See tuition and fees listed at Student Financial Services. Students on assistantship have tuition and fees covered for Fall 2025 and onward.

Graduate Tuition and Fees for 2024-2025 year.

More than 27,000 students attend Colorado State University and live in the Fort Collins area. As such, there are numerous options for students interested in finding housing. Check out CSU's cost comparison estimates for on- or off-campus living. Some graduate students choose to live on-campus (see CSU Housing and Dining Services). Other students choose to live off campus. CSUs Off-Campus Life Office, CraigsList, and Northern Colorado Rentals may be helpful in locating off-campus housing.

International students are strongly advised to apply for university housing as early as possible. A small application fee and refundable deposit are required. See also CSU's International Student and Scholar Services for additional advice on comparing costs and securing housing.

Applicants are required to hold at least a 3.0 GPA for their undergraduate work.

The GRE is not required.

• Those with GPA < 3.000 must address it in their purpose statement and explain why and what evidence suggests they will succeed academically in graduate-level coursework.
• Minimum GPA of 2.800 for review and possible provisional admission
• GPA below 2.800 must have taken 6 credits of relevant graduate courses within the past 3 years (equivalent to two classes at CSU). Contact us if you have questions about this before applying.
  • If you would like to explore taking classes in our department to meet this requirement, please contact us about CSU's Guest program.
• IMPORTANT: Those admitted with GPA < 3.000 will be on academic watch and will be dismissed if they do not earn 3.000 GPA in the first semester.

The requirement to submit a GRE score is currently being waived for M.S. and Ph.D. applications.

The department’s graduate program committee carefully reads each letter of recommendation, so it is important that applicants select appropriate letter writers. Letter writers should be able to speak to the applicant’s likelihood of success in the M.S. or Ph.D. program. In particular, letter writers are asked to assess the applicant’s likelihood of successfully completing the program, overall problem solving abilities, ability to work independently, writing skills, oral communication skills, interpersonal skills, and motivation. Applicants should ensure that their letter writers have enough information and experience to address these issues. The letter writer’s relationship to the applicant is also noted by the graduate admissions committee. M.S. applicants are encouraged to ask individuals who have known them in a variety of capacities to write recommendation letters. Letters typically come from employers, professors, and academic advisers. In contrast, Ph.D. applicants should primarily ask individuals who can speak to their research and teaching abilities. Usually, successful Ph.D. applicants ask their thesis adviser(s) and other major master’s degree professors to write letters of recommendation.

The graduate admissions committee carefully considers each writing sample, so it is important that applicants select appropriate writing samples. In essence, the writing samples should demonstrate to the committee that the applicant’s academic writing and research, and/or professional work are of high quality and relevant to the department’s areas of study.

M.S. applicants may choose to submit examples from both their professional work (e.g., reports, manuals, video productions, magazine or newsletter articles, press releases) and academic work (term papers, thought pieces, etc.). Ph.D. applicants should limit their writing samples to academic work (journal articles, thesis chapters, term papers, conference papers, etc.) that demonstrates their ability to conduct research and write cogently.

Each sample should clearly identify what it was used for or where it was published.

The Statement of Purpose is a key element of the application. In the statement, you should demonstrate how the department’s master’s or Ph.D. program would help you meet your career goals. You should demonstrate in your Statement of Purpose that you have a clear understanding of the emphasis areas for our master’s or Ph.D. program and, in particular, its research-oriented nature.

The statement should be primarily forward-looking. In other words, while it should include references to past academic/professional experiences, the primary focus should be upon the future (i.e., your research interests, your career goals, your interest in the program, which professors you would like to work with, etc.). Students with low GPAs and/or GRE scores and students who have other unusual aspects to their application may briefly describe the circumstances that contributed to these situations, but these explanations should be a minor part of the Statement of Purpose.

Finally, remember that your Statement of Purpose is another example of your writing ability.

CSU students and graduates are not required to provide transcripts from CSU. However, CSU students and graduates who completed coursework at other institutions may be required to submit transcripts from those institutions. Applicants should check with the department’s graduate program administrator to find out whether they need to request these transcripts.

Yes. All applicants are required to submit transcripts from every school attended. This requirement includes any coursework completed at community colleges and at institutions where no degree was awarded. You may submit unofficial transcripts for your application review, but you will be required to submit official paper transcripts prior to full admission. See CSU's graduate school admission requirements for details.

Our minimum test score requirements are higher than the Graduate School's due to the nature of our discipline and assistantship work expectations. Scores must be no older than two years and must be submitted to the university directly from the testing agency. The department does not conditionally admit students who do not meet the TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo score requirement.

• Minimum internet-based TOEFL iBT score is 90
• Minimum paper-based TOEFL iBT score is 550 (paper-based)
• Minimum IELTS score is 7.0
• Minimum Duolingo score is 125
• Minimum PTE score is 76

Our department does not have its own fee waiver process. However, the Graduate School at Colorado State University supports fee waivers for applicants who can demonstrate participation in or affiliation with specific programs and/or partnerships. Fee waivers are NOT granted based on financial hardship alone." See details at the Fee Waiver Request form.

Some applicants can skip the fee and apply to graduate programs for free.

Explore options to apply for a Master’s or Doctoral program for free at Colorado State University. There are three ways you may be able to apply for free:

Institutional fee waivers: If you are a new applicant to a graduate program and earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally (HLC) accredited Colorado Institution or a U.S. Land-Grant Institution, your graduate application fee will be automatically waived.

Program affiliation fee waiver: CSU supports fee waivers for Graduate School applicants who can demonstrate participation in or affiliation with specific programs and/or partnerships. Find a full list of fee waivers and how to submit a fee waiver on the webpage linked below.​

Free Graduate Application Days: Dec 1, Jan 14, Jan 15

Find out if you qualify for one of our many ways to apply for free.

The Graduate School is working on getting a credential guidebook posted to their website. In the meantime, please reach out with any questions about GPAs and credential equivalencies to international@colostate.edu

There may be some tools out there, but the Graduate School does not recommend students use them. Grade conversions for international credentials is not regulated, so universities have recommendations and guidelines, but ultimately each university could interpret grading scales differently.

CSU's Graduate School office will complete GPA calculations on all international applicants. Prospective students reaching out inquiring about how we would evaluate their GPA should reach out to the Graduate School for a review of their grades.

No, we do not have applicants secure an advisor prior to applying. You should identify and name at least two faculty you want to mentor you during your studies based on their scholarly expertise and alignment with your goals.

Broadly speaking, our programs study how mass communications, media, strategic communication, and digital platforms shape society. Communication studies analyzes human interaction patterns, group communication, film, and organizational communication.