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Admissions

The Department of Asian Studies admits students for the Fall semester only.

All elements of an application are taken into consideration when evaluating a student's application for admission.  Considerable weight is given to the statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, and writing samples.  Applicants whose files were complete by the application deadline (both departmental requirements and Office of Graduate Admissions) will receive notification of admissions decisions, usually around the beginning of March.

Questions?  Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Fall 2026 Admissions

The online application opens on September 1. The application deadline for Fall 2026 admissions is December 15, 2025. All required application materials must be received by the deadline. Please note the application process requires submission of both the Graduate School application and additional document upload using the MyStatus system. This process usually takes more than one day. Late and/or incomplete applications will not be considered. It is strongly recommended that you submit your online application at least one month prior to the deadline to allow your recommenders sufficient time to upload their letters and for you to be able to upload all needed documents. Please be aware that your application will not be released to the department to make a decision unless all needed documents are uploaded.

Application Instructions

The following items are required and should be submitted online:

  1. Online application to UT Austin
  2. Department of Asian Studies Supplemental Information Form
  3. Required: GPA
    Optional:     GRE scores (see below).
    See https://gradschool.utexas.edu/about/statistics-surveys/admissions-enrollment for information about GPA and GRE/GMAT test scores. 
    As of the Fall 2026 application cycle: The GRE is optional/not required for admission to our program. If you have GRE scores available, you are encouraged to submit your official General Test results and the admissions committee will consider them alongside a holistic evaluation of your application. When provided, GRE scores will be used to assess analytical and communicative writing skills, along with the statement of purpose and writing sample(s). In the absence of GRE scores, we will use the statement of purpose and writing sample(s) to assess your analytical and communicative writing skills. If you do not submit GRE scores, the committee will base their decision on your submitted application materials with no negative impact on their evaluation. The GRE waiver is applied automatically to all applications, but if you have any questions, please contact the Graduate Coordinator.
  4. TOEFL/IELTS scores (international students only).
    See Submit Test Scores for information about TOEFL/IELTS test scores.
  5. Transcripts.
    See the Office of Graduate Admissions' page for transcript upload instructions.
  6. Statement of Purpose. Please see here https://www.liberalarts.utexas.edu/asianstudies/graduate-programs/resources/statement-of-purpose-guidelines.html for guidelines. 
  7. Three Letters of Recommendation. Letters from tenure-track faculty are preferred.
  8. Writing sample(s).You may submit either one long (20 page) writing sample or two shorter (5-10 page) writing samples.  The majority of the samples should be in English (with the exceptions of sources and cited works). The option of two shorter samples is preferred.
  9. CV or resume.

For more information about how to apply and upload documents, please see https://gradschool.utexas.edu/admissions/apply.  

Eligible applicants who wish to be considered for a Foreign Language Area Scholarship through the South Asia Institute should submit a separate application for that program.  The application window for 2026-27 academic year fellowships tentatively will extend from November 1, 2025 through mid-February 2026.  Information on how to apply can be found here: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/southasia/students/flas-fellowships/.

Applying to dual degree Masters programs

To be considered for admission to a dual degree program, applicants must submit all required materials to both graduate programs and the University's Office of Graduate Admissions. Please refer to the LBJ School and the McCombs School of Business for information about their degrees and application requirements.

IMPORTANT:  You may submit one Statement of Purpose for both programs. If you wish to submit a separate Statement of Purpose for each program, please contact the Admissions office directly for assistance. You must submit each program's required materials by its application deadline.  Note: while some degree programs may have rolling deadlines, the Department of Asian Studies admits students only once per year, for the Fall semester only. Please note that the LBJ School deadline is December 1. 

Campus visits are encouraged!

Students who are interested in or have applied to the Department of Asian Studies graduate program are encouraged to visit UT.  Please contact the Graduate Coordinator at dasgrads@austin.utexas.edu for further information or to set up an appointment.  Tours of the UT campus may be arranged through the University Visitor Center.

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