How do I apply to the MALS program?
The MALS program is designed for mature students whose lively minds have continued to grow since they finished college. Because of this openness to ideas rather than the master of specific concepts that is essential for success in the program, we do not require applicants to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), although you must have a bachelor’s degree (preferably, with at least a B average in your undergraduate major). To apply to the MALS program, you need to complete and submit:

· An application which is obtained on-line through the Office of Graduate Studies web page: www.udel.edu/gradoffice/
· An official transcript of your previous undergraduate and graduate studies.
· A 3-5 page autobiographical essay describing your intellectual interests and how you think these can be developed in the MALS Program. Please do not respond to the three questions on page 2 of the Graduate Admission Application as these do not replace the required 3-5 page essay that is necessary for consideration.
· Three letters of recommendation from individuals who can discuss your intellectual strengths and your capabilities.
· NOTE: The MALS Program does not accept the Graduate Office Recommendation forms that are on the Graduate Office website; instead, the MALS Advisory Committee insists on the 3 letters of recommendation. In asking for letters of reference, please refer to the MALS Guidelines for Letters of Reference as outlined below:

            1.  The Committee wants to know about you as an individual and particularly those aspects of your life that bear upon your suitability for graduate study. Your intellectual interests, ability to organize your time, and degree of comfort with large amounts of reading, writing and intense small group discussions are all very pertinent.

             2.  The sort of person who could write informatively about these issues might come from any part of your life--friends, co-workers, supervisors, clergy, teachers, etc. However, except in unusual circumstances it is better not to ask relatives, since, while their sincerity is unquestionable, their objectivity may not be. It is also better for the writers of letters of reference to be quite specific than to use generalities.

            3.  Tell your referees that their letter will be one piece of evidence in your dossier. They should not agonize unduly over whether an ill chosen phrase will ruin your prospects of admission. They should, however, be as informative as they can possibly be--a fully rounded picture can only be of help to you.

           4.  Please have the letters of recommendation forwarded to the Office of Graduate Studies, 234 Hullihen Hall, Newark, DE 19716. Letters sent as part of the admissions process are, and remain, confidential.

· All qualified applicants whose application file is complete will be required to have an interview with the Program Director and members of the MALS Advisory Committee.

MALS Advisory Committee:
D. Heyward Brock, Professor, Department of English
Joan DelFattore, Director, MALS and Professor, Department of English
Martha Carothers, Chair, CTE (Art)
Anne Colwell, Associate Professor, Department of English
Karen Rosenberg, Professor, Department of Anthropology
Jonathan Russ, Assistant Professor, Department of History
Patricia Sloane-White, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology