Applying to the Annenberg School for Communication
Complete this FORM to receive a series of emails designed to provide advice
for completing the application.
Important dates
- August: The Annenberg School begins accepting submissions for the following fall
term (13 months hence)
- November 1: GRE and TOEFL exams should be complete (see
below for checklist).
- December 1: Statement of Purpose, CV, Test Scores, Transcripts and Online Application must be
submitted and the fee paid
- December 15: ALL Letters of Recommendation must be received
- April 1: Last date for the School to notify you about admission decisions
We encourage candidates to complete the online application process as early as possible
in the academic year.
Questions? Please contact
jmurray@asc.upenn.edu
Requirements and instructions
An application is considered complete when we have received all of the following
items (incomplete applications will not be reviewed):
Please have each recommender's contact information (including email address and phone number)
ready when you log on to begin your application.
- Our application system will send your recommenders a request for
the recommendation from your e-mail address. Please ask each recommender to submit your letter
as a Word or Adobe PDF file using your first and last name as the file name.
If any of your recommenders prefers to provide a hard copy letter instead of using email,
please request that the document be mailed to our admissions office before the deadline of December 15
- Mail should be directed to:
The Annenberg School for Communication Admissions Office
University of Pennsylvania
3620 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6220
- Your recommenders should be three persons familiar with your abilities and scholarly work,
preferably academics whenever possible
- Please do not provide more than three letters of recommendation
The statement of purpose should discuss your potential research area or topic with
the Annenberg School for Communication faculty
or research centers. Please detail how your
academic and professional background, interests, and preparation in the social sciences,
the humanities and other studies support your research topic. The statement should also address
the question of what career objectives an Annenberg degree would help you realize. The statement
should be double spaced and must not exceed 1,000 words.
- The file should be a Word or Adobe pdf file and titled: “Statement” with
the addition of your first and last name. You will attach it to the online
application
A CV or Resume should include references to major research projects, thesis and
other scholarly papers and accomplishments.
- The file should be a Word or Adobe pdf file and titled: “CV” with the addition
of your first and last name. You will attach it to the online application
Applicants are required to have taken the Graduate Record Examination Aptitude Test
(GRE) before they can be considered for admission. This is a University of Pennsylvania
requirement which we cannot waive. Your file will not be reviewed without GRE
scores.
- GRE scores are only valid and reportable for five years from the test date and the
test may be taken internationally, please see the GRE website for test taking locations
in your area
- The ETS code for the Annenberg School at Penn is (2023) on the request form
- Please arrange for us to receive an official report of your general GRE test scores
before the application deadline of December 1
- Applicants should allow at least six weeks for the GRE scores to be processed and
received. Information about the GRE may be obtained from the Educational Testing
Service, P.O. Box 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000, http://www.gre.org/ttindex.html
Applicants for whom English is a second language are required to take either the
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Testing
System (IELTS). The receipt of a baccalaureate or master's degree from a U.S.
college or university does not exempt the applicant from submitting official test
scores.
- The TOEFL is administered by the Educational testing Service (ETS). We will accept
only official score reports provided directly by ETS. Scores are valid for two years.
You must request that an official report of your scores be sent to The Annenberg
School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
- Please use the ETS Code for the Annenberg School at Penn (2023) on the request form
- For TOEFL test dates, locations and other registration information, please contact:
TOEFL, P. O. Box 6151, Princeton, NJ 08541- 6151.ADD or visit http://www.toefl.org/TOEFL
- The IELTS is jointly managed by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge
ESOL), British Council and IDP Education Australia: IELTS Australia. For information
about testing sites in your area please visit the official website at: http://www.ielts.org
Applicants may scan and attach student copies of academic transcripts to the application. If you are
currently taking classes you will not need to send us an updated transcript once
your grades are submitted.
One official transcript of all undergraduate and graduate work will be required if you are offered
admission to the program. An offer of admission will be contingent upon verification of student
records with official transcripts from your institutions. Only graduates of a college or university
will be admitted to the Annenberg School graduate program.
- Payment may be made online via credit card, or via mail (address above) by check
or money order (payable to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania)
- International applicants applying from abroad who are not using credit cards should
provide a $70 check drawn on a U.S. bank or international postal money order
- Please let us know if your situation makes it impossible to meet this requirement
and we will consider underwriting the fee from a special fund set up by the Ambassadors
Annenberg for this purpose
- Application fee checks not honored by the bank will be assessed an additional $25
returned check charge. A replacement money order or certified check for $95 ($70
application fee and $25 returned check charge) will be required to prevent interruption
in the application's processing
You can submit whatever you feel best displays your scholarly writing ability.
The sample must not exceed 10 pages, double spaced, and may be an excerpt from a
larger work. Please upload the writing sample using the online application
or e-mail it to admissions@asc.upenn.edu