How to Apply

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The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at City of University of New York welcomes candidates from a diverse range of social, cultural, ethnic, and professional backgrounds.

FALL 2025 APPLICATION

The Fall 2025 application is live! The $75 application fee will be waived for anyone submitting their application by the final deadline of Monday, March 3 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

The Fall 2025 application deadlines are:

February 3, 2025* – Priority deadline for scholarship consideration

March 3, 2025 – Final application deadline

*Applications must be complete with all required materials, including the entrance exam and letters of recommendation, to be eligible for priority consideration. Refer to the checklist below to learn more about the application requirements.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

The Newmark J-School offers a number of general and interest-based scholarships. The assessment is based on a holistic review of your application, academic achievements, interests and goals.

LEARN MORE

TIPS FOR APPLYING SESSION

Applicants are invited to attend a Tips for Applying session to chat with an admissions representative and receive helpful tips on putting their best foot forward in the application process. The session will cover all elements of the application including the personal statement, writing/multimedia clips, admissions exam, and so on.

CONTACT US

Please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Admissions at (646) 758–7900 or via email at admissions@journalism.cuny.edu if you have any questions.

1. Proof of bachelor’s degree

You MUST have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution comparable in standard and content to a bachelor’s degree from a CUNY college.

International Students

The Office of Admissions can only evaluate education credentials from Canada.

If you have an international transcript from any other country besides Canada, your international transcript must be evaluated by a professional agency from the member list on the NACES website. Evaluations must include a course-by-course analysis indicating the type of degree received, accreditation, the U.S. equivalency of the degree, the graduation date, and a cumulative grade point average. The course evaluation must show that you received a degree equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in the United States from an accredited institution. All academic credentials must be verified.

While we don’t recommend one organization over another, the most common evaluations that we see are from World Education Services (WES), The Evaluation Company (formerly SpanTran) and Education Credential Evaluators (ECE). If you decide to use SpanTran, please refer to the The Evaluation Company (formerly SpanTran) to ensure you receive a discount and correct evaluation.

The international credential evaluation must be received by the application deadline date and indicate that you received a degree from an accredited institution equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree. Evaluations may take weeks or months to complete. It is strongly recommended to begin the process early to ensure your application is completed on time. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

If you are accepted into the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and decide to enroll you MUST provide the Office of Admissions with an official transcript from your undergraduate institution. This official transcript is mandatory and in addition to your international transcript evaluation. An official transcript is sent to us by the issuing school’s registrar office in a sealed envelope. If your school issues the official transcript to you DO NOT open the envelope. Please deliver it to us in the sealed envelope. If you have any questions, please email admissions@journalism.cuny.edu.

2. Online Application

Completed online application for the Master of Arts in Journalism, including the Bilingual Program, and the Master of Arts in Engagement Journalism.

Online Application

IMPORTANT NOTE: You may apply to more than one program with one application fee/waiver. Applicants may use the same materials and recommendation letters, with the exception of the M.A. in Journalism – Bilingual Program, since it requires one Spanish writing sample. If you are interested in applying to more than one program, please follow the instructions below:

Go to the online application
Go to “If this is your first visit: Please create a new account” and follow the prompts
OR, for those with existing accounts select “Existing accounts: Please login here”

REQUIRED MATERIALS

The following documents MUST be uploaded to your application. Hard copies of application materials submitted to the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism or the CUNY Graduate Center will not be accepted.

One-page Resume
Applicant Statement

In no more than 1,000 words, tell us about your personal background and your interests. Please explain what draws you to the profession, what subjects you’d like to shine a light on, and what you hope to gain from studying at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.

Academic Transcripts

We require transcripts from all academic institutions attended.

Unofficial transcripts can be uploaded to the online application. If you are admitted, official transcripts will be required prior to registration in August.

Three Letters of Recommendation

When you complete your online application, you will be asked for the email address of each recommender and our application system will send an email directly to that individual. The recommender is asked to upload a personal letter of recommendation and to answer one question: Do they recommend the applicant?

Your recommenders may include professors, editors, employers, community leaders, or any non-family individual who can appraise your academic, personal, or professional achievements and speak to your journalistic potential.

Clips/Writing Samples

We require three writing samples. One multimedia sample can be submitted in lieu of one of the writing samples. Work samples must be non-fiction, a maximum of five pages each, and can include published news clips, academic papers, or unpublished writing.

If you choose to submit a multimedia sample in lieu of one writing sample you will include the URL in the space provided on the online application.

IMPORTANT: Applicants to the Bilingual Program must include two writing samples in English and one in Spanish.

3. Application Fee: $75*

You can pay the application fee via credit card. At the point of submitting your online application you will receive instructions for how to make the payment.

The application fee is waived for the following applicants:

Anyone submitting their application by the final deadline of Monday, March 3, 2025
U.S. Armed Services veterans
McNair Scholars
Students and alumni from: City University of New York (CUNY), State University of New York (SUNY), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs)

4. Admissions Entrance Exam

To be considered for admission, all applicants must complete the admissions exam. This exam is designed to assess your analytical and editing skills, as well as your ability to write clearly and concisely within a timed environment. You will have 90 minutes to complete the exam. Click the link below to learn more and register. Please note that you will need to enter your application credentials in order to schedule the exam.

Entrance Exam

5. Admissions Interview (Optional)

The admissions interview is optional and takes roughly 15-20 minutes. They are one-on-one, informal conversations with an admissions representative. Applicants may request an interview if they want to share additional information they did not provide during the application process. The interview must be requested and completed prior to submitting the application. It is strongly recommended to schedule the interview well in advance if submitting your application by the priority deadline, as interviews are conducted throughout the week (excluding weekends), on a first come, first served basis. Applicants will receive an email with information about scheduling a virtual interview via Zoom after starting their application.

Applicants are not at a disadvantage if they do not request an interview.

Important Note: The admissions committee may request an interview for applicants they wish to learn more about beyond their application submission.

6. Spanish-language Interview (Bilingual Program applicants ONLY)

7. English-language Test (If Applicable)

Applicants who received an undergraduate degree from an institution where English is not the language of instruction and is located in a country that does not recognize English as an Official Language must submit an official score from TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test or Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic. Applicants with a bachelor’s degree from a Puerto Rican university must also complete an English-language test, unless the language of instruction was English-only.

Electronic score reports must be sent directly from the test center to the Office of Admissions in order to be considered official. All TOEFL/IELTS/PTE Academic/Duolingo test centers are able to send scores electronically to our institution by adding Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY as a recipient. Scores will only be accepted from an exam taken within the past two years.

Please view this document for a list of English-language testing exempt countries.

Minimum score requirements:

TOEFL (iBT) = 105

IELTS = 7.5

Duolingo English Test = 125

PTE Academic = 73

Priority deadline for scholarship consideration

February 3, 2025 (Extended)

Final deadline

March 3, 2025

Mandatory Orientation and Intensive Training begins
Mid-August 2025

Classes Begin
August 25, 2025

*Note to Bilingual Program applicants: Students admitted to the Bilingual Program are not automatically admitted to the other programs. If they decide to switch concentrations once they have been admitted, their application will need to be reviewed by a new committee.

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