Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

1. graduate admission application and application fee
2. official transcripts
3. statement of purpose
4. resume or curriculum vitae
5. proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information
An applicant whose native language is not English and has not graduated from an institution of higher learning in the United States regardless of their current residency must provide proof of English proficiency. Applicants should note that official scores must be sent to ASU in order for the application to be processed.

International students who need an F1 or J1 visa first need to apply to and be accepted into a graduate degree program prior to being considered for the certificate program. International students residing in the USA on other types of visas must adhere to all Graduate College policies and procedures regarding admission to be considered for admission to this certificate program.

The graduate certificate in critical theory is available to all ASU graduate students irrespective of their major, as well as to nondegree graduate students and working professionals provided they meet eligibility criteria. Sample majors include English; women and gender studies; art history; and arts, media and engineering. Eligible applicants must have taken two courses in critical theory or a related field at the upper-division undergraduate level (such as ENG 401 Topics in Critical Theory) or at the graduate level (such as ENG 502 Contemporary Critical Theories).

The statement of purpose should be approximately 300 to 600 words and address the following:

• The applicant's background in theory
• The areas of theory the applicant is interested in pursuing and which authors the applicant is reading and thinking about
• What concepts in critical theory interest the applicant most and why
• What the applicant hopes to accomplish by pursuing this certificate

Writers and other content professionals are in demand today, not only in traditional print media, but also on digital platforms. Critical theory provides valuable skills in logical argument and conceptual analysis that are useful across the media spectrum, from scholarly writing to popular magazines and websites with social, cultural and political themes. Students of critical theory also are increasingly involved in multimedia work and technologies, such as AI, in both academic and commercial innovative institutional ventures, such as tech startups.

Career examples include:

• analyst for cultural tech company
• content provider for social media
• freelance cultural critic (on- and offline)
• grassroots activist
• instructor in critical theory, cultural studies or media studies
• political strategist or campaign worker
• writer in marketing and advertising