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Admission Criteria

Admission to the M.S. in Marketing Research (MSMR) program is based upon the completion of the general admission requirements of the Graduate School. For MSMR program admission a score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and record of undergraduate (and post-graduate, if applicable) academic performance are required. Students for whom English is not their native language must achieve a satisfactory TOEFL score (specified below). International applicants who score below minimum acceptable levels on the verbal portion of entrance examinations may be admitted under the condition that they pass an English proficiency exam or complete U.T. Arlington’s Graduate English Skills Program prior to beginning graduate course work.

Applicants are encouraged to submit with their application a resume that highlights career objectives, professional and personal accomplishments, computer expertise, and leadership experience. Applicants with two to five years of experience are preferred, though postgraduate work experience is not a requirement for admission. A standardized test score (GMAT) will not be used as the sole criterion for approving or denying an applicant’s admission to the MSMR program.

Unconditional Admission

A decision to admit unconditionally is made based on the totality of information listed below, and not on any single factor alone.

  1. Undergraduate degree: the applicant holds at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. college or university, in any discipline, or, for applicants who do not hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. college or university, a degree equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree, as judged by the UTA Graduate School;
  2. Grade-point average (GPA): a GPA of at least 3.1 on a 4.0 scale, as calculated by the Graduate School, in the last 60 semester-hours of college or university study;
  3. Graduate admission test score: a score of at least 580 on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), with both verbal and quantitative scores at the 50th percentile or better ;
  4. TOEFL score: for students who do not hold a degree from an accredited U.S. college or university, a score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language of at least 230 (computer-based) or 570 (paper);
  5. Recommendations: favorable letters of recommendation from three persons qualified to judge the applicant’s potential for graduate study and work in marketing research (not co-workers, friends, or relatives);
  6. Commitment to the profession: the applicant shows, by a combination of work experience, prior study, and a written statement of purpose, a suitability for and a commitment to pursue a career in marketing research.

Denial of Admission

Admission may be denied if the applicant is so far below expectations on any combination of the criteria listed above as to indicate that he or she would not be able to perform at an acceptable level in the MSMR program.

Probationary Admission

An applicant who fails to meet one or more of the criteria above, but who shows promise based on the other criteria, may be admitted for one semester under the condition that he or she perform well in the program and remove the deficiency within that semester.

Provisional Admission

An applicant may be admitted provisionally if he or she appears to meet the requirements for unconditional admission but the official documentation is lacking for one or more requirement. Such documentation must be provided within the first semester of study in the program.

Fellowships and Scholarships

  1. Fellowships: Graduate fellowships may be offered to outstanding applicants, using funds provided through the College of Business Administration, based on the unconditional admission criteria listed above.
  2. MSMR scholarships: Funds provided by the member firms on the MSMR Advisory Board support the award of $1,000 competitive scholarships to students admitted to the MSMR program. The criteria for receipt these scholarships are shown in an attached document.