Admissions
How to Apply
- Procedures for New Applicants
- Procedures for Current UC Berkeley Applicants
- Procedures for Reapplicants
- Ph.D. Application and Admissions Information
Thank you for your interest in the Goldman School of Public Policy. Students are admitted to GSPP in the fall term only, and on a full-time basis.
MPP Application Deadline for Fall 2012:
December 2, 2011 (11:59 pm PST)December 2, 2011 is the postmark deadline for all applications, including fellowship consideration.
PhD Application Deadline for Fall 2012:
December 2, 2011 is the postmark deadline for all applications, including fellowship consideration.
The MPP Admission Process
The following documents are required for admission:
- Online Graduate Application for Admission and Fellowships: http://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/
- Resume (submitted with online application)
Please upload a current resume, reflecting your work experience, education, and any other relevant information. - Statement of Purpose (submitted with online application)
Please follow the instructions below for the statement of purpose instead of what is directed on the online application:
The Richard & Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy welcomes applicants from a wide variety of backgrounds and with a variety of career aspirations. Some of our students have had prior experience in the realm of public policy; others have not. It is helpful to us to know more about your background, your motivation, and your long-term goals than can be inferred from your records and references. We would appreciate your helping us by supplying a brief statement of 3-5 pages, double-spaced.
Please address some of these areas:
The present: Why do you want to take an educational program in the analysis and management of public policy?
The past: What experiences or activities bear on your qualifications for this program, e.g., research papers, study groups, job responsibilities, policy or political projects? How do these experiences relate to your decision to undertake the study of public policy analysis and management? If you have been out of school for a year or more, please indicate the positions you have held and your major activities.
The future: What kinds of work and activity would you like to engage in following graduation, and what are your long-range career objectives?
Please supply whatever information you think may help us to understand your candidacy more fully. - Personal History Statement (submitted with online application)
Please describe how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Please include information on how you have overcome barriers to access in higher education, evidence of how you have come to understand the barriers faced by others, evidence of your academic service to advance equitable access to higher education for women, racial minorities, and individuals from other groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education, evidence of your research focusing on underserved populations or related issues of inequality, or evidence of your leadership among such groups. - College Transcripts (submitted with online application)
Please upload unofficial transcripts from all universities or colleges attended. If you studied aboard, either as part of an exchange program administered by your school or on your own, please upload those transcripts as well.
Official transcripts of all college-level work will be required if admitted. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) you have attended. Request a current transcript from every post-secondary school that you have attended, including community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs. - Three Letters of Recommendation (submitted with online application)
Please follow the instructions on the online application for the online letter of recommendation submission process. Hard copy letters can be mailed to the school only if absolutely necessary. - GRE Scores
To meet the application deadline, you should take the GRE no later than November 15, 2011. Our institution code is 4833, and our department code is 1903. Reservations for the GRE exam should be made in advance through: The Education Testing Service (ETS), P.O. Box 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000, Phone: (609) 771-7670 or 1-800-GRE-CALL; Website: http://www.ets.org/gre - TOEFL Scores (for international applicants)
Scores before June 2010 are no longer valid. Use institution code 4833 and department code 94. You may sign up for the TOEFL through an agent in your country or through: TOEFL, CN6151, Princeton, NJ 08541-6151, Phone: (609) 771-7500; Website: http://www.ets.org/toefl - Application Fee (submitted with online application)
A $80 application fee, payable to UC Regents, must be submitted when you apply. - Supplemental Application Fee (submitted with online application)
A supplemental application fee of $20 will apply to international applicants. - Request for waiver of application fee can be found at http://www.grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/pdf/form_fee_waiver.pdf. To be eligible for an application fee waiver, you must be a U.S. citizen or current permanent resident.
Procedures for Current UC Berkley Applicants
If you are a current UC Berkeley graduate student, you should follow the same procedures as any new applicant. See “Procedures for New Applicants”. Please note the following:
- Be sure to complete the section of the online graduate application designated for current UC Berkeley students.
- It is acceptable to have your current department forward up to two letters of recommendation from your previous application. The third letter should be new.
- You will be notified if we need official GRE Scores. Chances are we can access the scores from your previous application.
- You are not required to pay the application fee. Please select the fee waiver option instead. You will not need to complete the supplemental form.
Application Procedures for Reapplicants
If you applied to the university within the last two years, you may reactivate your application. To reactivate your application, the following documents are required:
- Online Graduate Application for Admission and Fellowships: http://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/
- $80 application fee ($100 international applicants) (submitted with online application)
- In your statement of purpose, please include a brief description of how you spent the year. (submitted with online application)
- Please upload unofficial transcripts for any new course work completed since you last applied. (submitted with online application)
You may submit replacement of items such as new letters of recommendation or new GRE scores. Otherwise we will use items provided with your original application.
Last Updated: 9/8/2011
