Admissions
Helpful Information for Draper Applicants
Contact draper.program@nyu.edu if your questions are not addressed on this page.
Notice:
In an effort to adopt a more environmentally responsible application process, the Graduate School of Arts and Science is only accepting applications through their online system. Paper applications have been discontinued. Draper strongly encourages applicants to submit all application materials--including transcripts and letters of recommendation--via the online application system. Doing so helps minimize processing delays and also allows you to track the receipt of your application materials more effectively.
Admissions FAQs
Many questions about the Draper Program's admissions procedures are addressed here, but additional information about the application process can be found on the Graduate School of Arts and Science Application Resource Center Web site.
Application
Visiting Draper
Helpful Resources
Application
Since the John W. Draper Interdisciplinary Master’s Program in Humanities and Social Thought is part of NYU’s Graduate School of Arts and Science, all applicants must apply to the program via GSAS’ general online application.
What are the basic requirements of the Draper application?
All students applying to the Draper Program must submit the following materials with their general GSAS application:
- Official Academic transcripts from the applicant's undergraduate institution, as well as any other colleges at which he/she completed coursework.
- GRE (and TOEFL, if applicable) test scores. General test scores for the GRE (rather than subject test scores) are sufficient.
- Three letters of recommendation
- A resume or Curriculum Vitae
- A Draper-specific statement of purpose
Please note: In addition to the materials above, all applicants to Draper must submit an application fee.
The above information can also be found on GSAS’ downloadable "Application Requirements and Deadlines".pdf at the NYU GSAS Application Resource Center. (Please note: On this .pdf, the Draper Program is alphabetized under "Humanities and Social Thought.")
What is the minimum GRE score required for admittance into the program? How heavily does the admissions committee weigh GRE scores?
Draper does not keep records on the range of our students' GRE scores, nor do we have a minimum score for acceptance to the program. Our admissions committee looks at applications as a whole, primarily considering an applicant’s statement of purpose, as well as letters of recommendation and previous academic work. A strong GRE score is more likely to help an application that may have weaknesses, than a weak GRE score is likely to hurt an otherwise strong application.
If you are still concerned about your GRE scores, you can include a brief statement in the application to put the score into some context for the admissions committee. There is a special section in the application which allows applicants to include any pertinent information that they were not able to provide elsewhere.
Who is required to take the TOEFL? Is there a recommended score for admission?
Students whose native language is not English or who did not receive an undergraduate or advanced degree from an English-language institution must demonstrate proficiency on the TOEFL. We recommend a minimum score of 650 on the paper test, 280 on the computer version, or 114 on the Internet version.
International applicants can refer here for more information on the TOEFL and other FAQs.
What should be in my statement of purpose?
Write about why you think an interdisciplinary program will help you meet your academic goals. What are you longer-term scholarly plans? If you could imagine a master's thesis topic, what might that be? (Don't worry, if you're admitted you can change your mind many times between the start of your degree and its completion.) It may help if you refer to our current course listings to get an idea of our offerings.
Should I include a writing sample?
Draper does not require a writing sample, and as such, if you submit one as part of your application, we cannot guarantee that all members of the admissions committee will read it. You are welcome to include supplementary materials that you think will be helpful to your application, but we encourage applicants to consider Draper's statement of purpose to be the primary--and most important--written element of the application. The committee will look to this statement for evidence of your writing ability and a well-defined research project that fits well in our program's interdisciplinary structure.
Whom should I ask for recommendation letters? What sort of recommendation letters are most effective/useful?
Academic recommendations from professors or advisors with whom an applicant has studied are most useful to the admissions committee and are preferred. If you are unable to obtain three letters from professors or academic advisors, try to get as many as you can. (We suggest that when approaching faculty about recommendations, you provide as much information as possible about yourself—a recent transcript, CV, and/or copies of academic papers are very useful, as well as information about your plans for future study.)
If you are unable to provide letters from three academic references, professional references from people who can discuss your abilities as a researcher or writer are acceptable. Character references from friends, family, or religious advisors are less useful to our admissions committee.
For more information about submitting letters of recommendation, please see GSAS’ “Letters of Recommendation FAQs” .pdf, under "Frequently Asked Questions," here.
I've submitted my application--when will I receive my admissions decision?
Our admissions committee does its best to return admissions decisions to applicants within a month of receiving their completed applications from Graduate Enrollment Services (GES). It does take time for applications to be processed through GES, so this time frame may vary slightly. If you are facing a specific deadline and would like us to expedite your application's review, please email us at draper.program@nyu.edu after you have submitted your application and our admissions committee will do its best to honor your request.
How are admissions decisions made?
The Draper Admissions Committee is made up of Draper faculty as well as the director and the associate director of the Program. We look for an undergraduate record that demonstrates strong academic training, letters of recommendation that speak to the candidate's specific strengths as a student and potential as a scholar, and a statement of purpose that elaborates an intellectual goal attainable through interdisciplinary study. Admissions meetings take place approximately every two to three weeks starting in late April and continuing through mid-July. Applicants are notified of admissions decisions as soon as possible after the meeting in which their material is considered.
I’ve been accepted to Draper; May I defer my admission? What is the deferral process?
GSAS Policy allows all admitted students to defer their enrollment for up to one academic year. You need to send three things to Graduate Enrollment Services (GES) to finalize your deferral:
- Your candidate reply form, indicating that you are accepting our offer of admission.
- The non-refundable $250 tuition deposit.
- A brief written request to defer, indicating the semester that you plan to enroll.
Once these three things have been received, GES will send you a letter confirming your new start date. It will then be your responsibility to keep track of registration dates and deadlines for the semester you begin. We generally suggest that students keep track of these by signing up for Draper's listserv and checking announcements on our 'News and Events' page.
Please note: GES only permits students to defer for one academic year. Requests to extend a deferral will not be approved. If you are unable to enroll in the semester that you deferred to, you will need to submit a new application.
Visiting NYU and Draper
May I sit in on a class session?
Attending a class session as a prospective student can be arranged at the discretion of our faculty. If you are interested in sitting in on a class, please review our current semester's schedule (located on our Academic Program page); if there are any Draper courses that you are particuarly interested in, please email us at draper.program@nyu.edu and we will see if you might be able to attend a session. Draper will not be able to arrange for students to sit in on crosslisted courses.
I'm unfamiliar with the NYU campus. Are tours available?
The Office of Graduate Life offers tours for prospective and newly admitted graduate students each Friday. For more information, please see their Web site.
The Student Resource Center's "Graduate Life" website also has information on other resources that might be useful to you during your visit.
May I meet with someone at Draper?
If you are interested in scheduling a meeting to discuss your potential course of study, the program, or the application process in more detail, please contact Draper’s administrator, Larissa Kyzer, directly at larissa.kyzer@nyu.edu.
Please Note: These informal meetings are intended to address prospective students' questions and concerns. They are not application interviews. Draper does not formally interview applicants, nor will meetings with the program administrator have any bearing on a prospective student’s application.
Where can I learn more about financial aid?
NYU’s Financial Aid Office has counselors who will meet with prospective students to discuss potential aid and financing options. Please see the Financial Aid Web site for more information. International students may find useful financial aid information on the Office of International Students and Scholars Web site.
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