Graduate Admission

On the Tuesday nine days before Thanksgiving for bachelor's-to-master's applicants (Christopher Newport juniors only), July 1 for applicants to MS and MAT traditional programs, August 1 for the master of financial analysis program.

Please email the Office of Teacher Preparation at mat@cnu.edu to discuss your requirements.

Late applications are not accepted. Please email gradadmit@cnu.edu if you have special circumstances.

A minimum 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA is required for admission consideration as a degree-seeking or non-degree-seeking applicant. The initial licensure-only program (non-degree status as part of the teacher preparation program) requires a minimum 2.8 cumulative undergraduate GPA for admission consideration.

After you have applied, go to your completed application in CNU Live and open the Graduate Application Summary. Complete the Electronic Submission of Letters of Recommendation Form to send email requests to your recommenders.

One recommendation form must be from a professor in your major. If you are a Christopher Newport student applying to an MS program, your intended thesis adviser would be an excellent recommender. The other recommendation form(s) should come from professors in your major or professors who can speak to the academic abilities, dispositions and qualities you demonstrate. If you currently are working in your field or have had experience working, a recommender who can speak to your abilities in that field could be helpful. The admission committee will review the recommendation forms to assess how professors rate your probability of being successful when studying at the graduate level. The admission committee can request you to submit recommendation forms from other professors if they need more clarity to make an admission decision.

Please ask your professors if they are willing to recommend before sending the recommendation form to them. Allow at least two weeks for professors to send their responses.

No. The recommendation form with dispositions / abilities / qualities is required. A reference letter alone is not adequate.

Log in to your application on CNU Live and request your recommendation form be re-sent from the recommendations link.

The Graduate Application Summary in CNU Live will indicate which items in your application have been received, including recommendations.

If you are applying as a current Christopher Newport student, we will request a transcript. If you graduated before applying, complete the request form available on the Office of the Registrar webpages.

Use the College or University Transcript Request Form to request transcripts be sent to us.

In general, you are a Virginia resident if you have lived in Virginia for at least 12 months before the start of classes. Please see Virginia Domicile Guidelines under Learn More on this page for details.

After you have applied, go to your completed application in CNU Live and open the Graduate Application Summary. There is a link on that page to pay the application fee. There is no fee for current Christopher Newport juniors applying to a bachelor's-to-master's program.

Email gradadmit@cnu.edu. We can only confirm documents received; we cannot evaluate scores for you.

Applicants for the environmental science bachelor's-to-master's five-year program must have a thesis adviser. Submit the Procurement of Thesis Adviser Form with your application.

Applicants for the traditional environmental science program have a thesis or non-thesis option. The curriculum for each is detailed in the Graduate Catalog.

Applied physics and computer science applicants are not required to have a thesis adviser when applying.

Yes, the electronic application can be completed before the test scores have been submitted.

The minimum score on the GRE standardized test is 295 for Verbal and Quantitative sections combined, with reasonably balanced scores between the two sections, if taken after August 2011. A score above 300 usually indicates a student will be successful in our programs. Official scores must be sent directly from the Educational Testing Service using institution code 5128.

Each program has its own test scores requirements. Please see your program's specific requirements in the Graduate Catalog linked under Learn More on this page.

Send your ACT scores directly from the ACT website.

Yes. All documents will be reviewed by the graduate program director and the director of graduate studies, if needed.

Return to your online application on CNU Live to check the status. Email gradadmit@cnu.edu to check the status of other required materials, such as recommendations and transcripts.

After the complete admission package has been submitted, bachelor's-to-master's program applicants who applied to the applied physics and computer science or environmental science program should allow three weeks for the committee's decision and processing. A decision letter will be sent to you by mail. Master of arts in teaching program applicants should receive a decision letter by mail on April 1. Traditional program applicants should allow three weeks for the admission decision and processing. A decision letter will be sent to you by mail.

Email gradadmit@cnu.edu with your response.

If you are entering as a full-time traditional student, please submit a completed Certificate of Immunization, which must be signed or stamped by a licensed health care professional. Submit the certificate to the Office of the Registrar in Christopher Newport Hall, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Newport News, VA 23606-3072. Please direct any questions regarding this requirement or a waiver to the Office of the Registrar at (757) 594-7155 or by email at register@cnu.edu.

Christopher Newport's immunization policy incorporates the requirements for immunizations set forth in the Code of Virginia, 23.1-800. Students may have received these immunizations as a child or later in life.

(If you are part of a bachelor's-to-master's program, your Certificate of Immunization should already be on file.)