KU Graduate School announces centralization of application process

LAWRENCE -- After 30 years, the University of Kansas Graduate School is changing its admission procedure to make the process quicker and more flexible. From now on, students will apply directly to the Graduate School instead of individual departments.

The change is in response to U.S. State Department modifications in international admissions and by the recommendation of the Provost's Task Force on Graduate Education.

"Once the task force members took a look at the changes that were taking place with processing international applicants and the need to have concise data about all graduate applicants, they moved quickly to recommend this change," said Diana Carlin, dean of the Graduate School and International Programs. "They wanted us to implement a processing system that would be user-friendly for the applicants, allow the departments flexibility in their admission decisions and meet the demands to process the materials in a timely manner."

The only change for applicants is that they will send their materials to the Graduate Applications Processing Center in 30 Strong Hall instead of directly to a department or school. Two full-time staff members will operate the center, along with seasonal employees during peak periods. Gina King will oversee the domestic applications, and Amy Quirin will oversee international applications. King comes to the Graduate School with four years of experience in undergraduate admissions, while Quirin has worked for the past three years in International Student and Scholar Services.

For more information about this new process, visit the Graduate School's Web site, www.graduate.ku.edu.