Degree Major Applicants

Applicants to the graduate programs at Clemson University must hold a four-year bachelor's degree (or equivalent) or a master's degree from an institution whose scholastic rating is satisfactory to the University. A $55 nonrefundable application fee is required; the fee can be paid by credit card, debit card, or electronic check (US banks only) when the application is submitted. If you apply to more than one program, each program has a $55 application fee. The application fee must be received before the application will be processed. All supporting material (example: 1 official Transcript, Recommendations, Test Scores) must be received before your application will be considered for admission.  Some programs have application deadlines or restrict admission to fall semester only. Please contact your proposed program of study directly for complete details and any questions regarding specific support materials. Your application is active for one year beyond the initial entrance date that you select on your application.  However, departments and programs reserve the right to deny deferred admission because of limited space and/or resources. Thus, students wishing to defer enrollment must request and receive approval for such action from the respective department or program.

Admission for Faculty, Staff, & Employees of Clemson University are subject to the same requirements and department approval and must follow all academic regulations. No member of the faculty or staff who has a rank higher than instructor or its equivalent may be considered as a candidate for an advanced degree in the academic department where employed.



General Information

  • Clemson’s application is hosted by CollegeNet and you will be entering your information on their secure server. You will be asked to create a user ID and password. You do not need to complete the entire application at one sitting. You may begin the application, save it, and return to it at a later time using your user id and password.
  • Deadlines vary for Domestic and International Students and by department. Applicants are encouraged to contact academic departments and programs for additional information. For a list of programs with contact information, click here
  • International applications should be submitted by April 15 for fall semester enrollment and September 15 for spring semester enrollment
  • To ensure that your supporting materials (transcripts, recommendations, etc.) are properly matched with your application, we recommend that you APPLY first and then request your transcripts from your previous academic work.
  • The Clemson University Graduate Admission Office uses an Online Imaging System for departmental review of all applications and support materials. Materials are viewable by department as they are updated on our Student Database and scanned into our imaging system.


Technical Difficulties
If you have technical difficulties while completing your application or letters of recommendation, you should send an e-mail to help@applyweb.com and include your User ID in the e-mail. The technicians at CollegeNet will be able to look at your application or letters of recommendation and help correct the problem.


Relevant Student Numbers
Domestic & Permanent Resident:   If you are currently or have previously been a student at Clemson then you will have a CUID number, which you will be asked to provide. If you are unsure of your number, please leave it blank.

International: Applicants to Clemson graduate programs who are non-residents of the US are assigned an NR number. If you already have an NR number, please have it available when you complete the online application, so that you can enter it at the appropriate place. If you do not already have an NR number, you will be provided one when you complete the online application. PLEASE SAVE THIS NUMBER.  YOU WILL NEED IT TO INQUIRE ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION.

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Select a Degree/Major and a Term
Any application submitted for graduate study at Clemson must be for a specific degree (examples; PhD, MS, MAT, etc.) and a specific program (major). The online application includes a list of degree programs from which you will choose. They are listed in alpha order under each of the 7 Colleges/Interdisciplinary Areas. In most cases, you will also be asked to select a specialization area within the major area. 
You must also select a term for which you intend to begin graduate study. This can be the Fall, Spring, Summer I/Maymester, Summer II. If you are uncertain as to which term to select, you should obtain guidance from the program to which you intend to apply.


Applying To More Than One Program
Clemson allows you to apply to more than one program. All applications at Clemson are customized to meet the needs of each specific program and are not interchangeable between programs. After you have submitted the first application and paid the application fee, you must return to the online application using your same Userid and password and change your major. You must submit the second application and then you will be prompted to pay another application fee. 


Paying Your Application Fee & Submitting Your Application
After you are satisfied that ALL information in your application is correct, you may SUBMIT your application. You will be asked to provide accurate credit card information in order to pay your application fee of $55. This application fee must be paid online and is non-refundable. Clemson will not receive your application until the fee is paid online. Do not mail checks, money orders, or other forms of payment to Clemson. They will be returned and we will not receive your application from CollegeNet. If you have technical difficulty with your payment to CollegeNet, please send an e-mail to help@applyweb.com giving them your user ID and describing your problem. They will be able to assist you with your problem. Persons with a U.S. bank account can also choose the e-check method of payment. REMEMBER – once you SUBMIT, you cannot change or edit your application in any way. After you successfully submit your application, a page will appear on your screen acknowledging that your application has been successfully submitted. It will contain your CollegeNet Transaction ID. You should print this page; it serves as your personal receipt.

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Fee Waivers
There are circumstances under which an online application may be received and processed without a fee. The circumstances under which this could happen are as follows:

  1. The applicant may provide a valid fee waiver code, which was received from the graduate dean or from a Clemson graduate program.
    Or;
  2. The applicant may indicate that he/she has a "special circumstance" whereby the application may be submitted without a fee. The special circumstances are as follows:
    " I am a graduate of the Clemson University Graduate School, and am applying within one year of completing my initial degree."
  • " I am currently enrolled in Graduate School at Clemson University, and wish to apply for another program in which I plan to enroll after receiving my initial degree. "
  • " I am enrolled in the Clemson University Graduate School as a post-baccalaureate student in a degree program, and am now re-applying to the same degree program."
  • "I am currently enrolled in the Clemson University Graduate School in a non-degree status and am now applying to a program as a degree-seeking applicant."
  • "I am a participant in the McNair Scholars Program."
If one of these special circumstances applies to you, then you will be asked to indicate this fact in the appropriate place in the online application.


Data Validation
DO NOT CLICK ON “SAVE, PAY, SEND” UNTIL YOU HAVE RECHECKED YOUR DATA THROUGH THE VALIDATION PROCESS. Once you have completed the online application, you will be asked to validate the data you have entered. You should carefully review your answers and make certain ALL entries are correct.  Once you use the “Save, Pay, Send” option, you cannot make changes to your application.


Application Processing
After you have completed the online application, validated your data, and paid your application fee, your application will be forwarded to Clemson. Applications received from CollegeNet during normal business hours (Monday through Friday – Pacific Time Zone) are entered into the applicant database the next day. Applications submitted on Saturday or Sunday (Pacific Time Zone) will be received by Clemson the following Monday.

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