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Home > Graduate Studies : Admission/How to apply

Admission/How to apply

PhD Application Information

Thank you for your interest in graduate work in the Department of Political Science at the University of Minnesota.

Most students admitted to the PhD graduate program expect to pursue scholarly careers in college teaching and research. The PhD curriculum begins in the Fall semester of the academic year. We do not permit new students to begin the PhD program at other times.

Admission to the PhD program is competitive. The admissions committee looks closely at the following material in an applicant's file: official transcripts and grade point average; Graduate Record Examination scores; a curriculum vitae; letters of recommendation (3 required); statement of purpose; and sample(s) of written work. Candidates for admission are then evaluated according to the strength and quality of all the application materials. In recent years to secure a class of twelve to fourteen students we have admitted about thirty applicants. Usually there are around 250 applicants to our PhD program. In early March prospective students are notified of initial decisions on admission. Students must make final decisions on accepting admission offers by April 15.

Information about funding for our program can be found here.

In order for you to be considered for admission and financial aid for the PhD program, the application material requested by the Department of Political Science must reach us by December 15th .

• Application Procedures and Forms
• Placement History
• Recently Published Dissertations
• Frequently Asked Questions (includes information on finding previous years' admissions statistics)

(Some of the application information requires Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Reader to view. You can download it for free.)

Please feel free to contact the department to discuss your application and matters concerning admission to the PhD Program in political science at 612-624-4144 or pdgs@umn.edu.

Contact Info

Graduate Studies Assistant
Jessie Eastman
1408 SocSci
612-624-1187
eastm004@umn.edu

Director of Graduate Studies

Dara Strolovitch
1408 SocSci
612-624-1028
dzs@umn.edu