Brandeis University

A current résumé detailing educational and employment history; candidates with little or no full-time work experience should include internships and/or part-time work.

Listed among the School of Business and Economics application requirements. The program's specific question(s) and word-count recommendations are shown only inside the online application ('begin your online application and view the Statement of Purpose instructions').

Bachelor's degree (held or about to be earned) from an accredited U.S. or international institution; three-year international degrees equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's are accepted. Provide transcripts for each institution where you earned (or will earn) a degree or completed 12 or more credits not shown as graded courses on another transcript; if you attended more than 4 schools, list only the 4 most relevant. Unofficial transcripts are accepted for review; official transcripts are required only upon enrollment.

Maximum two letters (one required). Professional (supervisor, client, colleague, mentor) or academic (professor, dean); if you have 2+ years of full-time work experience, a professional letter is strongly encouraged.

One letter of recommendation is required; the application moves to review as soon as one letter is received if the rest is complete. Up to two letters may be submitted; a second letter is guaranteed evaluation only if the recommender submits it within five days of the application being marked complete. Letters are submitted electronically through the application portal (institutional or corporate recommender email preferred).

GMAT (optional; or GRE): Submission of GRE or GMAT scores is entirely optional. Unofficial scores may be submitted with the application; admitted applicants who enroll must then send official scores from the testing agency. Scores are valid for five years and must be valid when the application is submitted. For GMAT, select Brandeis University — Office of Graduate Admissions — All Graduate Programs.

GRE (optional; or GMAT): Submission of GRE or GMAT scores is entirely optional. Unofficial scores may be submitted with the application; admitted applicants who enroll must then send official scores from the testing agency. Scores are valid for five years and must be valid when the application is submitted. GRE code 3092.

Duolingo English Test: Recommended, not a stated minimum: Duolingo English Test 130 or higher. Unofficial scores with the application; official scores only if you accept an offer of admission. Scores are valid up to two years and must be valid when the application is submitted (submit the official score before it expires if it expires before the program starts).

IELTS: Recommended, not a stated minimum: IELTS 7.0 or higher. IELTS Indicator and IELTS Online accepted. Unofficial scores with the application; official scores only if you accept an offer of admission. Scores are valid up to two years and must be valid when the application is submitted (submit the official score before it expires if it expires before the program starts).

PTE Academic (listed in the school FAQ): Recommended, not a stated minimum: PTE Academic 68 or higher. The School of Business and Economics FAQ lists PTE Academic among the accepted tests. The graduate admissions International Applicants page gives the same recommended score and two-year validity for PTE, but its sentences on which tests applicants must submit name only TOEFL, IELTS and Duolingo.

TOEFL iBT (or TOEFL ITP): Recommended, not a stated minimum: TOEFL iBT 5.0 or higher (equivalent to 100 on the iBT taken before January 21, 2026) or TOEFL ITP 627 or higher. TOEFL iBT Home Edition accepted. TOEFL code 3122. The admissions committee reviews holistically and encourages applicants whose English is in line with graduate study to apply. Unofficial scores with the application; official scores only if you accept an offer of admission. Scores are valid up to two years and must be valid when the application is submitted (submit the official score before it expires if it expires before the program starts).

TOEFL (school FAQ waiver rules): School FAQ: recommended TOEFL iBT 100 or higher (TOEFL ITP 627); TOEFL iBT Home Edition accepted; only TOEFL scores from a single test date are considered, not MyBest scores. An unofficial score should be submitted with the application; official scores only if you accept an offer.

Waiver / exemption: No English test is needed at application if the applicant (1) completed an on-campus bachelor's degree with at least three full-time academic years of study where English was the ONLY language of instruction, (2) completed at least one full-time academic year of on-campus graduate study (master's level or higher) where English was the ONLY language of instruction (English as the language of instruction should be shown on the institution's website, transcript and/or mark sheets), or (3) worked full-time for two years in the United States within the last four years (after the bachelor's degree, at least 35 hours per week). Brandeis may request supplemental materials during review.

Waiver / exemption: School FAQ: a TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test or PTE Academic score is required unless the applicant (1) completed a bachelor's degree with at least three full-time academic years of study where English was the ONLY language of instruction, (2) completed at least one full-time academic year of graduate study (master's level or higher) where English was the ONLY language of instruction, or (3) has, within the last 4 years, worked full-time for 2 consecutive years in the United States (after the bachelor's degree, at least 35 hours per week). Unlike the International Applicants page, the FAQ does not say 'on-campus' and requires the two work years to be consecutive.

School FAQ: as part of holistic review, an applicant may be asked to complete a short video essay so the committee can better understand their current aptitude in English (context: an English test score lower than recommended). No platform is named.