Application Fee (Required)
$65 for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
$80 for international students.
English Proficiency Test (Required)
This program uses the Graduate School's English Language Proficiency Score Requirements and Minimum Scores for Regular Admission.
Minimum Scores for Regular Admission
TOEFL iBT: 4.5 (no sub score less than 4) (or 79 for students who took the test prior to January 2026)
IELTS: 6.5 (no sub score less than 6)
Duolingo English Test: 120 (no sub score less than 110)
PTE: 59
More information is available at https://graduate.ua.edu/applicants/international-students/.
Letter of Recommendation ( Required)
Letters of recommendation should come from evaluators who can speak to the candidates' academic potential, especially regarding research experience, understanding of theoretical concepts, classroom participation, and the overall quality of work performed.
Statement of Purpose (Required)
Applications must include a statement of purpose that explains the specific academic interest in the program. The applicant should outline their expected outcomes after earning a master’s degree in American Studies such as goals for employment or for further academic study. Applicants must also address one or more explicit aspects of American culture that they would like to pursue (for example: media representations of Americans abroad; race or gender roles in Broadway theater; the music of political protest movements). Applicants may also want to specify department faculty with whom they would like to work. A basic undergraduate background in American culture (literature, history, and political thought) is preferred, but is not a prerequisite for admission to the program.
Transcript (Required)
Please upload an unofficial transcript for any institution of higher education at which you have completed 15 or more credit hours. Please include a grading scheme if your university does not use a letter-based (e.g. A, A-, B) grading scheme.