Skip to main content

Apply

The application portal for Fall 2025 admission will open on September 10, 2024 and close on December 15, 2024.

Students from any discipline are welcome to apply for admission to IPTD. Applications from students with or without a Master’s degree are considered.

  1. Online Application (Portal opens in early September): Application forms are electronically returned to the Graduate School, and double as requests for financial aid: Online Application
  2. Transcripts: Scanned copies of transcripts are now being accepted. Please refer to the Graduate School website for full instructions on the process: Transcripts Instructions
  3. Additional Documents: All of the following can be electronically sent with the online application.
    1. Three Letters of Recommendation: preferably from people who are familiar with your recent work.
    2. Academic Statement: For more information on this statement, please see Application Requirements: Essays from the Graduate School.
    3. Personal Statement: For more information on this statement, please see Application Requirements: Essays from the Graduate School.
    4. Critical Writing Sample: demonstrates your ability to write and to conduct scholarly research. A term paper, portion of honors or MA thesis, or similar analytical expository work is preferred. Samples should not exceed 25 pages.
    5. Cluster Statement: demonstrates how participation in a specific cluster will benefit your future project or areas of research interests.
      1. Students in IPTD are de facto members of the Critical Studies in Theatre and Performance Cluster. Therefore, applicants should not select this cluster as an affiliation preference on their applications but, if appropriate, choose another related to their intended inter-disciplinary or multi-disciplinary research field. See more information on Interdisciplinary Clusters.
    6. Theatrical Resume: welcomed but not required.
  4. Test Scores:  For more information on test scores, please see  Application Requirements: Test Scores from the Graduate School.
    1. Official TOEFL Scores for International Applicants: those who native language is not English. The minimum TOEFL score for IPTD admission is 100 (iBT). The Educational Testing Service will send official results directly to Northwestern University’s Graduate School. Please use institutional code 1565. IPTD also accepts the IELTS, for which the minimum score is 7. For more information on English language test scores, see The Graduate School’s Test Scores page.Education Testing Service (ETS)
  5. International Students Certify English Proficiency: read more under Application Requirements: Test Scores from the Graduate School.International students wishing to be considered for teaching assistant appointments during any year of study in the Graduate School must fulfill The Graduate School’s English Proficiency Requirement. Student may do so in one of four of the following ways:
    • Score of 26 or higher on the Speaking Section of the TOEFL iBT
    • Score of 65 of higher on the Versant English Test (only scores from tests administered at Northwestern will be accepted)
    • Score of 50 or higher on the SPEAK test (only scores from tests administered at Northwestern will be accepted)
    • Pass a teaching demonstration at the conclusion of Linguistics 480

    These tests are administered by the Education Testing Service (ETS) at test centers worldwide or administered by Northwestern University. For more information, please consult The Graduate School’s English Proficiency Policy. Northwestern provides English language training to admitted students who do not yet qualify for teaching assistantships.

  6. Application Fee: Northwestern requires a one-time, non-refundable application fee at the time of submission. Certain students are eligible for an application fee waiver.  For more information, please consult The Graduate School Application Requirements.