Undergraduate Application Instructions
An application for admission to an undergraduate program (Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Fine Arts) is evaluated according to three important criteria:
- Interest: Does the application reflect an understanding of Goddard’s student-driven, low-residency model? Has the student articulated why Goddard is the right fit for them?
- Willingness: Has the student expressed a willingness to think critically about their personal and academic experiences? Has the student expressed a willingness to take responsibility for their learning?
- Readiness: Does the student’s academic record (high school or college transcripts, letters of recommendation, and reflections in the personal essay) demonstrate sufficient preparation for writing-intensive, independent, and critical work in the liberal arts and sciences?
Additional criteria are available for the Early College Program, homeschool applicants, and students being readmitted.
1. Official Transcripts
- Transcripts and other official records must be submitted electronically by the credit-awarded institution directly to admissions@goddard.edu. If etranscripts aren’t possible, please contact our office for mailing information.
- Submit high school transcripts or other proof of successful completion of secondary education (such as GED record). Students who were homeschooled or unschooled should submit a secondary education report. You do not need to submit high school transcripts if you have completed two full years of undergraduate education.
- Submit all transcripts from previously attended colleges or universities.
- While test scores are not considered for admissions decisions, you are strongly encouraged to submit AP, IB, GED College Ready + Credit, and CLEP scores with your application as you may be eligible to earn college credit. If you are applying for admission to the BA in Education with Teacher Licensure, you must submit Praxis Core test results.
2. Recommendations
Two (2) letters of recommendation must be submitted in support of your application. At least one letter should address your ability to do college-level work. Letters can be from an academic or professional setting; or be from colleagues, advisors or mentors.
In lieu of the second letter of recommendation, you may substitute a Secondary School Report. (The Secondary School Report is a requirement for students applying for the Early College Program.)
Letters can be from an academic or professional setting; or be from colleagues, advisors or mentors.
3. Essay and Supplemental Materials
Individualized Studies, Health Arts & Sciences, Sustainability
ESSAY
Write no more than 1,000 words addressing the following:
Write about your readiness for undergraduate study in a program that is largely self-directed and writing-intensive. What life and academic experiences have inspired and prepared you to undertake undergraduate study? What do you intend to study? Please describe possible learning goals for your first semester. What resources might you turn to for grounding and guidance? What elements of your intended degree concentration are attractive to you?
Education
ESSAY
Write no more than 1,000 words addressing the following:
Your essay should address your reasons for applying to Goddard; your educational background in the field; what life experiences prepared you to reach your educational goals. If you are pursuing a teaching endorsement, please tell us how your undergraduate work to date prepares you to seek licensure and describe your “call to teach.”
NOTE: Students hoping to earn a Vermont Teachers License are required to submit Praxis CORE scores or a Praxis CORE Acknowledgement Form.
Psychology
ESSAY
Write no more than 1,000 words addressing the following:
Please address the following issues: What events in your life have led you to want to pursue studies in the field of psychology and/or counseling? Write about your readiness for undergraduate and graduate study that is largely independent, as well as your ability to motivate yourself and to advocate for your style of learning. What personal attributes provide the greatest challenges to your study in this program?
Creative Writing
ESSAY
Write no more than 1,000 words addressing the following:
Please describe how you started writing, how your writing has evolved, your experience with craft and revision, and what you hope your writing will become. Also discuss why have you decided to pursue a BFA degree rather than working on your own to write, your thoughts on the relationship of the writer to the world, the texts that have inspired you, and how hope to grow as a reader.
CREATIVE PORTFOLIO / WRITING SAMPLE
Submit two or three short pieces (no more than 20 pages; excerpts from longer pieces are acceptable) along with a one-page introduction to each piece explaining the process through which the piece came to be written: its genesis, any revisions it has undergone and why.
Socially Engaged Art
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
PERSONAL ESSAY
Write maximum 1,000 words on the following:
Please describe your creative practice and its evolution. What ideas, questions, and issues are you engaged with in your community and/or in the world at large? How do these concerns motivate and inform your creative practice? What artists, thinkers, and movements inform your creative practice? Discuss your personal and artistic goals and the types of support and community you are seeking in a BFA program.
CREATIVE PORTFOLIO
Select 2-3 examples of creative work that represent the character and range of your existing practice, and provide a one-page statement explaining the idea and process in realizing each piece.
Please include visual and/or audio documentation of your work.
IMAGES
- No more than 12 digital images of 2D or 3D work (visual, performance, political action, installation, etc.)
- Images may be embedded in the document including the one-page statement, or this document can include links to image platforms (e.g. Flickr, Instagram, website, etc.). Make sure that images are clearly labeled.
- In the one-page statement, include: the names of the images, title, year of creation, medium, & approximate dimensions for static work or location for performative work.
VIDEO OR AUDIO FILES
- No more than two 10-minute files.
- In the one-page statement, include links to websites, SoundCloud, Youtube, Vimeo, etc. or attach .mov, .mp3, .wav, or .aif files.
- The one-page statement should also include: title and year of creation, running time, viewing instructions and format of documentation.
WEB-BASED FILES
- No more than 2 URLs or links to web-based works or new-media experiences.
- In the one-page statement, include: URL links, title and year of creation, & viewing instructions.
WRITING SAMPLES
- No more than 10 double-spaced pages of writing (ie: poetry, hybrid text, creative non-fiction, lyrics, zine, written materials designed to accompany or inform other mediums, etc.)
DO NOT SEND original work samples, they will not be returned.
4. Interview
All applicants to Goddard’s undergraduate programs in Individualized Studies, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Health Arts and Sciences or Sustainability are required to complete an interview with an admission counselor. The interview is designed to help the counselor assess your understanding and readiness or self-directed study. It also provides you with an opportunity to ask questions about the low-residency model or other aspects of the Goddard curriculum. Interviews are generally done over the phone and are 20-30 minutes in length.
Waivers for interviews can be granted based on the recommendation of the program director and/or the admissions office. Typically, this happens when the applicant has been in conversation with the admissions office or program director prior to applying.
Graduate Application Instructions
An application for admission to a graduate program (Master of Arts or Master of Fine Arts) are examined using the following criteria:
- Curricular Limits: The proposed study can be supported by expertise available in the faculty.
- Critical Inquiry: The application demonstrates the applicant’s willingness and ability to engage in critical, scholarly engagement.
- Readiness: The applicant has earned a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, and the materials submitted with the application indicate a readiness for a graduate-level, writing-intensive independent program of study.
1. Official Transcripts
Applicants to graduate programs must submit proof of completion of a bachelor’s degree from a college or university accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
Transcripts and other official records must be submitted electronically by the credit-awarded institution directly to admissions@goddard.edu. If etranscripts aren’t possible, please contact our office for mailing information.
In rare instances, applicants to MFA programs may submit documentation of an extensive record of professional-level accomplishment (such as publishing, performance/exhibition record, teaching, or editing experience) in lieu of a bachelor’s degree.
2. Recommendations
Two (2) letters of recommendation must be submitted in support of your application.
At least one letter should address your ability to do graduate-level work. Letters can be from an academic or professional setting; or be from colleagues, advisors or mentors. Recommenders must send letters of support directly to the Office of Admissions.
3. Essay and Supplemental Materials
Health Arts & Sciences, Individualized Studies, or Social Innovation & Sustainability
PERSONAL ESSAY
Write no more than 1,000 words on the following:
- What do you intend to study?
- What events in your life have led you to want to earn a graduate degree? Discuss the skills you wish to hone (such as critical thinking/writing, oral communications, research skills) and/or your professional goals.
- What has been your educational and experiential background in these areas?
- What will having a graduate degree mean to you on a personal and professional level?
- Briefly articulate your graduate inquiry question or statement. Your response will serve as a template for constructing your individualized study plan should you be admitted to the Goddard Graduate Institute.
- Provide a preliminary list of resources that you intend to consult while pursuing your studies (This list should include theorists, books, journal articles, films, interviews, etc.).
- If you intend to transfer graduate credits (12 credits maximum), please list specific courses (prefix, number, title and name of institutions), and address how your previous coursework informs your future study at Goddard College.
Education
PERSONAL ESSAY
Write no more than 1,000 words on the following:
Please tell us how your personal and professional experiences led you to pursue this degree. Describe your “call to teach.” How do you hope to use this degree? Describe how you plan to accomplish the three stages of Goddard graduate education: the theoretical, practicum experience, and thesis. If you intend to petition for transfer of graduate credits (12 credits maximum), list the courses and how they inform your future studies.
To be eligible for the bilingual education endorsement, applicants must demonstrate proficiency in a second language by taking the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) assessment or by taking a language proficiency course at Goddard College.
Psychology or Clinical Mental Health Counseling
PERSONAL ESSAY
Write no more than 1,000 words on the following:
What events in your life have led you to want to earn a graduate degree in psychology or clinical mental health counseling? Write about your readiness for graduate study that is largely independent as well as your ability to motivate yourself and to advocate for your style of learning. Please reflect on life experiences from which you learned important lessons about yourself and your own psychological well being. Please comment on the strengths and weaknesses in your background that will play a part in your beginning this program.
Creative Writing
PERSONAL ESSAY
Write no more than 1,000 words on the following:
- What are your creative and theoretical goals for your MFA study?
- Please indicate your current thinking about the shape and genre of your creative thesis.
- Name several authors whose work influenced or inspired your writing and describe the nature of their effects.
- What do you envision for your teaching practicum?
- If you intend to petition for transfer of graduate credits (12 credits only), list the courses and how they inform your future study at Goddard College.
WRITING SAMPLE
Submit a portfolio of no more than 20 double-spaced pages. If you are planning to write in more than one genre, please include samples from each. Poetry may be single-spaced. You may submit: poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, graphic novel script, or dramatic work (television or film script, stage play, or libretto).
Interdisciplinary Arts
PERSONAL ESSAY
Write no more than 1,000 words on the following:
Please write about your current art practice in relation to your proposed graduate study, reflecting on the history, knowledge(s) and questions you will bring to your studies. Help us to understand your particular influences, aspirations and intentions within an interdisciplinary arts context. When drafting your response, name at least five theorists, artists or other sources that have informed or influenced your thinking. Please be sure to address your reasons for pursuing graduate education and how you hope to use this degree.
ARTISTIC/CREATIVE RESUME
Artistic/Creative Resume (up to 3 pages) which specifically addresses experience relevant to your creative practice, demonstrating the various ways in which you have developed your art practice, including how you have been actively involved in art and art-making over time. This may include traditional work experience in arts or arts-related fields; formal educational background; exhibitions, performances, screenings, showings and publications; teaching, residencies and guest artist experiences; as well as non-traditional, alternative modes of presentation, art practice and learning such as art interventions and actions, experiments with art and everyday life, etc.
CREATIVE PORTFOLIO
In selecting Creative Work Samples and creating a Context Statement (see detailed instructions that follow), share representative pieces reflective of the experience, full character and range of your existing practice. Please send documentation, not originals of your work. Work samples will not be returned. You may select and submit up to 3 of the following:
- Writing Samples: No more than 20, double-spaced pages of writing samples this may include poetry, prose, creative non-fiction, lyrics, critical writing, blog posts, written materials designed to accompany or inform other mediums, etc. Submit as a single document.
- Video or Audio Documentation: No more than 15 minutes. Submit a single Word document or PDF with links.
- Images: No more than 20 images. This may include documentation of 2 or 3-D works in any media, images of installation or other performed works, etc. Images should be packaged into a single, upload-able format, such as PDF.
- Web Links: Up to 2 URLs or links to interactive sites, web-based works or new-media experiences
If you have already started an application, please email your Admissions Counselor with the materials needed to complete your application.
If you are seeking readmission to a program in which you were previously enrolled but left without graduating, please see readmission application instructions here.
Those seeking employment opportunities, please click here.