sent to: 

Florida State University
Office of Graduate Admissions
222 South Copeland Street
Westcott Building, Room 314
Tallahassee, FL 32306-1410
USA 

If you attended a college or university located in the United States, you may be able to request an official electronic transcript from your institution to be sent directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions at graduateadmissions@fsu.edu. 

Effective November 13, 2023, the Florida State University Office of Graduate Admissions requires a course-by-course credential evaluation for all applicants who have earned degrees from a non-U.S. institution. International and domestic applicants with degrees earned from international institutions must submit their official transcripts through a National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) approved evaluator. 

SpanTran, a NACES-approved evaluator, has created a custom application for Florida State University that will provide a Divisional Course Analysis that will assist you in selecting the right kind of evaluation at a discounted rate. If you choose to use a NACES approved evaluator other than SpanTran, please work with the evaluation agency to ensure that the evaluation provided is equivalent to SpanTran’s Divisional Course Analysis.

How to Check Your Application Status

The Online Status Check tool is where applicants can monitor the progress of their applications.