MATESOL Application Checklist

Autumn 2025 Admissions

Applications for our Autumn 2025 cohort will open on September 1, 2024.  If you have any questions, please reach out to matesol@uw.edu. 

Checklist

For frequently asked questions, please see our MATESOL FAQ page. 

*Effective the Autumn 2021 admissions cycle, GRE General Test scores are no longer required as a part of the application.

The application deadline is January 2nd. If January 2nd falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then the deadline is the following Monday.

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For questions about application procedures, please email matesol@uw.edu. 

Application Materials

Unofficial Transcripts from All Colleges or Universities Attended

One copy of transcripts from each college or university attended, reflecting all graduate and undergraduate coursework is required. This copy will be considered "unofficial," but will suffice for application purposes. If admitted, you will be asked to submit official transcripts (a transcript in a sealed envelope bearing the Registrar's seal) from your degree-granting institution to the University of Washington Graduate School. 

Statement of Purpose (approximately 1,000 words)

In a Statement of Purpose of approximately 1000 words, please describe your motivation, relevant experience, familiarity with, and commitment to the language teaching profession. What has drawn you to the field? We are interested in your academic and teaching history or potential, your commitments to social justice and antiracism, and your goals and interests within the profession. Insofar as your commitment to the field and your intellectual biography are shaped by your linguistic histories and identities and personal, cultural, and ancestral background, we welcome you to include biographical context. 

Supplementary Materials

In a single document, please write approximately 200 words on each of the following prompts. Each response should be designated by the corresponding number for each prompt and by leaving space between each individual response:

  1. Tell us about a favorite class of yours and how you would go about teaching it. (approximately 200 words)
  2. Tell us about a time a racially problematic, discriminatory, or even offensive comment has been made in a class that you taught (or, if you have not yet taught, in any class you were in). (approximately 200 words)
  3. How would you support students who have less power in the classroom? (approximately 200 words)

Resume or Curriculum Vitae

In formatting a resume, the main concern is that your most relevant qualifications and experience should stand out on a quick perusal. Please be sure to include all teaching and tutoring experiences, indicating the number of teaching hours a week, whether you were the instructor or an assistant in the classroom, and whether the experience was volunteer.

Please make sure that your resume or CV includes all teaching and tutoring experience, detailing the following information:

  1. Number of teaching hours per week 
  2. Whether this is a paid or volunteer position
  3. Whether you were the instructor of record or an assistant in the classroom
  4. Class size or number of tutees

Three Letters of Recommendation

Use the online application to provide contact information for three people who will submit letters of recommendation. The recommendations should include information on relevant experience, familiarity with, a commitment to, and the relation of career goals to the field of TESOL, as well as a candidate's academic potential and teaching ability. 

Recommenders should comment on the applicant's abilities as a critical thinker; as a reader and writer about language study, including language acquisition and pedagogy; as an inclusive teacher (or potential teacher) committed to equity-oriented practice; and as one who shows promise of growth in graduate study.

Proof of English Language Proficiency (Non-native English Speakers Only)

Minimum admission requirements: Non-native English speakers must demonstrate English language proficiency in one of the ways listed on the UW Graduate School’s Policy 3.2: Graduate School English Language Proficiency Requirements.

***For applicants using TOEFL as proof of English Language Proficiency: we do not typically admit applicants with a combined TOEFL score below 100. 

Requirements to hold a TA-ship/ASE teaching position: MATESOL students interested in an Academic Student Employee (ASE) position must also demonstrate English language proficiency in one of the ways listed on the UW Graduate School’s Policy 5.2: Conditions of Appointment for TAs who are not Native Speakers of English. You must receive a score of at least 26 on the speaking section of TOEFL-iBT or a score of at least 7.0 on the speaking section of the IELTS in order to be eligible to teach.

How to submit official TOEFL scores: Contact the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to order your official TOEFL score report. TOEFL scores are valid for two years from the test date. Our institution code is: 4854. Department code: 99 (any department).

How to submit official IELTS scores: The University of Washington only accepts scores submitted electronically by the IELTS testing center. No paper Test Report Forms will be accepted. All IELTS test centers can report scores electronically. You must request from the center where you took the test that your scores be sent electronically using the IELTS system (E-TRF) to the following address: University of Washington All Campuses, Organisation ID 365, Undergrad & Graduate Admis, Box 355850, Seattle, WA, 98105, United States of America. If you have already taken the IELTS, you can go to the IELTS test center location for the email address of the IELTS Administrator to make your request. Allow a minimum of 13 working days for reporting test results to our school. IELTS scores are valid for two years from the test date.

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