Ph.D. in Public Policy & Managment

Application Instructions

Deadline: All application materials must be postmarked or received online by January 1; otherwise your application will not be reviewed. Admissions and funding offers will be made in March.

Step 1

Gather your required UW Graduate School and Evans School application materials

  • Application fee of $50 (U.S.) for completing the online application to the University of Washington (UW) Graduate School and Evans School.

  • Resume including:
    • Relevant academic, professional, volunteer, or military experience
    • Academic and/or professional honors, prizes, or scholarships
    • Leadership positions
    • Societies and clubs to which you belong

  • Writing sample of a prior independent piece of work that shows your analytic capacity. The sample should be cut down to an excerpt-size if taken from a long document.

  • Statement of purpose describing in 750 words or less:
    • Yourself and your reason(s) for applying to your specific degree program
    • Your expectations of your specific degree program in furthering your career objectives
    • Your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, community and/or volunteer work, and any other factors relevant to your interest in public policy and management

  • Personal history statement describing in no more than two pages in length (500 words or less):
    • Your personal history, family background, and other influences on your intellectual development
    • Educational, cultural, and economic opportunities and disadvantages you have experienced, and ways those experiences have affected the development of your special interests, career plans, and future goals

    Please note this is not an academic statement of purpose, but a personal statement that addresses your intellectual growth and development, both inclusive of and beyond your academic goals. The reason for the statement is to be consistent with our goal of enhancing the intellectual and social enrichment of the University of Washington community, which actively seeks and welcomes students from diverse backgrounds.

  • Research Interest. Please provide the names of three faculty members you would like to study with at the Evans School. A research proposal is not required for the application, but please contact these three faculty members prior to starting the application process to make sure the program meets your needs.

  • Transcripts from each college or university you have attended. Ask them to mail, directly to you, two copies of your official, sealed transcripts. Do not open your transcripts because broken or tampered seals will make them invalid, and they are needed to prove completion of your bachelor’s and master's degrees.

    If you only have a bachelor's degree, your application will be considered. However, we believe students with a master's degree in public policy, public administration, economics, sociology, political science, or related disciplines are, in general, better prepared for our Ph.D. program.

    Successful applicants will be required to complete a college level course in calculus before enrolling in the Ph.D. program. The application asks about your prior calculus coursework.

    Send one sealed copy of your transcripts to the Evans School. Once accepted to the Ph.D. program you’ll be asked to send the other copy to the UW Graduate Admissions Office.

  • Three letters of reference to be submitted electronically by those writing the recommendations after you complete the UW Graduate School and Evans School online application. Two of the letters should be from faculty familiar with your academic work, and all three should address your capacity for pursuing an advanced research degree.

  • GRE scores, no more than five years old, need to be requested from the Educational Testing Center. The Educational Testing Service can be contacted at 609.771.7670 or www.gre.org.

    Have the scores sent directly to the Evans School (department code 4801) and the UW Graduate School (school code 4854). Also, include an unofficial copy of scores in your Evans School application packet of required materials that can't be submitted during the online application process.

  • TOEFL scores for international students. Please see our international applicant information for more information.

Step 2

Complete the UW Graduate School online application for the Evans School.

During this process you will be asked to identify which Evans School program you are applying to, and should choose the Public Affairs - PhD (Public Policy & Management) option. You will then be directed to the appropriate Evans School portion of the application to submit the majority of your required application materials.

Step 3

Mail required Evans School application materials that are not collected online (i.e. transcripts) in one packet to:

The Evans School of Public Affairs
Admissions
Box 353055
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-3055

For questions and more information about the application process, contact Student Services at evansrec@u.washington.edu or 206.543.4900.