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Apply to the MDP

The new Fall 2024 UC Berkeley Graduate Application will open on Wednesday, September 13, 2023. Click here to access the online application.

MDP Application Deadline for Fall 2024 Admission: December 4, 2023 at 8:59 PST.         
  • All application materials, including Letters of Recommendation and official GRE, TOEFL or IELTS test scores are due on December 4, 2023 by 8:59 PM PST. Failure to submit required materials by the deadline will cause your application to be incomplete. 
  • After submitting your application, you will receive an email from UC Berkeley's Graduate Admissions Office confirming your submission. You may log back into your application to monitor the status of materials received or processed, such as fee waivers, test scores, and letters of recommendation. 
  • We will not accept applications after December 4th. There are no rolling admissions; MDP students are admitted for the fall term only.
  • Admissions decisions are typically sent in mid-March via email. 

UC Berkeley Minimum Admission Requirements

Berkeley offers admission to applicants who appear to have the highest potential for graduate study and who, with the benefit of a graduate education, are the most likely to contribute substantially to their academic or professional fields through teaching, research, or professional practice.

The minimum graduate admission requirements are listed on the UC Berkeley Graduate Division site. In addition to the campus-wide requirements here all MDP applicants are highly encouraged to take the GRE exam. 

The minimum graduate admissions requirements are:

  • A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution.
  • A satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale; and
  • Enough undergraduate training and/or professional experience to do graduate work in your chosen field.
  • Evidence of English Language Proficiency (only for applicants from countries/regions in which the official language is not English); for more information about the TOEFL/IELTS requirement or exemption eligibility, please visit Berkeley Graduate Division's Evidence of English Language Proficiency Guidelines

International applicants must demonstrate English proficiency by taking one of the following exams:

  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or
  • International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

Fall 2024 MDP Application Checklist

Before starting your application, please review the following application checklist and resources. If you have any questions about the items on this checklist, please contact the MDP Admissions Office at: info-mdp@berkeley.edu

The MDP Admissions Office also offers information sessions as well as virtual appointments for Fall 2024 applicants who would like to connect and discuss their application questions. For more details about admissions events, please visit our MDP Admissions Events page. A recording from an earlier Fall 2023 information session can be found here as well.

Application Fee

The application fee for U.S. citizens and current permanent residents is $135. The application fee for all other applicants is $155.

Application Fee Waiver

To be eligible for a fee waiver, you must be a U.S. citizen or current permanent resident who demonstrates financial need or participated in certain programs. Please see the Fee waiver eligibility page to find out if you qualify for a waiver exemption. 

Eligible applicants must submit their fee waiver request through the online application portal. MDP cannot process or grant fee waivers.

Note: Fee waiver decisions will be posted on your application status page after submission of the application. Please direct questions to the UC Berkeley Graduate Admissions Office at gradadm@berkeley.edu.

Selection Criteria

Selection criteria for the master’s program will include the applicant’s talent, academic background, work experience, leadership experience, vision, involvement in critical issues or new areas of research (such as poverty or climate change) and/or proven entrepreneurship. Applicants oriented towards developing managerial skills, improving public policy, and increasing interdisciplinary capacities as development practitioners will receive priority.

In addition to technical backgrounds and leadership potential, we will aim to establish diverse cohorts seeking balance among gender and ethnicity. We expect a highly competitive selection process leading to a mix of qualified international and domestic students. UC Berkeley requires a minimal level of mathematical and statistical skills that will be augmented by the math, statistics, and economics boot camp.