Getting Ready for Your MSI Application

Right now, you may be thinking to yourself: “Where do I even begin?” Don’t worry! After reading this blog post, you will be an expert on the MSI application. Let’s start with a checklist of the application requirements, then we will talk about some tips for a successful application.

Checklist

To find more information about MSI application requirement, please visit: https://www.si.umich.edu/academics/admissions/msi-application-requirements.

• Mark the deadlines on your calendar

Priority deadline: Jan 15, 2018; International students: Jan 15, 2018; Domestic: May 1, 2018

• Unofficial Transcript

You may send in an official transcript with your application if you would like. Official transcripts are required if you are offered admission. Keep in mind that official transcripts have to be mailed in a sealed envelopes or digitally delivered in an encrypted format.

• Three (3) Letters of Recommendation
• Statement of Purpose

Your 4 to 6 pages double-spaced statement of purpose should address the following questions: (1) What are the critical issues in the field of information? (2) What are your aspirations in the field of information? (3) What is your understanding of the School of Information? (4) How will a UMSI education help you reach your aspirations? (5) What would you contribute to the UMSI community and to the field as a whole?

• Personal Statement

Your 1 to 2 pages double-spaced personal statement should answer the question: how have your background and life experiences motivated your decision to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Michigan?

• Resume
• TOEFL (If you are a non-native English speaker)

We prefer a minimum of 100 total score for iBT TOEFL, but lower scores may be considered given that we review applications holistically. When taking the TOEFL, be sure to use the U-M institution code: 1839.

*There are exemptions to this requirement. Please see our website for details*

• Online Application

On the actual application itself, there are many other questions that ask for information such as address, other activities, and additional information. Be sure to fill these fields out too!

Tips

To start, here are some really good tips created by a MSI student last year: http://msi-admissions-umsi.blogspot.com/2016/12/tips-for-successful-application.html.

Start Early!

Given that the priority deadline is January 15, 2018, you want to start your application early. If you haven’t already started your application, do that now! Your letter of recommenders will need time to write your letters as well, so be sure to confirm the three people writing your letters of recommendation ahead of time! Most letter of recommenders prefer to have at least one month to two months notice. For international students and non-native English speakers, be sure to take the TOEFL and get your scores in - it takes time for the scores to be submitted.

Statement of Purpose vs. Personal Statement

When you write your statement of purpose, think of it as a place where you can talk about your dreams, goals, passion, and your understanding of the field of information. You should also do some research on the MSI program itself before writing about it - this is where you want to mention specific faculty members’ names if you have read about any who share similar interests as you. On the other hand, the personal statement is more like your story. It is where you can tell the admission team who you are as a person, student, and any other role you identify with. Provide specific examples whenever you can (e.g., numbers are always good to be included) and have someone else review your essays. Many professors actually don’t mind reviewing personal statements for you, so if you have the opportunity, I would take advantage of that and ask to see if they could review your essay for you.

Share your materials with your letter of recommenders

You may not have heard of this one before, but I recommend sharing your application materials (i.e., resume, personal statement, and statement of purpose) with your letter of recommenders. To write good letter of recommendation, your letter of recommender not only has to know you well as a person, but also needs to know what you want to emphasize in your application. If you are unsure, I encourage to talk to your letter of recommenders and make sure they can truly speak about your qualities and characteristics.  

Draft outside of the application itself!

Type all your essays and answers in separate documents outside of the application. Often , the application site may crash suddenly, or you may lose your data for no apparent reason - maybe you forgot to click save. It is also easier to track edits and changes when you edit outside of the application. When you have separate documents, it also makes the reviewing process easier for your friends or family members who review the materials for you.

SAVE!

Once you get started on the application itself, be sure to click “SAVE” every few minutes to make sure you don’t lose any data!

Good luck! If you have any questions, feel free to send us an email at umsi-admission@umich.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Hello! My name is Natalie Yee and I’m an Information Mentor and a first year MSI student. As the first application deadline approaches, we wanted to provide answers to questions that are commonly asked during the application process. This post is adapted from a staff member’s post from last year. I hope this helps to address some of your concerns, if you have any questions please email us anytime at umsi.admissions@umich.edu.

1) Do I need to take the GRE?

The GRE taken within the past five years is required of all applicants. We do not have a minimum requirement. Our review process looks holistically at all application pieces and takes each piece into consideration. For details visit: MSI Application Requirements.

2) Is the TOEFL required? Or, can I be exempt from the TOEFL?

Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate English proficiency and are required to provide official score reports for the TOEFL exam. We have updated our exemption requirements to the following:

• The degree was earned from an institution where the language of instruction is English, exclusively. This exception does not apply if some classes completed were taught in a language other than English. Verification from the school may be required.
• If the degree earned is a Bachelor’s degree, all four years of the degree must be earned from an institution where the language of instruction is English, exclusively.  This exception does not apply if some classes completed were taught in a language other than English.
• The degree was earned from a country where the official language is English (United States of America, Australia, England).

TOEFL scores are good for up to 2 years and in order for us to use your score, you need to apply to our program within that timeframe. If your scores will expire after you apply, that is not a problem. However, if your scores will expire before you apply, we may not be able to use them.

3) I got an email saying not all my application materials were in, can you check to see if my materials are in?

I get a lot of email asking if we have received your letters of recommendation, test scores or transcripts. We encourage students to check your application status here: https://si-coldfusion.si.umich.edu/outside_apps/appl-status_EmplID.cfm. This page will let you know what materials we have, and the status of your application. You will need your University of Michigan ID number (UMID) to access this information. You will receive your UMID number in the original confirmation email that will be sent to you when you submit your application. We work hard to update these materials as often as we can and we appreciate your patience. If you believe there is a serious issue or a significant amount of time has passed since you sent in your materials please feel free to contact us.

3a)  How do I know you have my materials (i.e. transcripts, test scores) if I haven’t submitted yet?

If you have not yet submitted your application, that link will only be available to you after you submit and we process your application.  Once we process your application, you can check to see which materials are in.  Prior to submitting, it is very time consuming to check for materials, so we appreciate your waiting until you submit and receive confirmation from us to ask us if we have your materials.  

Please note that around the January 15 early deadline, it may take us several days (or longer) to process your application.  Do know that your application is considered submitted and received the date you submit, not the day we process it.

4) What sort of funding or scholarships does your school offer?

Funding for masters programs in general is limited, and while we do offer a substantial level of funding to our masters students, many well qualified students do not receive funding from our department. All UMSI departmental funding is in the form of merit tuition scholarships. UMSI merit scholarships range from partial to full tuition coverage, with possible additional benefits, (regardless of residency status) for four semester of full-time MSI coursework. There are also a handful of fully funded assistantships available through the

University Library Associate program and Bonk Assistantship program. Many additional students obtain relevant part time jobs and internships to help defray costs and to obtain valuable experience. Our student services staff work very hard to help students find creative ways of financing their graduate program.

Other options of funding may include research assistantships with UMSI faculty. Some students are able to secure these positions at some point after they are enrolled. Faculty prefer to hire students they know and who have performed well in the program. Certainly, you could use our web site to identify faculty whose research interests you, and email them to introduce yourself to begin the process of exploring future research opportunities.

Teaching assistantship opportunities are rare within our own program for our master’s students. If you feel your background may qualify you to assist with an undergraduate course in another department, you could check with relevant departments to see if they have needs for graduate student instructors, which carries tuition, stipend and health insurance.

In addition, I encourage you to review additional sources of funding, including those we highlight on our own web site on the funding your degree page.

5) Are there any classes I should take? Are there any pre-requisite classes? Should I take any programming classes if I don’t have experience in them?

We admit students from all undergraduate majors and with a wide range of academic coursework. If you do decide to take additional coursework, you can choose what is of interest to you in relation to our curriculum, given we draw from a number of fields to create an interdisciplinary program.

Some of the fields represented in our courses and faculty include psychology, computer science, data science, economics, history, political science, public policy, linguistics, and more. Our curriculum spans social sciences and humanities as well as quantitative and technical areas. Thus we seek students with the potential to do well across these areas.

In other words, we don't need or require students to have coursework in all of the above mentioned areas, but we do look for evidence that students have strength in quantitative and analytical areas as well as in writing, creative thinking, synthesizing ideas, etc.

6) When will I hear about my application decision?

We appreciate all of your enthusiasm but the time it takes to process, complete, review, and evaluate applications can be time consuming. We typically tell students it takes six to eight weeks to get a response from us after the review of applications start. We begin to review applications after our application deadlines. For the PhD this would mean review will start after the December 1st deadline. For the Master’s programs this means after the January 15th deadline, the deadline for first priority for UMSI merit scholarships.

7) Does the School of Information Offer an Online Degree?

Our school does not offer any distance or online learning options for our degree. We do offer the option of taking a part-time course load.

For more information see the answer to “What constitutes part time enrollment” on the FAQ page.