ASU Logistics and the Application Process

ASU is in Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix, the fifth largest city in the nation. Sky Harbor Airport is a 10 minute drive, and summer air fare and rental cars can be inexpensive. The Grand Canyon is a 4-hour drive. Cool mountains with pine forests, rugged wilderness, and campgrounds are a couple of hours away.The temperature in Tempe is typically 105 degrees in June, but it’s a dry heat. All buildings are air-conditioned and modern. Although ASU’s main campus has over 50,000 students during the academic year, the campus is quiet in summer, with ample parking.

Travel
Southwest Airlines often has $250 round-trip sales from all of their airport locations in the nation. Visit their web site and subscribe to their weekly email alert. Other airlines may match their sale fares. STA Travel Agency has discounted prices for teachers. They are located at ASU (480 965-8410) and at many universities nationwide. We know people who’ve obtained good deals at CheapTickets, etc.

The airport shuttle or cab costs about $20 (+tip). An occasional teacher chooses to take the city bus (Route #40, eastbound), which costs $1.75 one way. Everything is within walking distance of campus. Several city bus lines go by the campus (FLASH, ORBIT, Metro). Two light rail stops are next to campus (http://www.valleymetro.org). Teachers like to rent cars on weekends and go in groups to the Grand Canyon, old Indian ruins, tubing down the river, etc. Since summer is the slow time (no tourists), cars can be rented inexpensively.

How to apply for Non-Degree Graduate study at ASU:
This is easy, but try to do it well before summer, in case glitches occur. First, apply online to ASU, after Feb. You aren’t required to submit transcripts, test scores, grade averages, or letters of recommendation. (ASU charges a $70 application fee; due to the economic downturn it is no longer free to K-12 teachers.) After May 20, unfortunately a late fee of $50 is charged (new in 2009).
(See http://graduate.asu.edu/admissions/nondegree.html)

Credit Card Only – Beginning Tuesday February 1, 2011, all Graduate College online applications will require the fee payment by credit card only at the time the application is submitted. Applicants will no longer have an option to pay later by check or cash.

ASU must receive your application and immunization verification before ASU will allow you to register for a course. If you were born after Dec. 31, 1956, you must give proof of two vaccinations of measles (rubeola) and rubella, at least one of which must have been given after Dec. 31, 1979. You can download this MMR immunization form. (Click on "health forms".) Submit it to the ASU Student Health Center. (FAX: 480-965-8914; P.O. Box 872104, Tempe AZ 85287-2104).
After 48 hours, you may confirm that Student Health has received the correct information by going to My ASU and clicking on "Check Your Registration Eligibility Status". If immunization information is missing, you will receive a message about what you must still provide. Where you can get an MMR shot in metro Phoenix.

(If you've previously been an ASU student and you've forgotten your password and/or ASURITE ID, call the ASU help desk: 480-965-6500. Press one(1). Ask the human being to FAX you a form so that you can change your computer password on My ASU. You'll need to FAX back your drivers license or similar proof of identity.


How to register for your summer course:
(a) For AZ teachers who are authorized for free tuition: ask Jane Jackson.
(b) For teachers who are paying tuition:
Registering for courses is EASY & QUICK! But wait after applying to ASU, before you register for courses. Course registration starts in mid-February. If you register for courses before a fixed date in mid-May, you must pay by then, or else you'll be put on an automated Tuition Installment Plan and charged a sizable fee.(So register in the week after that date in mid-May but before May 23, 2010, if you need to pay later.) For the specific dates; visit http://students.asu.edu/tuitiondeadlines and click on "summer..." Beware: this is confusing!

You must register before each session (by May 22, 2011 for the first session! and by June 26, 2011 for the second, to avoid another late fee) online at https://my.asu.edu. (See http://students.asu.edu/academic-calendar) For online payment information, visit the ASU REGISTRAR WEBSITE. If you want more details, see the ASU Summer Schedule. Our PHS graduate courses are listed in the ASU course bulletin.

How to apply to the Master of Natural Science (MNS) Degree Program in Physics
Try to finish you MNS degree application by May 1, for courtesy to faculty who review applications.

  1. As of Dec. 2005, the MNS application is online. You must apply to the ASU Graduate College, which costs $70. Click here to start the process. Select the Physics MNS degree program. If you haven't yet taken the GRE general exam, leave the exam date BLANK. If you have a problem, call the graduate admissions staff at 480-965-6113. To fill out the application, you need to know your undergraduate GPA and your junior-senior GPA.

    Below is an overview of the rest of the process. Please read the official ASU instructions carefully, in case the procedure becomes updated without our knowing it. The purpose for this overview is to give you an idea of what's involved, and to help you speed up the process.

  2. If you have application questions that pertain to the Department of Physics, ask the MNS degree Coordinator, Diana Sesate, in the Physics Dept. office at 480-965-0355. Also, read the Dept. of Physics "How to Apply" webpage, http://physics.asu.edu/graduate/apply

    Your application isn't complete until ASU has received official transcripts from all the colleges you've attended, 3 letters of recommendation, GRE general test scores (but NOT the GRE physics test), and proof of 2 measles shots (if you were born after 1956). Check with the MNS degree coordinator periodically, to make sure documents that you sent were received and were filed correctly.

  3. Click on the link to get information about the GRE general test. (GRE sites in Arizona are at Sylvan Centers in Phoenix, Tucson, Chandler, and Goodyear, and at ASU, NAU, and the U of A.) You must schedule an appointment (a couple weeks in advance?) either by calling 1-800-GRE-CALL or by calling the test center directly. The GRE general test cost $120 (in 2006).
    Note: The official GRE general test scores must be submitted to the ASU Graduate College.

    Changes to the GRE – The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is changing effective August 2011. Additional information regarding the revised exam can be found at http://www.takethegre.com/new-gre-test. Most important for you to know is:

    1. When the revised exam is launched in August 2011, no GRE scores will be reported until November 2011.
    2. The scoring scale is changing for the Verbal and Quantitative portions of the exam. The revised exam will be graded on a 1-point scale from 130-170. A video (about 5 min. long) explaining the new scoring system is available at http://www.ets.org/s/gre/swf/gre_score-scale-video/GRE_ScoreScale_Video.html. The Analytical Writing portion will still be scored 0-6 in half-point increments.
    3. Seven changes were made to the exam (see the website noted above) including use of an on-screen calculator for the Quantitative portion and more application on the Verbal portion (no antonyms or analogies, and more emphasis on reading).
    4. Students who take the GRE between August 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011 will save 50% on their test fee.

  4. Sometime during the process, you must submit OFFICIAL transcripts to the Graduate College. Official transcripts must be sent directly from another college or university to the ASU Graduate College (or else you can submit them in sealed envelopes which are stamped and verified by the issuing college or university). The universities charge you a fee for them.

  5. If you were born after Dec. 31, 1956, you must give proof of two vaccinations of measles (rubeola) and rubella, at least one of which must have been given after Dec. 31, 1979. You can download this MMR form. Submit it to the ASU Student Health Center
    (FAX: 480-965-8914; P.O. Box 872104, Tempe AZ 85287-2104).
    After 48 hours, you may confirm that Student Health has received the correct information by going to https://my.asu.edu and clicking on Check Your Registration Eligibility Status. If Immunization Information is missing, you will receive a message about what you must still provide.

  6. Don't delay! for you can apply only up to 9 ASU (or 6 transfer) non-degree graduate semester hours to your MNS degree before the time when you've submitted official transcripts and GRE scores, etc. and have been formally admitted by the Graduate College to the MNS degree program.

    A committee in the ASU Dept. of Physics will review your application. "Once a decision to accept has been agreed upon, the Graduate College is contacted, and the student will receive separate communications indicating acceptance from both the Graduate College and the Department."

Here is an example of correspondence from a teacher who was applying.The teacher e-mailed to Jane Jackson: "I have a copy of my official transcripts (sealed from the University), and I need to know where to send them as well as requesting my official GRE scores to be sent to ASU. ..."

The graduate coordinator in the Dept. of Physics replied to Jane: "Have him send his official Transcripts to the Graduate College. He needs to contact ETS and request them to send us his Official GRE scores. He just needs to tell ETS he wants them sent to Arizona State University. Institution code #4007. He needs to let them know Physics. The GRE will automatically be sent to the Graduate College; however the Graduate College needs to know what department to send them to, so he needs to make sure ETS puts that on his GRE form. He will want to, however, send me a copy of those scores because it will take about a month or so for me to receive his official GRE scores. We can review his file as long as we at least have a copy of the scores."

Please direct inquiries to Jane Jackson.

Return to MNS for High School Teachers page

last modified February 6, 2011