Graduate Application

Application

To apply to study in physics, visit the address:
http://graduate.wfu.edu/admissions/onlineapp.html 

The application portal for Fall 2024 opened on August 1 with a January 8 2024 deadline

Starting with the Fall 2023 class, we no longer require the GRE either general or subject.

Starting with the Fall 2024 class, we will require Zoom interviews. The timeline will be as follows:

• by January 8 2024 all applications must be submitted and application fees paid or waived.
  • Applications that are incomplete after this date– except for letters of reference — will not be considered.
• Applicant files will be evaluated for interviews starting January 9th, 2024
• Late letters of recommendation only will be accepted by January 15th, 2024
  • All incomplete applications will be rejected after this date.
• Zoom interviews of applicants under consideration will be conducted between January 9 2024 and February 1, 2024.
  • Applicants will be interviewed by two faculty, at least one of whom is on the admissions committee
  • when you receive an interview request will depend on when your application is read which likely will not depend on your individual merit.
• If you do not receive an interview request by February 1, 2024, you may safely assume that you will be rejected.
• Informal emails for acceptances, waitlists, and rejections from the graduate director should be out by Feb 9th. Formal emails from the graduate school usually arrive within a week after.
  • Final decisions on waitlisted students depend on other students either accepting or declining offers, so some decisions will occur after April 15.
• Accepted domestic students, or international students currently in the US, will be invited for an optional campus visit; dates are to be arranged.
• The deadline for accepting admissions with our standard financial aid package is April 15th. However, some additional fellowships may have earlier deadlines for those particular fellowships.

We accept only online applications (no paper applications).

To apply you must

1. fill out an online application
   1. This includes a personal statement, which should make it clear why you are applying to wake forest in particular, and ideally which research group(s) interest you.
2. pay the application fee of $80; unless you are eligible for a waiver. Domestic students who receive need-based financial aid are likely eligible for a waiver. Domestic students may contact Ann Bell at gradadmissions@wfu.edu, with a copy of their financial aid letter, or have their University’s financial aid office contact gradadmissions@wfu.edu directly. International students may contact the program director, salsbufr@wfu.edu, after they have completed their application, to see if one is available from the program. Proof of financial need will be required; ideally something equivalent to what domestic students provide. International students should NOT contact the graduate school for an application fee waiver. Nor should they contact the program director until after they have completed an application. International students are defined at WFU as students needing a visa to study at Wake Forest. Note, USCIS may consider receiving a fee waiver as a negative factor in student visa decisions as the fee is small relative to the other costs involved in coming to the US to study.
3. have three letters of reference sent
4. have an official transcript sent (an unofficial copy is sufficient for application)
5. In your Personal statement address:
   – How do your future research interests fit with those of the faculty in the physics department? Refer to the faculty research interests at https://physics.wfu.edu/research/ for further information).
   – What faculty are you interested in working with?
   – What are your motivations for pursuing graduate school, and what are your future career goals?
   – What experiences, research, or other relevant science engagement, have you had, and how have they influenced your decision to pursue graduate studies?
   
6. have an official report of your TOEFL or IELTS results sent (only if you are an international student who has not studied in the US; an unofficial copy is sufficient for application)
   1. If the sole language of instruction at your university or college is English, then the graduate school might waive the requirement. A statement or letter stating that English is the sole language of instruction needs to be both uploaded on Slate and emailed to gradadmissions@wfu.edu.