Letters of recommendation. All applicants, whether requesting financial aid or not, must have three letters of recommendation. Recommendations are submitted online to the Graduate School as part of the application process.
GRE general scores. All applicants must take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), offered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), and request that ETS send the scores to UW-Madison. Applicants should sign up to take the GRE at the earliest possible date. Processing of scores takes up to six weeks.
Official school records. Official transcripts are required from each institution where the applicant did prior academic work. Applicants are required to scan their official transcripts into the graduate school application. Paper transcripts or electronic transcripts will not be accepted during the application process. If an institution does not issue official transcripts, a letter from an administrator of the institution should be scanned into the application instead. The letter should include: (a) year of admission, (b) number of years enrolled at the institution, (c) reference to the quality of work (analysis of grading system), (d) evidence that examinations were passed, (e) diploma certifying degree, class and year, and (f) General Certificate of Education or equivalent.
Evidence of English proficiency. Each applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English, must provide an English proficiency test score. See the Graduate School requirements for more details.