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Admission requirements conform to the general regulations of The Graduate School and regional and national accreditation standards.

Applicants must submit the following to The Graduate School online at: http://app.gradschool.sc.edu/

• Application form with non-fundable application fee
• One official transcript from each post-secondary institution attended showing their complete academic record
  (mailed to The Graduate School)
• Two letters of recommendation
• Records of immunization
• Reports of examination scores on the GRE or GMAT. (Applicants whose native language is not
  English must submit TOEFL or IELTS scores.)

For information on GRE or GMAT testing, please visit http://app.gradschool.sc.edu/scores.asp

For tuition and fee information, please visit the Bursar's Office at http://www.sc.edu/bursar/fees.shtml

Application Deadlines:

Applications and all supporting documentation must be received on or before the deadlines listed below.

Financial Aid:

Graduate assistantships are offered selectively to qualified applications. Receipts of an assistantship receive a stipend and health insurance benefits. Out-of-state students awarded a graduate assistantship will receive in-state student tuition rates. Students awarded a graduate assistantship will assist with research, teaching, and/or other departmental tasks for 10-20 hours per week.

Application deadline for consideration of a Graduate assistantship is May 1. However, we will begin filling assistantship positions beginning March 1 for students who have been accepted into the program, so it is in your best interest to apply early for both graduate school and an assistantship. There is an item on the online application form on which applicants can indicate their desire to be considered for an assistantship. To apply for an assistantship, please indicate yes on this item.

For information about scholarships and other forms of financial assistance, please visit http://www.sc.edu/financialaid/ or call 803-777-8134.

Information Pertaining to Admissions:

Applicants for admission to the Master of Retailing program will be evaluated using a combination of academic and professional factors. They normally are expected to have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.00 for all undergraduate coursework and either a combined GRE score of 1000 on the verbal and quantitative components or a total of 500 on the GMAT.

Admission decisions may also take into consideration other criteria, such as professional experience in the retailing industry, involvement in professional and/or student organizations, and strength of recommendations from professional and academic sources.

International applicants are required to submit with their application a certified transcript indicating the nature and scope of their academic training. An applicant whose native language is not English is required to submit a minimum score of 570 (230 computer score) on the TOEFL or 6.5 on the IELTS. Prior to enrollment in the Master of Retailing program, international students whose native language is not English are required to take an English diagnostic test administered by the English Program for Internationals. Students with deficiencies are provided opportunities for further study in reading, writing, and speaking English.

Students wishing to enter the Master of Retailing program should have completed courses in the areas of computer applications in business, statistics, merchandising, marketing, and management principles. In particular, students are required to have taken an introductory level retailing or fashion merchandising principles course and a retail buying course at the undergraduate level. Certain prerequisites may be waived for students who have demonstrated a high degree of competence in a related area. Students may transfer up to 12 hours of course credit. In all cases a course in retail buying will be required.


Bachelor's/Master's Degrees Accelerated Program:

The Master of Retailing follows the University policy for admission of a student to an accelerated program. Under this plan, students reduce the time necessary to earn both degrees by applying up to nine hours of graduate credit to each of the undergraduate and graduate program requirements. Students accepted into this program must have at least 90 hours of undergraduate credit, a minimum overall GPA of 3.40, and at least 3.40 in the course work taken in their major field of study.

Students applying to this program must submit to The Graduate School a completed "Application for Admission to a Combined Bachelor's/Master's Education Plan" with endorsements. A student must submit a "Senior Privilege Course Work Authorization" whenever the student enrolls in one or more of these courses.

Participation in the accelerated program does not require nor does it guarantee acceptance into The Graduate School or into a specific program of study. Students wishing to continue toward the master's degree at USC must apply formally to The Graduate School by submitting the appropriate form and required supporting documents.