Step 1 — Complete Application and Pay Fee

We recommend you complete the application at least two weeks before the deadline in order to give your references time to submit their Letters of Recommendation.

Begin the process by completing an application for graduate admission and paying the application fee ($65 for U.S. and Permanent Resident applicants; $90 for International applicants).

Begin application

• In the References section, list the name and email address of each of the three people writing your Letters of Recommendation. After your application is submitted, each will be sent an email containing a secure link for submitting their letter electronically.

NOTE
Within 48 hours of submitting your paid application, you will receive an email containing your UT EID (university electronic identification), which you will use throughout your association with the university and in subsequent steps of the application process.

Step 2 — Submit Transcripts, Test Scores, and Letters of Recommendation

Transcript(s)

Applicants must submit an official transcript from all undergraduate and graduate institutions you’ve attended, with the exceptions of community or junior colleges that offer no coursework beyond the sophomore year. 

GRE Score

The GRE is waived for Fall 2025 admissions.

Language Test Score (international applicants only)

A TOEFL or IELTS language test score is required of all international applicants not otherwise exempt. Reports are to be submitted directly to the Graduate School. Learn more about the Language Test requirement.

Letters of Recommendation

After you’ve submitted your ApplyTexas application and paid the fee, each of the three people you listed in the References section will be sent an email containing a secure link for submitting their Letter of Recommendation electronically. All letters must be submitted electronically and must be received by the final application deadline.

Recommendation letters from professors who are familiar with your work are strongly preferred. If you have been out of school for some time and are no longer in contact with professors, professional recommendations are acceptable, as long as the recommender is able to credibly address your ability to undertake graduate work.

Recommenders often prefer to write a letter at the end of a semester, after the student’s work has been reviewed and a final grade assigned. If one or more of your current instructors is also a recommender, please remind him/her that letters must be submitted online by December 15.

Step 3 — Submit Supporting Materials

After receiving your UT EID (within 48 hours of submitting your paid ApplyTexas application), you may use it to access the university’s MyStatus website, where you’ll upload the following supporting materials and monitor the status of your application and admission decision. Your application is not complete until you’ve uploaded all supporting materials.

Go to MyStatus

Be aware:

• All documents must be in PDF format.
• Please verify all documents before uploading. Subsequent uploading of the same document will not replace the one previously submitted, nor will admissions staff be able to remove duplicate documents.

Transcript(s)

Review the Graduate School’s requirements and instructions for submitting transcripts. If the issuing institution can’t electronically submit a transcript to UT Austin via the SPEEDE service, you should upload an “unofficial” transcript in PDF format as part of your supporting materials. If you’re offered admission, you will have to provide an “official” hardcopy version.

Department Application

The following may be created as a Word document, but must be uploaded as a one- or two-page PDF.

• Name, Date of birth
• Phone number, Email address
• Degree sought: MA or PhD
• GRE scores: Verbal, Quantitative, Essay
• Primary areas of interest within Art History
• Doctoral applicants: names of faculty with whom you wish to work
• Using a table format, list in order (earliest to latest) all colleges and universities attended, with the following as column headers: name of institution and city; years attended; major/degree; and year awarded. Do not list community colleges or junior colleges.
• Using a table format, list in order (earliest to latest) all undergraduate and graduate classes taken for credit in Art History or closely related areas, using the following as column headers: course title; instructor; institution; academic year; credit hours; and grade. For applicants currently taking Art History coursework at the undergraduate or graduate level, wait until you receive final grades for the fall semester (if available before December 15), then complete and upload the Applicant Profile showing those final grades.

CV / Resume

Include all relevant educational, research and work experience.

Statement of Purpose

Content is more important than length, although typically the statement is one or two single-spaced pages.

Writing Samples

Each writing sample should be a separate file and should not exceed 12MB. For documents beyond this filesize, reduce the resolution of embedded images using editing software, or reduce the overall filesize of the PDF using Adobe Acrobat.

• Master’s Applicants — The writing samples should be two research papers from upper-division Art History coursework, typically 10–25 pages. An Honors Thesis or chapters of an Honors Thesis can count as one of the two required writing samples.
• PhD Applicants — The first writing sample should be the Master’s Thesis or chapters of the Master’s Thesis. If no thesis or thesis chapters are available, submit a graduate seminar research paper. The second writing sample should be a graduate seminar research paper.

Step 4 — Confirm Receipt of all Application Materials

Use MyStatus to monitor your application. It’s your responsibility to confirm that all materials have been received and the application is complete by the deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted (no exceptions).

Go to MyStatus

Use MyStatus to:

• See which application materials have been submitted and which are still required
• Review the status of your recommendation letters, resend recommendation requests, or add recommenders
• Upload transcripts as PDFs (if institutions can’t submit them electronically)
• See your admission status after a decision has been made

Step 5 — After the Decision

Please visit the Graduate School’s After Your Decision page for further information about admission, admission with conditions, and denials. Admissions to graduate programs at UT Austin are overseen by an Admissions Committee within the program. These committees are composed of experienced faculty members who are best-suited to determine the individuals who best meet program standards.

Unfortunately, when there are more qualified applicants than can adequately be instructed by the faculty or accommodated in the facilities, the Admissions Committee for the proposed area may deny admission to many applicants. Admissions recommendations to the Graduate Dean are final; there is no appeal process. We are not able to provide individual feedback to denied applicants.