NAU graduate admissions

Applicants must have earned an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution, or an institution accredited by a Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) recognized accrediting body, with a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale, or the equivalent. Students holding a cumulative GPA below 3.0 may be considered for conditional admission with a recommendation and rationale from the admitting academic program. 

Undergraduate transcripts from all undergraduate and/or graduate work completed in the U.S. must be uploaded within your application to be evaluated. Ensure all pages of your transcript are included and can be easily read. Your official transcripts, sent from the issuing institution directly to Northern Arizona University, will be required upon admittance to your graduate program for GPA and degree conferral verification. NAU students do not need to submit official transcripts for NAU coursework.

NAU students may access unofficial transcripts via LOUIE. You may then request transcripts on the transcripts and enrollment verification page.

For a transcript to be considered official for admission purposes, it must be sent directly from the former institution to NAU. Transcripts may be sent electronically to GradAdmissions@nau.edu or via ground to:

Northern Arizona University
Graduate Admissions
PO Box 4184
Flagstaff, AZ 86011

Academic programs, departments, or colleges may have additional admission requirements and application materials. The program establishes review criteria and acceptance standards, including the acceptance of the type of undergraduate degree, other academic indicators, professional experiences, and/or scholarly focus. The program and/or department determines admission committee structure and guidelines. For these requirements, contact the specific academic program and/or refer to the Academic Catalog.

If an applicant meets all admission criteria, has been evaluated and recommended for admission by the academic program, and has been evaluated and approved by SEM-Graduate Admissions, the applicant may be granted full/unconditional admission, barring any extenuating circumstances. The department establishes the admission decision timeline for each degree program.

If an applicant is not qualified for regular admission status, they may be granted conditional admission. Reasons for conditional admission vary and may include, but are not limited to:

• The bachelor’s degree is expected to be completed before the start of graduate work, but has not yet been posted to an official transcript.
• Minimum admission standards were not met, but the applicant demonstrates the potential to meet the requirements of the degree.
• Programmatic or discipline-specific requirements are deficient, or the applicant lacks certain prerequisites.

To change from conditional status to full/unconditional status, the student must complete all admission requirements and remove all deficiencies within the timeframe noted in the admission letter. Students who fail to meet conditional admission requirements may be denied admission upon academic department and SEM-Graduate Admissions review, without a probationary period.

For more information, please see NAU Policy 200357: Admissions, Graduate.

Individuals interested in personal enrichment or not ready to apply to a degree program may apply for admission as a non-degree student. Applicants are required to obtain a posted bachelor’s degree to be eligible for graduate non-degree admission.

Graduate non-degree-seeking students may take an unlimited number of graduate-level courses while in this status. However, upon admission to a graduate program, they may apply a maximum of 12 units of graduate coursework toward their degree if approved by the program.

Residency Classification for tuition purposes is based on policies set by the Arizona Board of Regents.