Graduate Minor Admission Requirements

Any student who has been accepted to a graduate program at OSU is eligible to complete a graduate minor in Environmental Arts and Humanities. If you would like to declare a Graduate Minor in Environmental Arts and Humanities, please contact the program director, Dr. Jacob Hamblin, for more information (jacob.hamblin@oregonstate.edu).

MAIS Admission Requirements

Please visit the MAIS admission page for admission requirements into the MAIS program.  If you would like to declare Environmental Arts and Humanities as a Field of Study for your MAIS degree, please contact the program director, Dr. Jacob Hamblin, for more information (jacob.hamblin@oregonstate.edu).

MA Admission Requirements

The priority deadline for the MA in Environmental Arts and Humanities is January 5 of each year. Applications also will be considered after that date. new student cohorts begin in Fall term of each academic year.

Applicants are required to submit the OSU online application.More information about the online application is available on the Graduate School website. 

Environmental Arts and Humanities MA Admission Criteria

All applications are required to meet the following criteria:

  1. Bachelor degree from an accredited institution. Significant coursework in humanities or arts is recommended.

  2. Minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.2 (4.0 scale).
  3. GRE scores are not required for admission. 
  4. Official copy of academic transcripts: Applicants are required to submit academic records from each institution attended. Records must show graded course work for all academic work attempted or completed, and may be uploaded into the online application. Uploaded transcripts are considered unofficial but will be used for evaluation purposes. Please provide the front and back of each record if information is included on both sides. Grade slips and/or web-printouts are not acceptable. If the institution is outside the United States, both an original language version and certified English translation of all academic records and degree statements are required. Please include certificates/diplomas for all degrees earned. If admitted, applicants will be required to submit OFFICIAL documentation of all academic work attempted or completed prior to registration for courses. This includes all official transcripts/academic records, degree statements, test scores, etc.  A list of required documents will be included on the formal letter of admission from the Graduate School.
  5. Demonstrated foreign language proficiency equivalent to that attained at the end of a second-year university course in that language with a grade of C (2.00) or better. English is not considered a foreign language for purposes of this requirement. If the applicant has not completed the foreign language requirement, it may be completed during the M.A program.
  6. Three letters of recommendation that specifically evaluate the applicant’s academic abilities (including the ability to bridge disciplines), ability to work collaboratively and independently, and commitment to environmental arts and humanities work.
  7. Personal statement (no more than 700 words) that describes the the student’s specific areas of interest in environmental arts and humanities, including a a discussion of academic and/or work objectives, and explaining how the M.A in Environmental Arts and Humanities will help the student fulfill them. 
  8. Graduate faculty statement. The applicant must select two faculty members whose work matches his or her own interests.  This will help us to place the student with a major professor, though we cannot promise that the student's actual major professor will be the one initially identified by the student. For each faculty member, applicants should write a paragraph explaining the mutual benefits of working together. Applicants are encouraged to review the list of Environmental Arts and Humanities graduate faculty (on this website under "People"). Applicants are encouraged to contact graduate faculty member prior to applying, though the faculty member is not obligated to commit to mentorship. Applicants should contact faculty members who appear to have interests similar to their own. In communication, applicants should share educational and career objectives as well as your qualifications for graduate study.  You may apply to the M.A in Environmental Arts and Humanities without securing a major professor. Professors seeking new graduate students will be able to review all applications to the program. 

Pre-requisites

For formal admission to the program, students must demonstrate a basic level of literacy in both the humanities and the sciences.  Generally, an undergraduate major in a humanities or arts field will provide evidence of sufficient understanding of the arts/humanities, and a major in a scientific or natural resource field will provide evidence of sufficient literacy in science. 

Otherwise, students can demonstrate a sufficient level of understanding by their record of course work, which may be taken as part of the undergraduate degree. Students may be provisionally accepted to the M.A in Environmental Arts and Humanities and then take pre-requisite courses while enrolled in the M.A, but these will not count toward the M.A.

  • To demonstrate basic literacy in the arts and humanities:  At least three courses at the introductory level and two at the upper division level, with a grade of B or higher, to include at least one course each in ethics, logic/critical thinking, and composition; and other courses in the arts and humanities.
  • To demonstrate basic literacy in the sciences: At least three courses at the introductory level and two at the upper division level, with a grade of B or higher, in areas of atmospheric sciences, biology, chemistry, ecology, environmental science, geography, geology, oceanography, physics, or in applied sciences including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, range, or wildlife. 

Graduate Areas of Concentration

The Environmental Arts and Humanities program offers three areas of concentration: 1) Environmental Imagination, 2) Environmental Action, and 3) Environmental Thinking. Students are required to select one area of concentration in the online application form.

Graduate Assistantships 

The Environmental Arts and Humanities program offers a limited number of graduate research assistantships (GRA) and graduate teaching assistantships (GTA) to highly qualified applicants. Decisions on GRA and GTA positions are separate from admissions decisions. Click here for more information about assistantships. To be considered for a GTA or GRA appointment:

  1. Indicate your interest on the OSU Application for Graduate Admission in the “Other Graduate Questions” section.  This step ensures that you will automatically be placed on the assistantship request list upon admission to graduate school.
  2. In your application, include a brief statement  (approximately 250-300 words) indicating your qualifications to act as an assistant to a professor in the classroom. Duties typically include grading, and may include teaching. All GTAs are presumed to have competence in some area of the College of Liberal Arts, and this competence should be identified and discussed. For example, if you see yourself doing well as a GTA in History courses, explain why. If you see a better fit with courses in English literature, Philosophy, Ethnic Studies, or another field, explain why. In addition, if you have particular competence to be a GTA in courses in other participating Colleges (Forestry, Science, and Agricultural Sciences), you should discuss this, because there may be additional funding opportunities available.  

International Applicants

All international applicants and applicants who did not receive a degree in the U.S. (or other English speaking country) must meet the Graduate School’s English language proficiency requirements for admission.  The ETS institution code for OSU is 004586. No department/major code is required.

See more information on other requirements for international applicants on the OSU Graduate School’s International Applicant Admission page.  It is particularly important that international applicants check OSU's specific requirements based on the country in which a prior degree was completed.

University Requirements

Along with the above program-specific requirements, all applicants must also meet minimum Graduate School requirements. 

The Priority deadline for the MA in Environmental Arts and Humanities is January 5 of each year. Applications also will be considered after that date.