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The University of New Mexico

Admissions

Thanks for your interest in our graduate program.  We host a great group of graduate students, and we’re always looking for more.  The GES faculty is committed to providing outstanding teaching and mentorship, and our graduates have strong records of success.  Our curriculum is designed to nurture spatial thinking and to challenge you to think critically about how people understand and interact with their environments.  We encourage you to apply for graduate study with us.

Deadlines

The application deadline to start the graduate program in the Fall semester is February 1.  We do not offer admission to the graduate program in the Spring semester.  

If you are interested in taking graduate coursework prior to admission to the program, you can enroll in UNM as non-matriculated graduate student.  This will not guarantee admission to the graduate program, but will give you an opportunity to become familiar with the department and become known to our faculty.  Coursework taken in this way will count toward the degree if you are accepted into and enter the Master's program. You may apply for non-matriculated status through the UNM Office of Graduate Studies (http://grad.unm.edu/prospective-students/apply-now.html). 

 

Application Requirements

UNM’s online application will allow you to upload all your necessary documents for application to our program. Within the application, make sure to click Application instructions to see program specific requirements.http://www.unm.edu/apply

You will need to provide:

1. Official transcripts of all academic institutions attended.
2. GRE scores – required for all students, including those with a degree from UNM.
3. Three letters of recommendation.
4. Letter of intent, explaining your background, your interest in the program, research areas you would like to work on, and your future plans (typically 2 to 3 pages in length).  The letter of intent should also indicate whether you are seeking a graduate assistantship or any other form of financial assistance, as well as your qualifications relevant to serving as either a Teaching Assistant or a Research Assistant.
5. Current resume, documenting your academic and professional accomplishments.
6. Applicants for whom English is not a native language will need to provide current TOEFL scores.

 

GPA and GRE Scores

The Department does not have minimum requirements for GPA or GRE scores. However, most applicants we accept have a minimum GPA score of 3.5 and minimum GRE scores of 153 for verbal and 144 for quantitative. Lower scores do not necessarily prevent you from getting accepted and higher scores do not necessarily mean you will get accepted. Scores are important but we look at the entire application when making our decisions.

If you have further questions, please email to geography@unm.edu. .  If you have questions about the university admissions process, please visit the UNM Office of Admissions.