Admissions

If you are considering applying for a Warner degree program, one of the best ways to experience the quality education that Warner delivers is to take a course as a non-matriculated student. Students with a bachelor’s degree are eligible to take a course at the Warner School without going through the application process. Should you decide to pursue application to Warner, the course may count toward your degree program. Contact Admissions to discuss courses that best fit your area of interest.

A Sampling of Recommended Classes for Non-Matriculated Students

Courses of Interest to All Students

• ED457 Autism Spectrum Disorders: Characteristics and Educational Issues
• EDE436 Diversity and Equity in Education
• EDU446 Entrepreneurial Skills for Educators (Hybrid/Online course with synchronous session(s) on Wednesdays--students must "meet" online at this time; first and last class will be face-to-face)
• EDE484 Online Teaching and Learning (Hybrid/ Online)

Courses for Counseling and Human Development Students

• ED418 The Family and Social Dynamics
• ED453 Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis
• EDU454 Career Counseling and Development
• EDE417 Crisis Counseling and Disaster Mental Health

Courses for Teaching and Curriculum Students

• EDU498 Theory and Practice in Teaching and Learning Literacy in Elementary School
• EDU427 Race, Class, Gender, and Disability in American Education

Courses for Educational Leadership Students

• ED413 Student Affairs Administration: Academic Support Services
• ED464 State and Federal Education Policy
• ED475 Leadership and Management in Higher Education

View a complete list of courses being offered next semester that are recommended for non-matriculated students.

Please note that not all these courses may count toward the program in which you may eventually decide to matriculate, so if you already have a specific program in mind, you may want to check for required and elective courses on our website and/or talk with one our admissions advisors.

 

No. You can begin taking classes in any semester without first applying to the school. We call this status “non-matriculated.” You may wish to take a class before applying to “get your feet wet” in a program, or to get a jump-start on your program while you assemble your application. Additionally, there are students who take a course or two of particular interest to them who do not intend to pursue a degree at all. If you are planning to apply to a program, we recommend that you take no more than three classes prior to admission. If you are interested in a degree program, you should talk to admissions or a faculty member.

To register for a class as a non-matriculated student please contact our Registrar’s Office to receive registration materials, or print them from the Student Services area of the Warner School web site. Additional questions can be addressed by calling the Admissions Office at 585-275-3950 or by emailing admissions@warner.rochester.edu.

It depends. For many of our programs, we do not require entrance examinations as part of the application to the Warner School, with the exception of the TOEFL or IELTS exam for applicants whose first language is not English. If you have taken the GRE already and wish to submit your score, we will be happy to evaluate it as part of your application. Teacher education and K12 educational leadership candidates seeking NYS certification are now required by NYS to submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Miller's Analogy Test (MAT), or a substantially equivalent admission assessment. 

To report your score to the Warner School use the University of Rochester’s Institution code which is 7614. The subcode for the GRE is 2928 (curriculum and instruction).

Although we can accept your application at any time, we review applications four times a year: January 15, March 15, June 15, and October 15. NOTE: Applications to PhD programs are only reviewed at the January 15 deadline.

Specific criteria for admission include:

1. Applicants must have received a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution or equivalent by the time they enter the program at Warner, with the exception of those applying to early admission programs.
2. Applicants must have the ability to do graduate work at the University of Rochester, as demonstrated by their past academic performance and their academic writing skills.
3. Applicants must demonstrate sufficient communication and interpersonal skills to perform well in their chosen career in education.
4. Applicants’ career goals, professional interests, academic background, attitudes, and philosophy must be consistent with the programs offered by the Warner School and its stated mission.
5. Additional criteria may be established for individual programs.

An academic writing sample is required. It should be a paper that you have written that best displays your ability to write at an academic level. Your paper should include citations and use the same style consistently (APA or MLA for example).

Admissions interviews are often required as part of the application process. They are by invitation only. You will be contacted by the Admissions Office if an interview is requested.

Applicants will be notified of a decision 6 to 8 weeks after the application deadline.

The Warner School offers merit-based scholarships to well qualified master’s and certification applicants, and assistantships to doctoral applicants. Rochester-area preK-12 educators are eligible for the Warner School’s Greater Rochester Area Educators Grants. See tuition and financial aid for more information on this opportunity.

You can complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at any time. Completing the FAFSA provides eligibility for participation in the Federal Loan program.

Courses are offered in the late afternoon and into the evening. Most courses begin at either 4:45 p.m. or 7:35 p.m. Some courses may vary from this schedule. Summer B classes are sometimes offered during the day.

Classes are intentionally kept small to facilitate learning and discussion. Most classes are capped at 25, although on rare occasions some classes may be larger.

For master’s programs, you can transfer up to nine graduate-level credits from another institution as long as those credits have not already been counted toward another degree. For doctoral programs, you can transfer up to 36 credits into an EdD program, and up to 30 credits into a PhD program. All transfer credits must be approved by your advisor and are usually not granted for required courses

Yes. Graduate housing is offered by the University, not by the Warner School. Information is available on their web site at https://www.rochester.edu/reslife/graduate/index.html.