Admission Requirements

We admit a total of about 300 graduate and doctoral students once a year during the autumn quarter through a competitive admissions process.

Our Requirements

Our only four formal requirements for admission into our Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management programs include:

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in the United States, or its equivalent from a foreign institution,
• A minimum GPA of 3.0 during the last 90-hour undergraduate credits of a quarterly schedule, or 60-hour credits of a semester schedule.
• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) scores, except for Executive MPA applicants
• TOEFL scores for international applicants

However, your application will be more competitive if you have:

• Academic or professional exposure to governmental processes and policy-making,
• One or more undergraduate courses in algebra, microeconomics, or statistics,
• And excellent writing skills.

Our admissions committees look for applicants who show the capacity to sustain a high level of achievement in their selected programs, and the potential to make important contributions to public service by reviewing each potential candidate’s required application materials.

Our Applicants

We receive applications from students with backgrounds in:

• Political science
• Economics
• Business administration
• Philosophy
• Engineering
• Social work
• Public health
• And other fields in the social and physical sciences

We also strive for racial and cultural diversity in our student body, and encourage those with varying backgrounds to apply.

Find out how to apply and more about tuition, expenses, and financial aid by contacting our Student Services office at evansrec@u.washington.edu or 206.543.4900.