MASTER OF ARTS
There are seven elements to the application process:
1. A STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The statement of purpose is the first document that the admissions committee will read. It is critical that you write a strong and exciting statement, so you should prepare yourself to write many different drafts. It will be helpful if others can read your statement and be brutally honest in their comments. In the statement you must first of all let us know what you want to accomplish by studying human sexuality in our program. We are interested to read what life experience, including educational experience, compelled you to seek a graduate degree in the field. What do you expect to achieve during your graduate education and what future goals does your education and degree support? Write a story that tells us how these two years you will spend in our program fit in your life. What history lead you to the Department of Sexuality Studies, what will you do here, and where do you plan to go after completing the program. We want to make sure that your goals can be met by the strengths of our program. It will help you if your statement generates excitement about you among the members of the admissions committee. Please write no more than two pages single spaced, using normal margins and font sizes.
2. TWO LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
When you ask for letters of recommendation,
it behooves you to send letters that will be highly favorable. You can
ask your referees, politely, if they will write you a strong letter. A
weak letter will hurt your chances like few other things. We will read
the letters of recommendation after we have read your statement and will
make sure that your referees support the impression you have given about
yourself. Most importantly, we will try to ascertain that you have the
academic potential to be successful in a demanding graduate program and
that you will finish what you have started.
We don't have a form for your referees to fill out. We
do expect that they send YOU their letters directly in a sealed envelope
with a signature across the flap. You will then submit your letters with
your complete program admissions package. This process should allay any
concerns you have of your letters not arriving at all or not arriving
on time. We will not share their letters with you at any point.
3. TRANSCRIPTS , indicating a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Please note for the admissions process you will need to submit two sets of transcripts for all your college coursework.You need to send your official transcripts to the university and you need to send an unofficial set with your complete program admissions package.
4. GRADUATE RECORD EXAM (GRE REQUIREMENT)
Our Graduate Record Exam, Writing Assignment. You need at least
a score of 4.0 for the "writing assignment" portion of the GRE.
Please send the official copy.
SCHOOL CODE: 4684 ( You do not need a specific major code, your
application will be matched up with your GRE score)
These are new numbers so it may not be
listed on the institution codes but they are valid numbers. Our mailing
address is:
Department of Sexuality Studies
Master of Arts Admissions
835 Market St Suite 517
San Francisco, CA 94103
5. TEST OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (TOEFL). Applicants, regardless of citizenship, whose native language is not English and who preparatory education was principally in a language other than English are required to take TOEFL. The minimum score is 550 for the written test or 213 for the computer test.
6. DEPARTMENT APPLICATION FORM
You can download the form here (application
word document)
7. SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
APPLICATION
Please keep in mind that you also and separately have to apply to the
graduate school of San Francisco State University. You can find specific
information about this part of the process at the Graduate
Studies Site.
The application deadline is February 15.(if
February 15 falls on a weekend or a holiday, applications are due the
following regular business day) The graduate school's deadline is May
1, however, to expedite the process of application, you should complete
the entire process by February 15. We start accepting applications on
November 15.
*Please send your complete application in one package.
Do not send your materials separately.*
Send the complete application to:
Department of Sexuality Studies
MA Admissions Committee
835 Market Street, Suite 517
San Francisco, CA 94103
United States of America
