McMicken College of Arts & Sciences
Center for Organizational Leadership

Graduate Studies

Admission to the MA LER Degree Program

Candidates for the MA LER program should have competed (or be close to completing) a bachelor’s degree in any undergraduate major or program. Admissions are made every quarter, and applications are due approximately one month before the start of the quarter. Admission decisions are based on undergraduate academic performance, work experience, quality of recommendations, GRE/GMAT scores, candidate’s interest in the LER program and its relevance to his or her professional development, and other factors that may indicate the prospect of success in the program.

All applicants are required to submit the following:

• Complete the graduate school's on-line application form, together with the required application fee of $40
• Two letters of recommendations from persons who know you in a professional capacity. Recommendation forms can be obtained from the Center’s office or downloaded (68KB pdf). Completed and sealed forms must be sent by the recommender directly to the Center;
• Official Transcripts of all previous college or university grades to sent by the school(s) directly to the Center;
• Your current resume;
• A personal essay that includes a statement of why you want to pursue the MA LER degree and anything else that you wish to call to the attention of the MA LER Program Committee;
• An official GRE or GMAT score sheet of tests taken within the last 5 years sent directly to the Center. Please note, the institution code is 1833 and department code is 0000. Further, applicants with five or more years of experience in an HR position gained in the functional areas of compensation, benefits, training, staffing, etc., and strong letters of recommendation from individuals capable of assessing the applicants HR knowledge, may request to have the test scores waived. Prospective applicants who wish to request a waiver of the GRE/GMAT requirement should contact the LER program director before submitting application materials.
• Non-native speakers of English are required to submit official TOEFL scores sent directly to the Center. The minimum TOEFL score required is 520 for paper tests and 190 on computer-based tests. Please note, the institution code is 1833 and department code is 0000.
• Information regarding the GRE/GMAT and TOEFL tests can be obtained at www.ets.org.

Admission Criteria

• General requirements for admission to all University of Cincinnati graduate programs are established by the Graduate Faculty. In particular, admission requires an undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0.
• Admission decisions are made by the LER Program Committee and are based on merit. The Committee considers undergraduate academic performance, work experience, the quality of the recommendations, the candidate’s interest in the LER degree program and its relevance to his or her professional development, and other factors that may indicate the prospect of success in the program.
• Due to enrollment limits, applicants who qualify for admission may be placed on a waiting list until openings are available. Priority on the waiting list is determined by merit.

Deadlines

Applicants may be admitted any quarter (fall, winter, spring, or summer). The deadline for applications is approximately one month prior to the beginning of the quarter in which the applicant intends to start. All application materials must have been received by the Center for Organizational Leadership for the file to be evaluated. Please send your application to:

Center for Organizational Leadership
University of Cincinnati
PO Box 210094
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0094