I submitted my application before the December 5 deadline. It is now March and I have not yet heard anything from the department. When can I expect to hear about the admissions decisions? 

The first round of admissions decisions are made in January and February. If you have not received any communication from our department by March, it means that you are on the wait list. We use a rolling admissions process to ensure that we are always able to uphold our commitment to 5 year contracts for all admitted students. The national deadline for Ph.D. program decisions is April 15, and it is not uncommon to continue our rolling admissions process up until that deadline.