At minimum, you need to:

• hold a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university;
• have satisfactory undergraduate academic record and meet at least one of the following minimum GPA (4.0 scale) requirements:
  • maintain overall GPA of at least a 2.5 on all undergraduate work, or
  • an overall GPA of at least a 3.0 in the undergraduate major, or
  • a GPA of at least a 3.0 on all undergraduate work taken in the senior year.
  • NOTE: Graduate level coursework will be considered in the application review process and may be considered in lieu of the above undergraduate GPA requirements.
• obtain three recommendations (online through application system; recommendations are not required for MBA applicants);
• pay the application fee, and
• meet Program Specific Admission Requirements.

Not all of our programs require a standardized test score for applications, some programs waive the test requirements for certain GPAs or if applicant holds a master's or doctorate degree, but graduate programs requiring official test scores must have scores earned within the past 5 years. 

Graduate students may transfer up to twelve credit hours (with a grade of B or better) of relevant graduate credit taken at an accredited institution with approval of the Program Director and the Dean of The Graduate School.

It is the responsibility of the student to apply for approval of transfer credit within one calendar year of the first day of classes of the semester or summer session of the student’s first enrollment in courses, including prerequisites required for his/her graduate program.

Course work successfully completed at other colleges and universities recognized by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), Higher Learning Commission (HLC), Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), and WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) will be considered for transfer credit. College level coursework completed at other US Department of Education nationally accredited colleges/universities which are not listed above may be considered for transfer credit. 

When an application is received and meets the general Graduate School criteria, the completed application is forwarded for review and recommendation by the Program Director of the indicated program. After recommendation is made to The Graduate School Dean, the Dean will conduct a final review and make the final determination of acceptance. Once a determination is made, you will be notified by The Graduate School and the decision will be made available in the application system.

By applying early, an applicant not only allows time to resolve any problems that may occur with an application, but qualified applicants greatly increase their chances of being admitted into the program of their choice the semester they desire. Further, an applicant must be admitted to apply for Graduate Assistantships and Financial Aid. Finally, some programs reach maximum student capacity, quickly and the starting semester may be put off for a year as some programs have a once a year start date.  

Official transcripts are sent directly from one university to another. Unofficial transcripts are copies of transcripts that have been opened by someone other than an official UNCP employee. Many transcripts are sent electronically, now, but hard copies of transcripts given directly to the student may be submitted; but they cannot be opened. A university official must open the transcript to make them official.

No.  We can obtain your UNCP transcript. There is no charge for this service.

It is typical that we receive different documents of your application at various times and this is not a problem. We will put all your applications documents together. Documents are held for up to two years only; after which new documentation will be needed with the exception of test scores which will be held for five years, and transcripts which will be held for three years. The actual application is good for up to one year after submission.

At The Graduate School we have two categories in which this can possibly be done with the approval of the Dean of The Graduate School.  

1. Special Admission to The Graduate School: Students seeking admission into this category are frequently unable to submit all documents required for full or conditional admission prior to the beginning of a semester. Other applicants enter this category with the intention of transferring their graduate courses to another institution. All students seeking to enroll in this non-matriculated special admission status may register for one semester only, for no more than six (6) semester hours, and are cautioned that they have not been admitted into a degree granting program of an academic department.
2. Enrollment for Enrichment Purposes: Applicants who possess a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher learning, are not enrolled in degree programs at other institutions, and who wish to complete courses at UNCP for personal or professional enrichment may qualify for admission as special students (see general application procedures above). Students in this category cannot enroll for more than six (6) semester hours in a semester. Continuation of enrollment beyond one semester in this category requires the written approval of the Dean of The Graduate School. A maximum of six (6) semester hours (if appropriate and within the time limit) earned as a special student may later be applied toward degree requirements.

At UNC Pembroke all course work applied toward the master’s degree must have been completed within five years (six years for the Professional School Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Social Work programs) of formal admission to the program. The time requirement is based upon the calendar. For example, if a student enrolls for a fall semester graduate course, then this student is one year into his/her time limit at the start of the next fall semester.

You are actually late applying for graduation. Complete a Graduation Application and submit it to The Graduate School with all required signatures by the specified deadlines (March 1 for fall graduation, October 1 for spring graduation) and pay the graduation and late fees.

If you are sending your GRE test scores the school code is R5534.
If you are sending your MAT test scores the school code is 1363.
If you are sending your GMAT test scores the school code is DP8-3F.
The school code for other purposes such as financial aid is 002954.

Prerequisite course information is program specific information. This information can be found on The Graduate School website under Program Specific Requirements.

Once you have determined which graduate program is right for you, complete an on-line application which is located on The Graduate School website in the right banner area: Apply to Graduate School.

Tuition and fee schedules change annually. Check the Tuition and Fees schedule.

Financial assistance and graduate assistantships are available to graduate students.

Log back into your application. Your status information will be displayed. If you encounter any problems, you may call The Graduate School for status checks 910.521.6271.

Your financial support documents are not required in order for an admissions decision to be made. However, an I-20 cannot be issued for any admitted student until all valid financial documents have been received.  Once you have been accepted into UNCP and financial documents received, the International Programs office will be able to issue you the I-20 or DS-2019 that you will need so that you may apply for your student visa. Once accepted, you will also have full access to the full range of services that the International Programs office offers.

It may take a couple of days for certain documents to reach The Graduate School (especially transcripts) and for us to note receipt in the application system, especially during high-volume times. If you encounter any problems, or you feel the information displayed is in error, you may call The Graduate School for status checks.

Denied applicants may certainly reapply for a program or apply for a different graduate program. We strongly encourage them, however, to first improve either the GPA or test score.  You may want to also contact the program director for additional guidance. 

All degree seeking graduate students are strongly encouraged and expected to attend the scheduled orientation session during their first semester of enrollment. Students are held responsible for knowing and understanding the information provided during orientation sessions. Dates and times of the August and January orientation sessions are posted on The Graduate School website. Graduate students beginning their studies during the summer sessions are expected to attend the fall semester orientation.

A new application for the correct program needs to be submitted. Contact The Graduate School so the wrong application can be returned to the online application system for correction. Also, criteria for the correct program may differ slightly from the previous program applied for. Please check program specific-requirements. New recommendations pertaining to the correct program may also be needed.

As soon as you have been advised by your advisor as to what classes to take and given your four-digit registration pin, you will be able to register during the open registration period for that semester, typically this begins in late March for summer and fall classes and in late October for spring classes.

Contact the university to see if and when your transcripts were mailed and make sure they were mailed to the correct UNCP Graduate School address. If you still think we should have received your transcripts, let us know and will communicate with other offices on campus that could have possibly received them in error.

Full-time enrollment in The Graduate School is nine (9) graduate credit hours during a regular (15-week) semester.  Half-time enrollment is four and a half (4.5) graduate semester hours. In general, graduate students may enroll in no more than sixteen (16) semester hours during regular semesters (some programs may require students to take fewer hours). Students may complete an Overload Request form to request permission to enroll in additional hours. Students employed on a fulltime basis are encouraged to take six (6) credit hours a semester, or less.  

During each summer session, graduate students may enroll in a maximum of eight (8) credit hours for a total of sixteen (16) credit hours during the summer.  

Accelerated online MBA students should check with their advisor before taking more than six (6) credit hours a term.