There are several critical elements that you must include with your application for admission into the Purdue-Kelley MS-MBA in Food and Agribusiness Management program. Below is a list of each of those required elements, as well as supplemental information that may be helpful to you.

Application for admission

All application material for this program begins with Purdue. The program manager will facilitate the recommendation process with Purdue, the Purdue Graduate School and the Kelley School of Business.

It is recommended that you contact the program manager, Luanna DeMay before you begin. It is also recommended that you view the video from the director, Dr. Allan Gray, to get an idea of what the Purdue committee is looking for in the application.

After the application material has been collected by the program manager, it is reviewed by a Purdue University Agricultural Economics committee and if approved is then sent to the Purdue Graduate School and the Kelley Direct admissions committee. The process through all committees is expected to take one to four weeks so plan accordingly.

In a separate window, open the Purdue Graduate School online application. The application does not need to be completed in one sitting - you will be able to come and go from the application with a user name and password..

In order to complete the Purdue Graduate application, it is critical that you follow these steps:

1.  Within the application,

A. Select the "West Lafayette campus".

B. Select "Agricultural Economics" as program of interest.

C. Select "Food and Agribusiness Mgmt" as your area of interest.

D. Select your enrollment objective: Master of Science

E. Select entry term and year: Fall, 2013

F. Leave blank - faculty with whom you would like to study

G. You are not eligible for a fellowship, teaching assistantship or research assistantship.

H. You do not need to list an official GMAT score. The GMAT score sheet is sent to the program manager for the file. Please remember - we do not take the GRE.

I. Your undergrad GPA should be very close to the actual number. For example, if your GPA is 2.58 you can round to 2.6 but you cannot round to a 3.0

J. Under Course Delivery select Distance (online or off-campus location).

2. Recommenders

Within the application, you will be asked to provide names and contact information for three 'recommenders'. One of the recommenders must be your direct supervisor regardless of their monetary support. (Indiana University will see only this recommendation).

Recommenders should be people that know your work, not character references. They should know that you have a proven record of excellence at a job; you have been a productive employee and you have the respect of your peers. See "tips for recommenders" below.

Once you have entered their information, the application software immediately sends an email with a website, user name and password for them to access. For this reason, it is suggested that you inform them of your intention to use them as a recommender before you enter their information. Some recommenders have missed notification because the email was caught in their spam filter.

Once they access the website, recommenders will see a series of check boxes asking questions such as "maturity", "self-confidence", etc. The second page will ask their association with you, if they feel you would succeed in the program and what weaknesses you may have. Keep in mind that weaknesses are expected, particularly weaknesses that you may have where business tools are lacking. Tell your recommender that the recommendation form was meant for a traditional graduate student's faculty member from their baccalaureate degree and not all questions are pertinent. In that case, your recommender should simply mark N/A or leave it blank.

If letters of recommendation are preferred by the recommender, they may be uploaded into the application within the website. You may also enter their contact information and then you can choose paper as the method of submission.

If you would like to view what the recommender sees electronically, pick here. DO NOT send them this pdf. Recommenders can only recommend by way of the website that is emailed to them with a user name and password. Applicants will receive an email when the recommendation has been submitted.

3. Resume

The application asks that you upload your resume. If at any time you'd like the Program Manager to review the resume for you, feel free to send it to her attention before you upload. Feel free to use more than one page but not more than three pages.

4. Statement of Purpose

Upload your statement of purpose (why you want to join this program). The statement of purpose should be no more than two pages and in a font no smaller than 10 pt. It should state your reasons for wanting to study at Purdue and Indiana University, and your professional plans, and ultimate career goals. This should be a business document. Do not sentimentalize it. Don't forget that it is important for the committee to understand what YOU bring to the table. The Program Manager will be happy to look this document in advance if you would like to email it to her. She can sometimes provide suggestions on ways that will help you make your point to the committee members. The graduate school application states that you must keep your statement of purpose to only so many words. Our program does not follow this rule - just try and keep it under two full pages. It helps to make it 1.5 spaced or double spaced. Don't single space, please.

5. GMAT Exam

All applicants are required to take the GMAT. You may read online that the Purdue Graduate School application asks for the GRE, but that test is for the traditional master's in agricultural economics.

Beginning December, 2011 an integrated reasoning section will be added to the GMAT exam. For detailed information, look here.

For helpful information regarding preparing for the GMAT, contact the Program Manager.

On test day, applicants will be asked which school to send their scores to.

For the GMAT, start to type "Kelley School of Business" and this list will come up. PICK THE LAST ONE!

Purdue University - Indiana University - Kelley School of Business - MBA/MS in Food & Agribusiness Management

6. Transcripts

All applicants must submit TWO official paper copies of their transcripts. Transcripts must show receipt of an undergraduate degree and the courses and grades associated with that degree. Applicants will also be asked to submit transcripts from institutions they attended but did not receive a degree.

We cannot accept unofficial copies of transcripts. Please use this Transcript Request Form to obtain copies of your transcripts.

7. Release of Information Statement

Purdue cannot forward your application information until you download and complete the Release of Information Statement.