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Dates and Deadlines

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Application Deadlines

Application deadlines vary by program and range from November to March for full-time programs. Before you apply, check the application deadline for your program on the Explore Graduate Programs page .

The application closes at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on your program’s deadline.

Decision Notification

Decision timelines vary by program, and the graduate program to which you applied will communicate the admission decision to you in accordance with the program’s notification timeline.

Application Deadlines

For all dates listed, the deadline is 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.

If there is a discrepancy between the deadline information on this page and other materials you may have received, you should adhere to the deadlines on this page.

Some programs will continue to accept applications after the deadline, if spaces are available. If you are interested in applying after the deadline, contact your department or program of interest to determine their policy on accepting late applications. 

Fall Semester

These are the application deadlines for applicants who wish to begin their graduate studies in fall 2024. For all dates listed, the deadline is 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. If there is a discrepancy between the deadline information on this page and other materials you may have received, you should adhere to the deadlines on this page.

1   Electrical and Computer Engineering Ph.D. applicants : Applications submitted by 12/01/2023 are guaranteed review. Applications submitted after 12/01/2023 but before the closing date of 02/28/2024 will be reviewed based upon availability of space and funding.

2   Physics Ph.D. applicants : Applications submitted by 12/13/2023 are guaranteed review. Applications submitted after 12/13/2023 but before the closing date of 01/03/2024 will be reviewed based upon availability of space and funding.

3   Romance Studies Ph.D. applicants : Applications submitted by 12/27/2023 are guaranteed review. Applications submitted after 12/27/2023 but before the closing date of 03/07/2024 will be reviewed based upon availability of space and funding.

1 Bioethics and Science Policy applicants : All applications received by January 11, 2024 will receive a final decision by February 2024. All applications received by March 14, 2024 are guaranteed review. After March 14, 2024, applications will be accepted on a space-available basis through May 31, 2024.

2   Dance MFA applicants : Late applications will be considered under special circumstances. Applicants are advised to contact Prof. Sarah Wilbur ( [email protected] ) before starting an application.

3   East Asian Studies  applicants : All applications received by January 31, 2024 are guaranteed review and will be considered for departmental funding.  Applications received after the priority deadline will be accepted for review on a space-available basis through April 26, 2024.

4   Electrical and Computer Engineering master's applicants : Applications submitted by January 16, 2024 are guaranteed review. Applications submitted after the January 16, 2024 deadline will be reviewed on a space-available basis through February 28, 2024.

5   Global Health applicants : The priority deadline is January 15, 2024, though all applications received by March 01, 2024 are guaranteed review. Applications received after March 01, 2024 will be reviewed on a space-available basis through May 31, 2024.

6   Graduate Liberal Studies applicants : All applications submitted by June 03, 2024 are guaranteed review; however, applicants submitting materials by February 15, 2024 will receive an admissions decision by March 15, 2024 and will have priority consideration for financial aid.

7   Master of Arts in Teaching applicants:  The priority deadline is January 30, 2024, though all applications received by February 20, 2024 are guaranteed review. Applications received after February 20, 2024 will be reviewed on a space-available basis through May 01, 2024.

8   Materials Science and Engineering applicants : The priority deadline is January 31, 2024. All applications received by March 14, 2024 are guaranteed review.

9   Medical Physics  applicants : The priority deadline is January 08, 2024, though all applications received by January 31, 2024 are guaranteed review. Applications received after February 01, 2024 will be reviewed on a space-available basis through May 31, 2024.

10   Population Health Sciences applicants : The early application deadline is November 30, 2023. All applications received by November 30 will receive an admissions decision by January 2024. The priority deadline is January 15, 2024, though all applications received by February 28, 2024 are guaranteed review. Applications received after February 28, 2024 will be reviewed on a space-available basis through May 31, 2024.

Spring Semester

October 2:  Deadline to submit all Ph.D. and master’s applications (except Graduate Liberal Studies) for the spring semester, space permitting.

November 1:  Deadline to submit Graduate Liberal Studies master's applications for the spring semester.

Note:  Very few departments accept new students for the spring term:

Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering Electrical & Computer Engineering Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science

Master's Bioethics and Science Policy Biomedical Engineering Graduate Liberal Studies Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science Political Science

Summer session

Very few departments accept new students for the summer session. With the exception of applicants to the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program (which begins in the summer), applicants who wish to apply for summer admission must obtain special permission from the department of interest and The Graduate School. Summer session applicants should adhere to the fall application deadlines.

If you missed the deadline

Once a program's deadline has passed, that program will no longer appear as an option on the application. Most programs will not consider any applications submitted after the deadline. Please contact the department directly to inquire about a late application submission. If the department agrees to review your application, they will notify The Graduate School to assist you further.

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Application Submission Deadlines

All applications must be submitted by the deadline; we do not accept late applications. However, please see the University’s Hardship Request policy for possible extensions related to widespread disaster or disruption of access to services. All deadlines are 11:55 p.m. U.S. Central Time.

PhD Programs

The application deadline for all PhD programs is December 5.

Master’s Programs

Decisions are expected within 6-10 weeks of each deadline.

Note: Round 2 is on a space available basis only. Although we make every effort to accommodate later applications, we cannot guarantee full consideration to those received after the Round 1 deadline.

Only a few programs interview applicants. Those that do will issue invitations via the online application system in January or February. At the time interview invitations are issued, applicants who are not selected to move forward are notified of their decisions. The following programs conduct interviews:

• Anthropology (PhD)
• Comparative Human Development (PhD)
• Political Economy (PhD)
• Psychology (PhD)
• Sociology (PhD)

The Office of the Dean of Students notifies applicants of their admissions decision via our online application system. In some cases, departments may informally notify applicants of decisions earlier. Only the formal offer of admission from the Dean of Students is official.

PhD Program Decision Timeline

PhD programs typically issue decisions at the end of February or in early March.

All applicants who are not admitted to our PhD program are automatically forwarded for consideration by our MA programs, unless the applicant specifically opts out of this process on their application. That said, as referred applications are considered later than most other MA applications, scholarship assistance for students admitted to an MA program through the referral process may be limited. If you are interested in our MA programs and would need scholarship assistance to attend, we would encourage you to apply directly to the MA as well as our program (note that this would require a separate application and application fee). MA applications are accepted  multiple times per year  with decisions typically issued within 6 to 8 weeks. Questions about applying to an MA program should be directed to  [email protected] .

PhD applicants whose applications are considered for review by our MA programs will receive a decision from the MA program in March.

MA Program Decision Timeline

MA programs issue decisions approximately 6-8 weeks after the decision round deadline.

Offers & Response Deadlines

We ask admitted students to respond to their offers of admission by April 15, in accordance with the Council of Graduate Schools April 15 resolution .

The Division does not defer admission to PhD programs, except when matriculating in sanctioned dual programs with the University of Chicago law school or medical school. Other admitted applicants are invited to reapply for the next academic year application cycle and may contact the SSD Admissions Office to have the fee waived.

MA Programs

The deadline to respond to an offer of admission to an MA program varies by the application deadline round. No offer of admission will require a response earlier than April 20. Individuals admitted during the final round are usually requested to respond within 4 weeks.

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• Admission Decision FAQs

Questions and answers in this category relate to the process of communicating admissions decisions and responding to those decisions.

• PhD/Master's Application Process
• Admissions - Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How and when will I receive an official decision notification about my application for admission?

You will receive a notification email when a decision is ready for you, typically in February or early March. The email will instruct you to check your Application Status Portal for an update about your application. Please note only decisions released from the Graduate School, and not from individual departments or programs, should be considered official. Decisions are only available in the Application Status Portal; Graduate Admissions staff cannot release any decisions over the phone or by email. We do not mail any hard copies of admissions decisions through the mail, but you may download and print a copy of your decision letter from your Application Status Portal.

Q: I was offered admission. How do I respond to the offer?

Please fill out the “Reply to Offer of Admission” form in your Application Status Portal.

Q: I was offered admission but have not received an Offer Letter - what should I do?

Your admissions decision will only be available on your Application Status Portal. You should print and retain a copy of this letter.

Hard copy letters are no longer printed and mailed.

Q: Where should I send my official transcript? 

You should only send an official transcript if you have accepted an offer of admission.  Incoming students should refer to our Transcript FAQs for more information. 

Q: I was not offered admission and need my materials returned. Is that possible?

Unfortunately, no. As a matter of policy, we do not return application materials to applicants. 

Q: I was not offered admission and want to re-apply next year. Does the Office of Graduate Admissions retain my application and supplemental materials?

We may retain your application year to year, but you will nevertheless need to submit a new application each time, including all required materials and the application fee.

Applicants who have been denied admission three times by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, whether by one or more departments, are not eligible to apply again. If a fourth application is submitted, it will not be considered and the application fee will not be refunded.

Q: I was not offered admission and want to speak to someone about this. Whom do I contact?

Departments/programs make admission recommendations to the GSAS deans, who make the final decisions concerning admitted applicants.

Decisions not to admit an applicant are almost always made at the program level.

• You might try contacting the program to which you applied.
• Please consider that the large number of applications received and the small number of places available often make for difficult decisions. 
• Admissions committees adopt a comparative perspective toward all applications received and seldom keep extensive records concerning the decision in each case. 
• Programs are not required to provide applicants explanations concerning admission decisions.

Q: I was offered admission and accepted (or declined) the offer, but now I have changed my mind. What do I do?

Please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions by emailing us at [email protected] . 

Q: Can I defer an offer of admission to a later date?

With permission from your program and the Graduate School, you may defer your enrollment for one year. To begin the process of requesting a deferral, contact the director of graduate studies (DGS) in your program. If the DGS supports your deferral request, they will seek formal approval from their assigned academic dean at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Note: You must accept the offer of admission first before a deferral request can be granted.

Application Deadlines

Each department may have an application deadline earlier than the final Graduate School application deadline for each semester. You should check with the department to assure that your application is submitted and all materials are received by the department application deadline.

We encourage applicants to submit their complete applications, including supplemental materials, early to allow sufficient time for application processing. International applicants must be accepted by the Graduate School no later than May 15 for fall and October 15 for spring to allow sufficient time for immigration processes and travel.

Prospective students seeking scholarships and loans should contact the Virginia Tech Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid for financial aid deadlines.

Graduate School Application and Department Decision Deadlines

The following application and decision deadlines have been established by the Graduate School for the upcoming entry terms as the last date to apply if the department to which you are applying does not have an earlier established deadline :

Note : Application and Decision deadlines are suggested by the Graduate School and may not be the final time frame in which academic departments are able to consider applications or complete their recommendations for admission.

* Students seeking assistantships for funding should submit all required admissions materials by January 15 for full consideration.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about applying.

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THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

Admission decisions and enrollment.

To expedite the admission process as quickly as possible, admission decisions will be conveyed via the   online application . You may access the online application as many times as you wish to check if a decision has been rendered on your file. If a decision has been rendered, a "View Your Decision Letter" link will appear on the Activity Page. If a decision has not yet been rendered, no link will be present.

To access your admission decision, you will use the same username and password you used to create your online application. If you cannot remember your login information, you may use the "Forgot your username or Password?" link on the login screen. The Graduate School (TGS) and your admitting department do not have access to your username and password and, therefore, cannot send this information to you. 

If admitted, you will be able to submit your enrollment decision via the online application. Enrollment decisions must be entered by the date communicated in the admission letter. Please note: your ability to submit an enrollment decision will be restricted after the enrollment decision deadline.

Enrollment procedures

Learn about  the steps for newly admitted students:

• Doctoral student procedures
• Master's and nondegree student procedures

Frequently asked questions

Find answers to questions about admission decisions and enrollment procedures.

See all FAQs.

Submit your enrollment decision

Enrollment deferment

Accepting an admission offer in TGS is for a specific quarter and year. You may, with the permission of your admitting program, defer your enrollment for up to one year from the quarter stipulated in your admission letter. To make this request, please do the following:

• First, you must accept our admission offer
• Then, notify your admitting program, in writing, of your intention, reasoning, and specify the quarter of the new starting term.

The program will then work with TGS on reviewing your request. 

Deadlines to submit request

Winter 2024: December 05, 2023 Spring 2024: March 12, 2024 Summer 2024: June 3, 2024 Fall 2024: August 5, 2024

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Gre prep online guides and tips, grad school deadlines: when you need to apply.

With your academic future at stake, it’s critical that you don’t miss a grad school deadline! Luckily, in this total guide to grad school application deadlines, we’ll review when most graduate school deadlines are and some special application deadline situations. Finally, we’ll help you figure out how you should best approach grad school deadlines in your own planning.

When Are Grad School Applications Due?

For most programs that begin in the fall—when the school year traditionally starts— deadlines for graduate school applications are in December or January. It’s rare for programs to have application deadlines earlier than December, but of course, there are exceptions.

Another sizable chunk of programs have deadlines in February or March. Grad school deadlines later than March aren’t very common, but some programs do have them.

Sometimes a particular school will have a very late application deadline, but most of the actual individual programs have much earlier deadlines for grad school applications. For example, University of Illinois at Chicago has a school-wide application deadline of August 1, 2018  for students applying to enter in fall 2018. However, you can see in the actual list of programs that most of the on-campus degree programs have a required or recommended deadline before February 15 for fall admission.

Of course, if you want to know the deadline of a particular program, the best thing to do is look it up!

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Grad School Application Deadlines: Special Situations

There are also some special situations you might encounter for graduate school deadlines. We’ll go over them below.

Rolling Admissions

Some graduate school programs have a rolling admissions policy. This means that applications are considered as they come in and results are mailed out as soon as a decision about an application is reached. A general rule with rolling admissions is that it’s better to apply earlier if you can because admissions will be less competitive. Essentially, the earlier you apply, the more space remains in the class.

For rolling admissions, admissions usually open about a year before the program begins and close when the class is full. Once the class is full, you will no longer be able to apply.

As an example, many of the master’s programs at the Penn Graduate School of Education have rolling admissions. Penn reports that admissions usually reach capacity in mid or late spring.

Some other graduate programs do admissions in rounds or phases. This means that there are several deadlines for sending in applications at different points in the year. When a deadline is reached, the applications for that phase are all considered in a batch, and then offers are made.  Then the process repeats itself one to three more times (creating two to four rounds) to assemble the class.

If your application is ready for the first round of admission, it’s a good idea to submit it then. Admission rates are usually higher in the first round. However, if your application will be much stronger in a later admissions cycle, wait. So don’t write your entire personal statement overnight in an attempt to make the first round!

The rounds process is particularly common for business school. For example, Stanford Business School has three admission rounds. They advise that their second round has grown much more competitive in recent years. This means that if possible, students should apply for the first round. Additionally, students need to apply in the first or second round to be eligible for need-based financial aid and on-campus housing.

This is a situation where planning ahead really benefits you!

Starting in a Different Term/Semester

Some programs allow you to apply to start the program in a spring or summer term instead of the fall term. In this case, you’ll have a different deadline —usually in the early fall for spring semester entry. For example, many programs at Purdue University—West Lafayette allow entry in the spring or even the summer. You can start their Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics in the fall or the spring. The deadline for the fall is January 1st, and the deadline for the spring is September 15th.

Be aware that if you do start in a different term, it may affect your financial aid, scholarship, and campus housing application eligibility and/or processes. On the other hand, since schools receive fewer applications in “off” terms, admission may be less competitive. Check all of that out before you decide to apply in an off-cycle.

Meeting “Recommended” Grad School Deadlines

Some schools have “recommended” or “priority” grad school application deadlines. There are typically two kinds of recommended or priority deadlines: admissions priority deadlines and funding priority deadlines.

For admissions priority deadlines, applications received by this date are guaranteed full consideration for admission. Applications received after the deadline may not be reviewed based on space constraints. For example, Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke had a priority deadline of 12/1/2017 for fall 2018 entry that guarantees full review. However, they will still consider applications based on available space until the application closes on  2/28/18 .

The second kind of recommended or priority deadline is a funding priority deadline. Some programs guarantee that applications received by a particular date will receive consideration for all funding opportunities. Applications received later than the priority date will receive limited consideration for financial aid (or none at all, depending on the program). For example, the Bioethics and Science Policy master’s program at Duke has a hard deadline of  3/31/2018  for guaranteed review of your application, but the priority deadline for financial aid consideration is  1/31/2018 .

If your program does have a recommended deadline, be sure to check exactly what the priority deadline means: is it for admission, for financial aid, housing, or some combination? This may affect your decision to apply or wait if you can’t get everything together by the deadline. For instance, if the priority deadline affects financial aid and you know that you will need financial aid to attend graduate school, it may be best to wait for the next admissions cycle if you can’t make the priority deadline.

As a general rule, if there is a recommended or priority deadline, it’s definitely to your advantage to get your application filed by that date!

How to Plan for Grad School Application Deadlines

Filling out graduate school applications is typically a process that takes many months. There are many moving pieces that require your attention—requesting transcripts, getting recommendation letters, writing a personal statement, taking the GRE, etc. To that end, I recommend planning ahead and starting the whole process about a year before any deadlines.

Here’s my four-step plan to grad school deadline management success:

A Year In Advance: Start to Identify Programs of Interest

You should start thinking about what programs you are interested in applying to as soon as you start thinking about going to graduate school! About a year before you intend to submit applications, take a few months to research schools and programs and hone in on a list of schools you want to apply to. You can of course make tweaks to this list throughout the process. But try to have your core list of schools mostly finalized by about eight months before any deadlines . So if I was applying to start a master’s in Fall 2019, I would want to have my list of programs finalized around May 2018, about eight months before December/January deadlines.

7 Months in Advance: Identify Application Tasks

Once you have a list of programs, identify everything you will need to do to complete the applications for each those programs. Make a list of those tasks. What tests will you need to do? How many recommendations do you need for each program? What are the essay prompts? Look through the application requirements online for all of your schools to figure it out.

You should also think about timing so that you can get everything completed before your deadlines. Don’t just ask: when are grad school applications due? You also need to consider more granular questions about all of the parts that go into each application, like “when do I need to ask for recommendations?” and “when should I submit my transcripts?” or else things will fall through the cracks.

The tasks you will need to complete will vary by program, but here’s a general guideline to things you’ll most likely need to get done and when you should think about completing them:

• Prepare and take the GRE (or other tests): If you’re able, it’s best to take your first GRE at least four months before any graduate school deadlines. This way, if you don’t get the score you want the first time around, you’ll still have time to prepare more and take the test again .
• Ask for recommendation letters: It’s best practice to ask for recommendation letters at least eight weeks in advance of any deadlines. Be sure to give your recommenders all the necessary information they’ll need to submit your letters!
• Request transcripts: Request all transcripts at least a month in advance to account for processing times.
• Essays: There’s a little more wiggle room here because you have total power over when your essay is completed and submitted. There’s no waiting on bureaucracy! But you should definitely have a first draft done at least a few weeks in advance of grad school application due dates so you’ll have time to revise and edit.

6 Months in Advance: Create a Planning and Tracking System

Once you’ve got a list of tasks that you’ll need to do complete and a general idea of when those things need to be completed, make a clear, organized planning and tracking system for your tasks.

I personally recommend making a spreadsheet for this purpose. List your programs along one side of the sheet and all of your requirements on the other side. You can use the spreadsheet to indicate the status of all of your tasks, goal dates for completing tasks, when they’re completed, and so on. You can even put useful links (like to the application portal!) in your spreadsheet.

Here’s an example of what a tracking and planning spreadsheet might look like:

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Of course, these are just suggestions—you can format your own plan whatever way is most intuitive for you. But making some kind of visual representation that places all the information you need right in front of you, as well as your deadlines and status, is an enormous help in meeting deadlines. You’ll be able to see everything about your status at a glance.

Until Deadlines: Complete and Track Tasks

Once you make your plan to meet all of your grad school application deadlines, the next thing to do is start completing and tracking your tasks! This means preparing for the GRE, starting essays, requesting transcripts, asking for recommendations, and so on.  Refer to your plan often (at least once a week) so that you know what tasks are next. Also be sure to keep the status of each task updated in your plan. This will keep you organized and prevent scrambling all the way up until you submit your completed applications.

Should I Rush to Meet a Grad School Deadline?

If you realize on October 15 that your true calling is to get a master’s degree in agricultural sciences and the deadline is on December 1st, should you rush to get everything in on time or wait another term or year? In general, I advise against rushing. But here are three things to consider:

Can You Still Put Forth a Strong Application?

A last-minute application won’t be as strong as one you crafted with tender love and care over many months. But this doesn’t mean you can’t put forth a decently strong showing. If you already have strong, valid GRE scores, some recommenders who really like you and are willing to expedite a recommendation for you, and a lot of available time to work on your essay and application forms, you can probably make it work. However, if you don’t have any of those key ingredients, you may really struggle to create a strong application in a short time frame.

Is It Worth the Expense and Strain?

Trying to pull together an application as quickly as possible is expensive and stressful. Not only will you incur all the expenses associated with graduate school applications very close together, you may find that you’ll need to pay extra to do things like expedite transcripts to meet deadlines.

Also, pulling together everything at the last minute will be stressful for you (and probably anyone significant in your life). Perhaps even more critically, asking recommenders to quickly write recommendations for you can put a strain on those relationships. It’s pretty inconsiderate to ask for recommendations less than 6 weeks in advance at the very least; giving recommenders at least 8 weeks is much better. If you really want both a high-quality recommendation and to maintain a positive relationship with recommenders, it may be a lot better to wait.

What’s Your Worst-Case Scenario Plan?

Worst-case scenario is, of course, that you won’t get in. In this case, if you still want to go for graduate school, you’ll need to reapply for another term. Schools generally won’t hold the fact that you’ve applied before and been rejected against you just so long as you put a demonstrably stronger application in front of them the second time.

Of course, you could also get in and be offered less funding or support than you would have with a stronger application. In this case you’ll have to consider if it’s worth it to accept the offer or try again next year.

The upshot is that if you can afford the expense and stress of a rushed application process that’s not as likely to be successful, you don’t necessarily have a lot to lose in terms of your future prospects if you do apply. But you definitely need to moderate your expectations when you’re scrambling to complete everything at the last possible moment.

Graduate School Deadlines: Key Takeaways

For programs that begin in the fall, most graduate school application deadlines are in the preceding December or January. You’ll also see a few in February and March, and maybe even a few in other months!

There are a few special types of grad school application deadlines you may encounter:

• Rolling admissions:  Admissions committees consider applications as they receive them and accept applicants until the program is full. So it’s to your advantage to apply early.
• Rounds:  Admissions committees consider applications in several batches. Earlier rounds are typically less competitive than later ones.
• Applying for different terms: Some programs accept applications to start studies in the spring or summer. You may find that applying for an off-term is less competitive. However, you might also have less access to things like housing and funds, so investigate all of this before you commit to a course.
• Priority or recommended deadlines: These deadlines give you the highest consideration for admission and/or funding. Admissions committees may still look at applications after priority or recommended deadlines. However, they may not receive as close of consideration or have as much funding available.

Here’s my four-step plan to dealing with graduate school deadlines:

• 12 months before applying: Investigate programs and make your list of schools
• 7 months before applying: Identify the tasks you’ll need to complete for each application
• 6 months before applying: Create a detailed planning and tracking system for all the tasks you need to complete for your graduate school applications.
• Until deadlines: Closely following your planning and tracking system, complete essential application tasks and submit applications!

What’s Next?

Want more information on graduate school? See our decision guide for graduate school . And check out if you need to take the GRE to apply !

Stumped by grad school admissions tests? We’ll help you figure out whether to take the GRE or the GMAT , how long to study for the GRE , how to make a GRE study plan , and when to take the GRE .

Not sure if your scores can get you in to school? See our analysis of average GRE scores by major  and by school . Plus see our in-depth guide to retaking the GRE .

Ready to improve your GRE score by 7 points?

Author: Ellen McCammon

Ellen is a public health graduate student and education expert. She has extensive experience mentoring students of all ages to reach their goals and in-depth knowledge on a variety of health topics. View all posts by Ellen McCammon

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The online application is usually available starting in early September. But there's no strategic advantage to applying early; we review all our applications at the same time. Just make sure all your materials get to us by January 7 if you are applying for the PhD program.

The application is accessible online. The deadline for PhD admissions is January 7 (or the first business day after that), and the application must be submitted online . There is an application fee . (Some students in special circumstances are eligible for a fee waiver .)

One part of your application is the online form. In addition to the form, you will also submit several kinds of supporting material. 

You will be asked to provide:

A 1-2 page statement of academic purpose, describing past and present work as it relates to your intended field of study, and anything unusual we should know when evaluating your application.

The application will also prompt you to submit an optional personal history statement. The personal history statement is truly optional. If you do feel that there is information relevant to your application, a brief paragraph will normally suffice. It will not be held against you if you choose not to include a personal history statement.

A CV or resume

A writing sample

This should be an example of polished, substantive philosophical writing. It should display your philosophical abilities at their strongest, and will need to manifest analytical skills on a par with students already in our program. It may be the most important part of your application. A reasonable length for this is 20-25 double-spaced pages. Some applicants submit more than one writing sample; this is alright if, for example, they display very different aspects of your philosophical capacities (for example, a paper in philosophical logic and one in ancient philosophy). If they don't, we'll most likely only look at one of the papers submitted. Short 10-page papers of the sort written for a class or a tutorial rarely show us enough of a candidate's ability to be successful, and sending several of these is no better. Applications to our PhD program are intensely competitive. You're best off taking extra time to select your best philosophical work and develop it into a mature, interesting piece of writing.

Sometimes students send us sections of longer pieces of writing; this is ok in principle but what you submit should be self-contained and should be enough on its own for us to reliably evaluate you.

To enable anonymous review, author's name and other identifying information should not be included in the writing sample.

Transcripts

You are strongly encouraged to scan and submit these electronically when you submit your application (with English translations, if needed). Unofficial transcripts are acceptable but if you are admitted, you will have to submit final and official paper copies of your transcripts later.

If your school is in the US, and your GPA is not shown on the transcript, you'll need to calculate it and supply it in the application.

Here are further instructions and FAQs about transcripts.

We ask that you include all of these documents as part of your online application. 

The GRE general test is optional for the upcoming 2023-2024 cycle only. We will consider GRE test scores if they are submitted.

Either the TOEFL or the IELTS is required of all applicants who are not native English speakers or who do not have a bachelor's or master's degree from an institution where the language of instruction is English.

Finally, you'll need to ask several faculty who know you well to submit letters of recommendation to us. We ask for three letters; you can provide up to five if there are special reasons for doing so. Here are further details about letters.

In accordance with GSAS policy, we do not accept letters of recommendation from credentials services, such as Interfolio. Please have your references upload their letters directly to the online application. Additionally, we do not accept any other documents through Interfolio and other services. The statement of academic purpose should be included in your online application and not sent through them. Transcripts and translations should be uploaded to your online application, as well.

Weaker GREs or grades do not decisively exclude a candidate. Coming from a lesser-known school is not much of a handicap, if other parts of the application are strong. Letters from philosophers (or faculty in affiliated departments) are much more useful to us than any other sort of letter. Finally, the writing sample is what you have most control over.

As a matter of policy, we cannot go into further details about what makes an application successful, or how to improve your application.

In order to enroll in the Graduate School of Arts & Science (GSAS), you must have received a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from a college or university of acceptable standing. (In some countries, the equivalent degree is there called a "masters" degree.) It is not formally required that your bachelor's degree have been in philosophy. However, your application won't be successful unless we can see you have a comparable level of preparation.

There is no requirement to have done (what in the US we call) a master's degree—in some places, these are called "MPhil" or "BPhil" or "MLitt" degrees—before applying to our PhD program. You can apply directly to the PhD, and many of our applicants do. However many others, especially those with thinner undergraduate backgrounds in philosophy, have done some master's work.

If you think your background and preparation in philosophy aren't strong enough yet to get you into a competitive PhD program, doing a masters degree can help strengthen your application for the PhD. Not because we're impressed you've done the extra degree, but because it puts you in a position to give us a stronger writing sample, and gives more faculty the opportunity to see you doing advanced work, and write more useful letters of recommendation.

Some students without much formal training in philosophy have been extraordinarily talented at it and have been able to demonstrate this to admissions committees: for example, by writing papers of publishable quality. However, the overwhelming majority of untrained students aren't yet ready to enter competitive PhD programs.

Not at all. We often encourage our own students to do just this. It often gives people better lives, and makes them more ready for grad school when they get to it. At the same time, though, when you do apply we'll want to see that you've actively and recently been doing work of the sort our grad students do. If you've been outside of academia for a while, you'll need to find other ways to do that.

No, I'm sorry, we can't make specific such judgments until we formally review your application. And even if we could, we can't give feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of individual applications.

For these and other international student questions, view the FAQs for international student applicants .

The TOEFL or IELTS test is required of all applicants who are not native English speakers. The TOEFL/IELTS requirement is waived if you will have completed a bachelor or master's degree at an institution where the language of instruction is English. You don't need to do anything to inform the grad school that you're eligible for this waiver; they can determine that from your regular application materials.

For further details, review the GSAS Application Instructions  and the GSAS Testing Requirements FAQs .

The graduate school requires official test scores, sent to them directly from the GRE, TOEFL, or IELTS programs. Have them sent to New York University—GSAS, code 2596. The TOEFL requires you to list a department code; you should select the code that is most appropriate for your field of study. You may also use code 99. However, do not use code 00—we will not receive your test scores if you report 00 as the TOEFL department code. Also, do not leave the field blank. If you do, it will become code 00 and we will not receive your test scores. For IELTS scores, they must be sent directly to New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Science, New York ,NY. No code is needed for IELTS.

Often there are constraints on when you'll be able to take the GRE and TOEFL tests. You should schedule them early in the fall. Every year, some students end up scheduling them too late and then email us frantically asking what exceptions we can make for them. There's little we can do. If your test scores won't reach us until (shortly) after the application deadline, then self-report the scores on your application, or email them to us as soon as they are available. However, we may have already set your application aside as incomplete; and we make no promises to go back and reconsider it. Also, the grad school must receive your official test scores by the time we make our final decisions, or we won't be permitted to make you an offer.

We see all of your scores.

Please don't do this. It turns out to be a huge amount of work for us and for the grad school. These are things that DON'T justify sending us any update or new material:

• you accidentally sent us the statement of academic purpose that was addressed to Columbia
• your paper which was under consideration for ... has now been accepted, and you want to update your CV
• you have a newer draft of your writing sample, or you accidentally sent one that left out a few changes

If you have some more compelling reason to update your application, then you can email [email protected] .

GES gets applications to us, and we begin reviewing them, in mid-January. We make no promises whatsoever to include materials submitted late in our review.

Please review your Application Status Page which has a checklist of the various parts of the application and whether we have received them or not.

Philosophy gets over 300 PhD applications each year, and are typically permitted to make fewer than 10 first-round offers, plus a small number of second-round offers, aiming to get an entering class of 4-8 students. This means we accept around 3% or fewer of our applicants. For comparison, Yale Law School's acceptance rate is around 7%, and Harvard Law School's acceptance rate is around 11%.

We aim to make all our admissions decisions by the end of the second full week of March.  Our admissions decision must be finalized with the Graduate School before applicants are informed whether their application was successful, a process which may take up to another week after the decisions have been made.  Graduate School policy does not permit us to answer individual queries about decisions.

If you're worried that an announcement hasn't reached you, the best thing you can do is make sure you update us with changes to your email address. Do so by writing  [email protected] .

There are websites where applicants say what schools they've heard decisions from. Sometimes there are phony reports of NYU decisions on these sites. I don't know why. We will attempt to get our real decisions to you as soon as we can. Decisions are not available by phone.

As stated above, we get many excellent applications and can only extend offers to a small handful of them. Many strong applications are unsuccessful. As a matter of policy, we are not permitted to discuss details regarding individual decisions.

No. The application and all materials submitted to the Graduate School become the property of NYU and will not be returned under any circumstances.

Only your GRE scores (retained for five years) and TOEFL/IELTS scores (retained for two years). Review the FAQ for Re-applying for Admission .

If you are applying for the dual-degree JD/PhD program, you need to apply separately to both NYU Philosophy and NYU Law School. Each program's decisions are made independently, on the basis of their usual standards, and they do not share application materials. The cooperative nature of the program consists in your being able to use certain coursework to satisfy some requirements simultaneously. (Here are more details .) If you're accepted to both programs, we'll gladly discuss this all further, and put you in touch with some other students who have pursued this dual-degree program. As stated above, LSAT scores cannot be substituted for the graduate school's GRE requirement.

Admission to a dual-degree program is contingent on acceptance by both programs. If one does not accept you, the other may at its discretion consider you for admission to that individual program.

Apart from dual-degree programs, GSAS policy permits students to apply for only a single program and degree in a given year. Review the policy around multiple applications .

Exceptions: Students who apply to the Philosophy PhD program and are unsuccessful can ask to be considered for the MA programs in  Bioethics , or the interdisciplinary Center for Experimental Humanities . To arrange this, let Graduate Enrollment Services (GES, they are GSAS's admissions office) know as soon as possible after getting the PhD decision. They will instruct you how to proceed.

You are allowed to apply simultaneously to multiple programs at NYU if they are in different schools, such as GSAS and Steinhardt.

Students tend to take from 5 to 7 years.

All our PhD offers come with the same standard financial aid package. No separate application is required. We will discuss the details with you when we extend an offer.

If you've won an external fellowship, be sure to let us know; this will affect the details of your financial aid.

Typically our students are able to support themselves in modest shared housing on the fellowships we offer. They don't need to take out educational loans. Opportunities for teaching are available and compensation is in addition to the fellowship offer. The terms of the fellowship (as well as student visas for international students) severely constrain your eligibility for other employment.

The university has a subsidized student housing program for first-year PhD students. Details about this will be supplied in your offer letter.

Most US graduate programs, including NYU, have signed the Council of Graduate Schools Resolution.

This promises that admitted students with financial aid offers aren't required to accept the offer before April 15 (or a later date if specified in your offer letter). However, if you're able to make a decision earlier, you are encouraged to do so. This helps students on our waiting list, and helps us better create the incoming class. But it is your privilege to take until the deadline, if you need to.

If you do accept an offer before April 15, you are allowed to cancel the acceptance at any time until April 15.

After April 15, you cannot accept an offer from another school (school #2), without first obtaining a written release from the school you originally accepted (school #1). And school #2 cannot offer you financial aid except conditional on your supplying that written release from school #1.

You can notify us by email of your decision to accept or decline our offer, but you must also follow the instructions in your offer letter, and (if you're accepting) submit a tuition deposit. The details will be spelled out in your offer letter.

In some circumstances this is possible. You have to petition for it, and your reasons for deferring should be academic.

Here are the departmental rules .

We are willing to consider applications from students seeking to transfer from other PhD programs. However, we make offers only to the most exceptional of these; our expectations are much higher than for beginning students.

Our PhD students can get some course credit for graduate-level work done previously (whether in a degree program or not). Generally this will be for up to two courses, and will be subject to approval by the Director of Graduate Studies. Please wait until we've made our admissions offers before asking us to pronounce about your individual circumstances.

Even if you don't get course credit for work done previously, you are welcome to use that work as a seed for work you'd submit here, either for a seminar or for an independent study you arrange with a member of our faculty.

Other local philosophy departments: sure! Sometimes, someone at NYU will have to nominally oversee your participation in the outside course, and approve the grade. But in practice, this doesn't make much difference.

Other departments at NYU: sure, if it's relevant to your philosophical studies. (Otherwise, your fellowship doesn't pay the tuition, and we wouldn't count it towards your degree.) In recent years, our students have attended courses in the Law School, and the linguistics, psychology, math, and physics departments. There are also some programs for language study, in NY or abroad; though this also has to be relevant to your studies, and in practice our students don't have to satisfy a separate language requirement.

One of the requirements of our PhD program is that 9 out of the 11 required courses be taken in the NYU Philosophy department (courses cross-listed in other departments count for these purposes). It's common to audit courses at other departments, even when one doesn't take them for credit.

Our PhD students do coursework for two years and only decide on their dissertation topic during their third year. A dissertation committee is formed at that time. We assign supervisors during your first years in the program, but this is just someone who talks to you about program requirements, problems you're having, and so on. There's no reason for it to be someone who's directly related to your research interests.

There is no general language requirement for the Ph.D. Language proficiency may be required for specialized research in particular areas (e.g., ancient philosophy) or topics (e.g., Kant).

See our placement record .

See our course listings .

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Home  |  Graduate Admissions  |  PhD Admissions

PhD Programs Admissions

Ready to apply to Dartmouth's engineering  PhD , the  PhD-Innovation (PhD-I) Program , the PhD in Medical Physics , or the PhD+MD ? To help students prepare a strong application, this page provides important information about the admissions process, including deadlines, eligibility requirements, and application and financial aid instructions.

PhD students typically enter with full support from either a Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) or an external fellowship. Explore general PhD funding and expenses to consider for all PhD programs and learn about additional fellowship and grant opportunities .

Start Your Application

On This Page

Phd application process, phd innovation (phd-i) program application process, phd in medical physics application process, md-phd application process, application deadlines.

December 15

priority deadline for Fall term admission; applications are accepted on a rolling basis after December 15

At least two terms prior to admission

deadline for Winter, Spring, or Summer term admission

Required Application Materials

The following instructions are a guide for completing the application for the PhD program at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth (Dartmouth Engineering).

PhD+PhD-I : New students interested in the PhD Innovation (PhD-I) Program can apply to both the PhD and PhD-I within the same application. Follow the PhD process outlined below , and submit the additional required materials for the PhD-I.

Please read the following instructions carefully. Only complete applications will be considered for admission.

Online Application

Applicants must complete the application for admission online. It is not necessary to send us a hard copy. Online applications open August 1 of each year.

Updating Your Materials

Your test scores and mailing address can be updated at any time through your application status page. After submission, other components (resume, statement of purpose, essays, etc.) cannot be updated. Please be sure you have entered the most accurate information at the time of submission. Due to the volume of applications received, we cannot update these materials after submission.

Acknowledgement

After submission, you will receive an email acknowledgement through the application system.

Application Status

To see the status of your application, visit your online application status page. Please note that it may take a few days for application materials to be processed.

Application materials and supporting documents become the property of the Admissions Committee and are not returnable.

General Policies

False Statements/Materials: If a candidate for admission to Dartmouth makes a false statement or submits falsified material in connection with his or her application, and the misrepresentation is discovered after the candidate has been admitted, the offer of admission ordinarily will be withdrawn. If the misrepresentation is discovered after a student arrives on campus or at any time during their enrollment, the student will be subject to loss of credits earned and disciplinary action that could include separation from the College. If the discovery occurs after a degree has been awarded, the degree normally will be rescinded.

Equal Opportunity: Dartmouth Engineering actively supports equal opportunity for all persons regardless of race or ethnic background. No student will be denied admission or be otherwise discriminated against because of sex, handicap, religion, sexual orientation, race, color, or national origin.

Security and Fire Safety Report: Dartmouth prepares an annual Security and Fire Safety Report which is available to all current and prospective employees and students. The report includes statistics of reported crimes that have occurred on campus, in certain off-campus buildings, or on property owned or controlled by Dartmouth, and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from, the campus as well as reported fires occurring in residential facilities. The report also includes institutional policies concerning campus security, such as policies concerning sexual assault, fire safety, and other matters. You may obtain a copy of this report by contacting the Director of Safety and Security and the College Proctor at +1 (603) 646-4000.

Application Fee

A non-refundable application fee of $50 is required of all applicants, except for Dartmouth College or Dartmouth Engineering students and alumni. The fee must be paid by credit card. Applications will not be processed until this fee is received.

Letters of Recommendation

Three (3) letters of recommendation must be completed and submitted online directly by your recommenders . Please have your recommenders complete the evaluation form that will be emailed to them and submit a signed letter on their official institutional letterhead. If your recommender’s company or institution has a policy against letterhead they must provide a copy of this policy with the recommendation letter.

Letters of recommendation should ideally come from your college professors using their official school email address. Applicants with work or military experience or currently in another graduate program should submit a recommendation from their immediate supervisor, a current or former employer, or someone who knows them well through some other professional or community activity.

Academic Transcripts

All applicants are required to submit academic transcripts from each undergraduate or graduate institution from which you obtained your degrees (eg. your bachelor’s degrees or other advanced degrees.)

You may scan and upload a copy of your academic transcript (not diploma) issued by the institution(s) from which you obtained your undergraduate degree(s) and any advanced/graduate degree(s) directly to the online application.

For grading scales other than 4.0 grading scales: Please include documentation indicating the scale.

Applicants with international transcripts are encouraged to submit a transcript evaluation from WES (World Education Services) along with their Dartmouth Engineering application. While a WES evaluation is not mandatory for admission, it can help expedite the application review process. If you are admitted, you will need to submit official academic transcripts for all your international coursework and credentials. WES evaluations can be used instead of official transcripts, but they must be sent directly to Dartmouth Engineering by the evaluation service provider, and they must include a copy of the official transcripts that were evaluated.

Non-degree coursework: If you attended institutions other than those from which your degree(s) were granted, you are required to scan and upload your academic transcripts from these institutions (transfer coursework, domestic or study-abroad programs, postgraduate non-degree coursework, etc.).

If you have more than three undergraduate transcripts or three graduate transcripts to upload, please combine them by uploading a file that contains more than one transcript.

• Scan BOTH sides of your transcript (provided the second side is not blank).
• Depending on the scanner and software, you may either insert individual images (.jpg) into a single word processing document for upload, OR if your software produces a .pdf, simply upload that file.
• The file must be less than 1 MB, in a standard format, WITHOUT password protection or macros. Any of these problems will cause the upload process to fail.
• A diploma is not a transcript.

If you upload a scanned copy of your transcript, you do not need to send a hard copy. The scanned copy fulfills the requirement for the application process. Upon admission, you will be required to supply an official hard copy of your transcript.

Admitted students: If admitted, you will be required to request that ONE official, original hardcopy transcript mailed to Dartmouth Engineering (mailing address below) directly from each college and/or university you have attended in a signed, sealed envelope. We will accept a transcript via email if that is your prior institution’s method of transcript delivery.

International applicants must make arrangements to have their academic records translated and sent along with originals. Where American-style transcripts are not used, the applicant must include all available records including courses, grades, degrees, and rank-in-class. The appropriate university officials must certify these records. Evaluations from WES (World Education Services) can be used instead of official transcripts, but they must be sent directly to Thayer by the evaluation service provider, and they must include a copy of the official transcripts that were evaluated.

Upon admission, supporting materials such as transcripts should be mailed to:

Graduate Admissions Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth 15 Thayer Drive Hanover, NH 03755

Supplemental Form: Research Area, Identifying Faculty, Statement of Purpose/Essay & CV/Resume

Research Area: Engineering PhD students typically are funded through a professor’s sponsored research or a fellowship. Students interested in applying to the PhD program are encouraged to reach out to individual faculty members to discuss potential projects.

Through the PhD program, students may elect one of the six program areas to be reflected as a "concentration." In the application, you will be prompted to select which track you are interested in pursuing. Applicants should indicate all areas of interest in order to be considered for the widest possible range of opportunities. Students can switch program areas after starting the program.

Identifying Dartmouth Engineering faculty members of interest : The supplemental form of the application will be used to match your area(s) to those of faculty or to determine your focus. You must select at least one and may choose up to three faculty from the drop-down list in the application.

Fill this out carefully and list your top faculty interest first. We strongly encourage you to review research by program areas and contact Dartmouth Engineering faculty for an initial conversation about research opportunities.

Statement of Purpose/Essay: You will be prompted to write a brief essay describing your research interests and career goals and the reasons you wish to pursue graduate studies at Dartmouth. Include any information that does not appear elsewhere that will help us evaluate your application. If possible, keep your essay to 1–2 pages.

CV/Resume: Upload your most recent CV or resume.

Optional Essay: Dartmouth Engineering is committed to a climate that acknowledges and embraces diversity of perspectives and backgrounds, supporting a culture that fosters inclusion and actively pursues equity. In this optional essay, applicants are encouraged to share how their personal perspectives and unique life experiences will contribute to Dartmouth and the Dartmouth Engineering community.

TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo (International Applicants)

Non-US citizens must submit language proficiency test scores, with the exception of those who are earning or have earned a degree from institutions in the US or Canada, or who are from the following countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Slovenia, and Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the US.

For all graduate programs, Dartmouth Engineering accepts the following English proficiency tests: TOEFL , IELTS , and Duolingo . During the application process, self-reported scores are acceptable. However, once admitted, students will be required to submit official test results directly from the testing organization.

IELTS scores should be sent to "Dartmouth College" with the ETS code 3360.

GREs (optional)

GREs are optional for all Dartmouth Engineering graduate programs. If you would like to include GRE scores to give the admissions committee a better understanding of your qualifications, we accept self-reported scores at the time of application. If you enter self-reported scores, you will be required to provide official scores if admitted. Visit the ETS website and use code 3360.

Eligibility Requirements

The foundation for doctoral engineering degree work is undergraduate preparation in science, mathematics, and engineering principles. Applicants must hold a bachelor's or master's degree to be considered for the program, although a master’s degree is not required. Students admitted to the program who are not prepared to complete the first-year requirements are advised to enter the MS program and petition to be admitted to the PhD program. Students who have prior graduate training may be considered for advancement to candidacy after completing one or two terms of the first-year doctoral program.

International Students

Language proficiency test scores are required for non-US citizens, with the exception of those who are earning or have earned a degree from institutions in the US or Canada, or who are from the following countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Slovenia, and Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the US.

While all applications are looked at holistically, we recommend the following score ranges:

• TOEFL scores of 100 or higher
• IELTS scores of 6.5 or higher
• Duolingo scores of 135 or higher

Dartmouth Engineering initiates the visa process. For information about the visa and immigration process, visit Dartmouth's Office of Visa and Immigration Services .

Part-Time Students

The PhD program can also be undertaken part-time: students interested in this option should contact the Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs .

Graduate Admissions Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth 15 Thayer Drive, Hanover, NH 03755 [email protected]

PhD Program

Learn about requirements, funding, expenses, and more.

See student testimonials, course and funding comparisons, and more

Student Life

Explore our community on campus and beyond.

Admission to this program is determined by a committee consisting of the Dean of Dartmouth Engineering or the Director of the Program (Professor Eric Fossum ), and members of the faculty, drawn from those serving on the Program Advisory Board.

Review PhD-I Program funding comparisons

Application Timeline

application deadline

Late January/ Early February

presentations via Zoom

Mid-February

decisions and notifications

candidate acceptance deadline

The PhD Innovation (PhD-I) Program welcomes applicants who are in the process of applying to Dartmouth Engineering's PhD program, as well as applicants who are already enrolled in Dartmouth Engineering's PhD program. The application process differs slightly for each group, and is outlined below. Please read the following instructions carefully. Only complete applications will be considered for admission.

Students applying to Dartmouth Engineering's PhD program

Students not already enrolled in a Dartmouth Engineering PhD program must submit all required materials for the PhD program listed above in addition to the following:

When completing the online application, check the box indicating "Innovation Program" interest on the program information page of the application.

On the PhD Supplemental Form of the online application, you will be prompted to submit the following two essays for the PhD-I Program, in addition to the materials required for the main PhD program.

Statement on PhD-I Program Interest (two-pages max): Submit a statement specific to the PhD-I Program that addresses the following:

• Reasons for interest in the PhD-I Program
• Why the program is relevant to your long-term career goals
• An example demonstrating creativity in arriving at a solution

Statement on Broad Technology Development Problem (two-pages max): Describe an example of a broad technology development problem that interests you. It should be written in the general form of a proposal for funding. Specify one or two potential Dartmouth Engineering faculty advisors for your proposed work (prior contact with those faculty members by email is recommended).

Current students already enrolled in a Dartmouth Engineering PhD program

Current students already enrolled in a Dartmouth Engineering PhD program must assemble the following materials and submit them via email at [email protected] to apply.

• Letter of recommendation from your thesis advisor. This should be submitted directly from your advisor to [email protected] .
• Current CV/resume.
• reasons for interest in the PhD-I Program
• why the program is relevant to your long-term career goals
• an example demonstrating creativity in arriving at a solution
• Statement (two-pages max) describing an example of a broad technology development problem that interests you. This should be written in the general form of a proposal for funding.
• Combine your CV/resume and two statements into a single .pdf file.
• Label the file following this format: LastNameFirstName_Innovation.pdf
• Email the .pdf as an attachment to: [email protected]

Eligibility

Applicants must meet all prerequisites and requirements for the standard PhD degree program . New PhD applicants, as well as current Dartmouth Engineering PhD and MD-PhD students are eligible to apply to the PhD Innovation (PhD-I) Program. Current students are advised to consult with their faculty advisor and Professor Eric Fossum , Director of the PhD-I Program, prior to applying.

General Program Questions

Jessica Moody PhD Innovation Program Coordinator [email protected]

Admissions Questions

[email protected]

The PhD and Certificate Program in Medical Physics welcomes applicants who are currently in the process of applying to Dartmouth Engineering's PhD program, as well as applicants who are currently enrolled in Dartmouth Engineering's PhD program, or any of the physical science PhD programs at Dartmouth. The application process differs slightly for each group. Please read the application instructions carefully. Only complete applications will be considered for admission.

Learn how to apply

Start your PhD in Medical Physics Application

David J. Gladstone Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Professor of Engineering, and PhD and Certificate Program in Medical Physics Program Director [email protected]

Students must apply to the Dartmouth Engineering PhD program through the process outlined above , indicating their specific interests on their online application, as well as to Geisel School of Medicine .

Learn about the MD-PhD program

Start Your MD-PhD Application

Requirements & Deadlines

Requirements & deadlines on this page:

Full-time Master's Programs

Phd program.

• Evening Master's Program

Non-Degree Programs

Deferred applicants, application deadlines.

The above notification dates are subject to change. We typically release both scholarship and admission decisions at the same time. Students who receive a scholarship will see a letter on their account. If you have questions or concerns or would like to discuss your scholarship please email [email protected] .

Note: Applications are accepted until space is no longer available. Decisions may be released periodically as space becomes available or completed documents are received. Application deadlines may be adjusted. Please visit this page for the most updated deadline and notification information.

Academic Support Programs

While no specific experience is required for our degree programs, students with a strong liberal arts background and sound quantitative and analytical skills will be best prepared to thrive at Harris Public Policy. To help incoming full-time students who need a boost in any of these areas, we offer several academic support programs , including pre-orientation programs in English (for international students) and math. For current students, additional support is available through the Policy Writing Program.

Orientation Programs

Harris hosts a series of orientation programs for entering students—some are optional and some are required. All incoming full-time students are required to attend orientation Welcome Week which takes place the week before classes begin. Nearly all entering full-time students also opt to participate in Math and Coding Camp, which begins one month before the start of classes. To learn more about our orientation programs see the info for admitted students .

Application Requirements

The following documents are required for admission to full-time master’s degree programs.

The Committee on Admission and Aid evaluates all official transcripts of academic work, personal essays, letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities and community service, performance on standardized tests (for full-time degree programs), and any special factors brought to its attention. The committee considers each application on the basis of all materials submitted and does not automatically eliminate applications based on grade point averages or test scores. The application requirements are the same for all full-time master's degree programs.

Online Graduate Application

The  application for 2024 degree programs at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy is now open!

Upload a current resume, reflecting your work experience, education, community service, professional honors, and any other relevant information.

Motivation Statement (Required)

Prepare a brief and well-articulated response to a prompted question regarding your motivation to pursue graduate studies in public policy (300 words).

Short Essay (Optional)

Although the Motivation Statement is required, the essay question is optional. Prospective MPP Students who would like to be considered for The Pearson Fellowship must complete the Pearson essay at the time their application is submitted. Please note, only MPP applicants may apply to The Pearson Fellowship.There is no right, or even preferred, approach to answering the essays. Each essay is an opportunity for you to showcase your writing, analytic, and critical thinking skills.

Transcripts

You may submit unofficial transcripts through the electronic application process. Official transcripts will be required upon admission only for enrolling students. Please submit transcripts for all prior academic work from any institution of higher education.

Letters of Recommendation

Recommenders should submit letters through the electronic application—hard copy letters will be accepted but are not preferred.

For students applying directly from their undergraduate program, we prefer to have at least one reference from a previous professor who can speak to your academic background and preparedness for graduate studies.

• To  submit your application,  you must provide the names and contact information for three recommenders in the application portal. The application will not allow you to submit without the contact information for three designated recommenders listed in the portal. You can submit your application prior to the actual letters being received, but you must list the names and contact information for three recommenders in order to submit.
• In  order to be reviewed for admission,  two of the three letters must be received within a week of the deadline.

Applicants cannot designate which letters should be included in admission review. If all three letters are received, all of them will be used in the admission review process

The GRE waiver attestation is completed as part of your application for admission. Your transcript and resume documents, as well as your work experience section, education information, and additional information provided in your application are the support for your GRE waiver attestation. These elements will be used for verification during the admission review process. You  do not  need to send GRE waiver documentation separately from your application. Applicants to the full-time master’s programs— Master of Public Policy (MPP) , MA in Public Policy (MA) , MS in Computational Analysis and Public Policy (MSCAPP) , and MA in Public Policy with Certificate in Research Methods (MACRM) —must either meet one of the four waiver criteria below or submit a GRE test. Applicants will submit this information as part of their application. Students will attest to the criteria and provide supporting documentation in the application.  Please note, this information should not be sent via email, and must be uploaded and submitted as part of your application in order to be considered by the admissions committee.  

Waiver Criteria

1. Qualifying Professional Experience. At the time of application submission, applicants must indicate in their work history and on their resume that they have completed five or more years of full-time relevant professional work.  

• Relevant may be defined as related to policy, government, business, economics, education, or social services.   
• Applicants in other fields may attest that their work experience is relevant to public policy study.  
• Five or more years are calculated as the time between  completion of bachelor's degree and the date of application submission.

2. Military Service - Completed five years of active duty national military service (in any country). 3. Documented coursework. Completed the equivalent of college-level, credit-bearing, Calculus I and/or beyond with a grade of B or better. Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus may satisfy this requirement if it appears on the undergraduate college transcript as college credits.

• Please see MATH 15100 Calculus I in the UChicago Course Catalog for an example of the concepts to have been covered.  
• Applicants who completed Calculus I in a different grading scale may attest that they earned the equivalent of a B or better. 

4. Qualifying Education – Applicants who are graduates of an undergraduate program at the University of Chicago. 

Approved GRE Test Substitutions  

• Applicants to the JD/MPP may submit the LSAT  
• Applicants to the full-time master’s programs—MPP, MA (full-time), MSCAPP, and MACRM— may submit the GMAT 
• Applicants to the University of Chicago Medicine partner programs for physicians may submit the MCAT 

The GRE is not required for the Evening Master’s Program (EMP) , the Five Year Master in Public Policy with the College (BA/MPP), and Five Year MS in Computational Analysis and Public Policy with the College (BA/MSCAPP) programs.*  

*Please note: only currently enrolled undergraduate students at the University of Chicago are eligible to apply to the BA/MPP and BA/MSCAPP programs. 

You may submit self-reported (unofficial) GRE or GMAT scores for admission review. Official scores must be provided upon accepting an offer of admission. The Harris Public Policy institution code is 1849 or 1832 . Either code will be accepted. Make your reservations with ETS directly: http://www.ets.org/gre .

Hardship Requests 

Applicants for whom a recent natural disaster or other major, widespread disruption has affected their ability to complete an application may submit a Hardship Request . For more information and questions about the Hardship Request, please contact [email protected] .   

English Language Requirement

Applicants to the Harris School of Public Policy who do not meet the English proficiency waiver criteria must submit proof of English language proficiency, in the form of either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) . Read about test score requirements.

Minimum Score

While we do consider TOEFL/IELTS scores below the minimum requirement, including the total and sub-scores, admitted students with below requirement scores will receive conditional admissions until they achieve the required score(s).

Exam Retake

If you choose to retake the exam to meet the minimum requirement, note that we accept the highest total score and sub-score of each valid exam. In the Test Scores section of the application include the dates of your upcoming retake exam. 

Find more information about the English language requirement .

Harris Admissions is not authorized to waive the English language requirement and must be granted by the University of Chicago.

The Harris application system will automatically grant the waiver if you meet the University of Chicago's  English language requirements .

Application Fee (Submitted with Online Application)

In order to reduce barriers for prospective students, this year we have eliminated the application fee for master's degree applicants .*

Back to top

Application Deadline

Phd candidates | december 6, 2023.

The following documents are required for admission to the PhD program.

Research Statement

Prepare a well-articulated response to a prompted question regarding your motivation to pursue graduate studies in public policy, specifically addressing your research interests (800 words).

Writing Sample

PhD candidates will be required to submit a writing sample or single-authored research paper.

Three (3) Letters of Recommendation

We are looking letters of recommendation that speak to your professional or academic ability. Recommenders should submit letters through the electronic application.

The Harris Public Policy institution code is 1849 or 1832 . Either code will be accepted . Please make your reservations with ETS directly: http://www.ets.org/gre . If you choose to submit your scores, official scores are required for all applicants. Please contact the Harris Admissions Office if you have questions regarding other standardized tests.  PhD applicants must submit the GRE and cannot request a waiver.

Language Requirements

*Please note, while a $90 nonrefundable application fee is still required for PhD applicants, fee waivers are available. In order to have your application fee waived you must start an application and complete the Fee Waiver Request Form, which is linked to from your online application on the instructions page of the application. If approved, you will be notified directly.

Evening Master’s Program (EMP)

The Evening Master's Program (EMP) launches two times throughout the year. Applications will be reviewed during application deadline periods. Applications received after the application deadline will be reviewed as space is available and may be reviewed for a future quarter. 

The  application for the EMP is now open!

Spring 2024

The following documents are required for admission to the part-time Evening Master’s Program (EMP).

The application is currently closed. Indicate your interest in applying to programs beginning in 2024 using this form .

Motivation Statement

Applicants to the Harris School of Public Policy who do not meet the English proficiency waiver criteria must submit proof of English language proficiency, in the form of either Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) . Read about required minimum scores for each test.

Short Essays (Optional)

Evening Master's Program (EMP) applicants are not required to complete the short essay. However, EMP applicants who wish to be considered for another program if not admitted to their original program choice must submit the required short essay.

Requirements and deadlines for non-degree programs vary by program. Find the details for each program:

• Credential Programs
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When issuing admission decisions some students may receive a deferred acceptance. Student who receive this decision are admitted to a future year, and their admission letter will provide further information. Additionally, some students who are admitted to the current fall class may choose to defer for personal reasons. In both instances, students may be required to deposit each year in order to hold their seat in the next class. 

If you were offered admission in the previous admission cycle to a future year, or if you elected to defer your enrollment, you will receive instructions from Admissions in late January regarding your application. It is important to respond to these instructions in order to ensure we have available space for incoming students.

Please note a request for deferral is not automatically approved. Your request to defer may be denied. Students who do not respond by the deadline given by admissions may be asked to reapply rather than defer.

For more information, please refer to the Hardship and Deferral Requests page or contact us .

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Applying to Graduate School at BU

Take charge of your future..

Now is the time to invest in you. Whether you’re about to graduate from college (or just recently finished), returning to school after some time in the working world, or continuing your graduate study in a new field or level, this is all about you.

Are you ready?

Most likely! But, here are some practical tips to get you started if you’re not sure or you’re just beginning the graduate school search process:

• Assess your readiness for graduate study by reading through our questions, tips, and points to ponder .
• Explore BU’s 400+ graduate and professional programs .  The possibilities are limitless.

Learn more or apply now.

Each of our 17 schools and colleges and the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences has its own admissions and financial aid process. Our graduate and professional school admission offices actively encourage you to contact them with question and concerns – or just to explore your options further.

Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

With 22 departments, students have multiple pathways to the MD or combined degree programs in their chosen fields and specialties. Students take advantage of cutting-edge clinical facilities and laboratories on the Medical Campus and with affiliated institutions throughout the city and the nation.

Email:   [email protected] Phone:   617-358-9540

College of Communication

COM’s departments of Mass Communication, Advertising & Public Relations, Journalism and Film & Television offer programs dedicated to training well-rounded professional communicators. COM also offers master’s and PhD programs through its Division of Emerging Media Studies.

Email:   [email protected] Phone: 617-353-3481

College of Engineering

Choose from a wide range of programs in five departments: Biomedical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, and Systems Engineering. Whatever the topic, ENG is focused on advancing the frontiers of science and technology through research, discovery, and innovation.

Email: [email protected] Phone: 617-353-9760

College of Fine Arts

CFA’s three schools—Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts—form an intense, dynamic arts community that combines professional, individualized training with interdisciplinary collaborative work. The CFA faculty comprises proven teachers and mentors who draw from their distinguished experiences as artists and performers of national and international reputation.

Email: [email protected] Phone: 617-353-3350

Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences

The Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) is an interdisciplinary academic unit comprising scholars and researchers who are solely appointed in that unit as well as faculty with joint appointments in various schools and colleges at BU. CDS’ mission is to be a catalyst for synergy and integration of research and education programs in computing and data sciences across the landscape of academic disciplines at BU. 

Email:   [email protected] Phone:  617-353-2154

Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies

Dedicated to advancing human progress and improving the human condition, the Pardee School is committed to interdisciplinary work, offering master’s programs with eight functional specializations, two dual degree programs, one regional degree, and a number of graduate certificates.

Email:   [email protected] Phone: 617-353-6342

Graduate Medical Sciences

Emphasizing research, clinical, and graduate education in the biomedical sciences, GMS offers 33 fields of study—including interdisciplinary programs in many areas—leading to master’s, PhD, or MD/PhD degrees as well as certificates.

Email:   [email protected] Phone:  617-358-9518

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

With programs to choose from in nearly 40 areas of humanities, natural and computational sciences, and social sciences, GRS is home to approximately 1,800 graduate degree candidates and faculty from many schools and colleges at BU.

Email: [email protected] Phone:  617-353-2696

Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine

SDM offers a traditional four-year Doctor of Dental Medicine program as well as an advanced-standing two-year DDM; advanced certificates; and MSD, DSc, and DScD degrees in all recognized dental specialties.

Email:  [email protected] (DMD Admissions);  [email protected] (DMD Advanced Standing Admissions);  [email protected] (Postdoctoral Admissions) Phone:  617-358-6827

Metropolitan College

MET offers more than 60 full- and part-time degree and certificate programs in fields as varied as financial management, city planning, computer science, supply chain management, project management, and applied business analytics. On-campus, online, and blended programs are available.

Email: [email protected] Phone:  617-353-6000

Questrom School of Business

Students choose from MBA, MS, PhD, and dual degree programs that prepare ethical and innovative leaders who create value for their organizations, their communities, and the world. Questrom’s curricula emphasize digital technologies, health and life sciences, and energy and the environment.

Email: [email protected] Phone:  617-353-2670

Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences

Sargent’s four departments—Health Sciences, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy & Athletic Training, and Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences—offer graduate programs focused on professional training and cutting-edge research. Students doing fieldwork benefit from a clinical network of more than 1,400 affiliations worldwide—400 of them in Greater Boston.

Email: [email protected] Phone: 617-353-2713

School of Hospitality Administration

The one-year Master of Management in Hospitality program prepares candidates to begin a career in hospitality leadership. The program also offers opportunities for professionals currently working in the hospitality industry to advance in their careers and to be competitive and knowledgeable in the changing industry.

Email:   [email protected] Phone:  617-353-3261

School of Law

The JD and LLM departments offer a range of programs and specializations, including American law, intellectual property law, banking and financial law, and tax law, as well as several dual degree programs with other BU schools and colleges.

JD Admissions Email:   [email protected] Phone: 617-353-3100

LLM Admissions Email:   [email protected] Phone:  617-353-5323

School of Public Health

Students pursue different levels and approaches to their comprehensive public health studies, from  professional MPH and DrPH programs to academic MS and PhD programs. Certificate and dual degree programs are also available.

Email: [email protected] Phone:  617-358-4095

School of Social Work

Students get specialized training for social work in urban environments, choosing either clinical (individuals, families, groups) or macro (community organization, management, and planning) practice. MSW, PhD, dual degrees, and certificates are offered.

Email:   [email protected] Phone:  617-353-3750

School of Theology

STH offers an array of graduate professional programs, preparing students for ministries and vocations that foster personal and social transformation. The school emphasize community principles of love, justice, safety, rights, responsibilities, and respect.

Email:   [email protected] Phone:  617-383-9347

Wheelock College of Education & Human Development

Choose from more than 20 areas of study, including early childhood education, higher education, counseling, and policy. With its focus on clinical practice, scholarship, and community engagement, Wheelock’s many collaborative arrangements provide myriad professional training and practica opportunities with local and global partners.

Email:   [email protected] Phone:  617-353-4237

Getting Started

Admissions requirements.

Below is a summary of the Graduate School’s minimum requirements for admission to graduate study and its guidelines for applying.  Complete, detailed requirements and policies are outlined in the Admissions section of the Graduate School  Catalog .

Minimum Standards and Requirements

The minimum academic standard for regular admission to the Graduate School is a B average, or 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, in a program resulting in the award of a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university, or an equivalent degree and standing from a comparable foreign institution.

Standards for admission to a doctoral program are generally higher than those for admission to a certificate or an MS program. Applicants must also document, where necessary, successful completion of undergraduate prerequisites for graduate study in the chosen field.

Applicants must meet the minimum requirements set by the Graduate School and must meet departmental and/or program-specific requirements which may exceed the minimum. 

The Graduate School relies on recommendations from admissions committees/representatives of the degree-granting programs to determine the admissibility of applicants.  

Application Procedures and Required Items

The completed application form must be signed (hand signature or electronic certification) by the candidate for admission to receive consideration. A completed application file includes the application form for admission, the required, nonrefundable $75.00 USD application fee*, and all accompanying documents required for the given degree program or status.  

Failure to comply with all Graduate School and departmental or program requirements for admission, or failure to provide a completed application file by the published application deadline date, may result in the application being denied or not being considered.  It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the Graduate School receives all required application materials.

Transcripts   – Applicants must submit transcripts from each college/university attended, including work in progress at time of application.  Unofficial copies may be provided for the application review process. 

Admitted students must provide official transcripts from each college/university from which a degree was earned no later than the first day of the first term of enrollment at UMB.  Transcripts must be provided to the Graduate School directly from the prior, degree-granting institution in a sealed envelope in order for that document to be considered official.  Alternatively, it may be provided to the Graduate School electronically by way of a secure, encrypted platform. 

Official Score Reports   – Applicants for admission must have the respective testing agency — Educational Testing Service (for GRE’s and TOEFL scores) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) — provide the Graduate School with official score reports to be considered for admission.

The Graduate School’s institution code for the GRE and for the TOEFL is   5848.

Time Limitations of Standardized Tests   – Graduate Record Examinations must have been taken within five years of the start of the desired admission term, and English language proficiency exams — The TOEFL or the IELTS exam — must have been taken within two years of the start of the desired admission term to be considered valid scores for admission consideration.

Language Requirements   – Applicants whose native language or language of the home is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam. The TOEFL and the IELTS exam are the only measures of English language proficiency accepted by the Graduate School.

*Application fee waived for Nursing PhD applicants. 

Certification of Application Information and Applicant/Student Records

Applicants must provide accurate and complete information on all application documents. Intentional omission or falsification of information during the application process will result in the immediate rejection of the application and dismissal of the student if s/he has enrolled at UMB.

Application materials of admitted students become part of the student’s official file and property of the Graduate School upon the student’s enrollment. Under no circumstances will the Graduate School provide photocopies of official transcripts or score reports received from other institutions or agencies.

Admissions Decisions and Offers of Admission

The timetable in which an admission decision is made upon completion of the application file varies greatly from program to program.  Official admission decision notices are typically issued within 24 hours of the Graduate School’s receiving the recommendation from the respective program to admit or deny the applicant.    

Admission offers made by the Graduate School are based on the degree program admission committee’s recommendations. Each offer indicates a specific semester and year, and program of admittance. Each offer requires a response (acceptance or non-acceptance of the offer) or the offer becomes void.

An offer of admission made to students enrolled in their final semester of work toward a graduate or undergraduate degree is contingent upon their completion of that degree at or above their academic standing at the time the offer was made.

Admitted students must provide official documents including test scores and transcripts from each college/university from which a degree was earned prior to first term of enrollment at UMB. The UMB Graduate School reserves the right to rescind any offer of admission if discrepancies are found between uploaded/unofficial documents and the official documents, including test scores and transcripts.

Mandatory Drug and Criminal Background Check Requirements for Certain Study or Research Areas

Certain study or research activities of students may require access to biological or chemical materials that are subject to special restrictions under federal law. Individuals who wish to be authorized to have access to such materials must comply with UMB policy, state law, and federally mandated drug and criminal background checks. Students who cannot maintain eligibility to engage in study or research with biological or chemical materials have no assurance that UMB will provide an alternative path of study or research. Therefore, students may not be able to enroll or to continue enrollment and advancement at UMB. Because of the serious financial and academic consequences of failure to obtain and maintain ongoing eligibility with legal requirements, students should plan in advance to ask advisors, faculty, and mentors about authorization for access to biological and chemical materials. Students should carefully consider the drug and criminal background check requirements before selecting a course of study or research that may be subject to special restrictions.

Special Services/Accommodations

Individuals who are offered admission and who need accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact the University’s of Office of Educational Support and Disability Services (ESDS) and the respective graduate program director in a timely manner. Accommodations are not made retroactively.

UMB Office of Educational Support and Disability Services HS/HSL 601 W. Lombard St., Suite 201F Baltimore, MD 21201 410-706-5889/410-706-7505

[email protected]  

The University of Maryland, Baltimore does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, marital status, protected veteran's status, or age in its programs and activities. Specifically, Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in UMB's programs and activities. UMB will take steps to eliminate prohibited conduct, prevent its recurrence, and remedy its effects. 

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April 15 Resolution

The April 15 resolution is an agreement among the signatory graduate schools to provide applicants until April 15 to consider offers of admission that also include financial support.

Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, & Assistants

Acceptance of an offer of financial support (such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship) by a prospective or enrolled graduate student for the next academic year completes an agreement that both student and graduate school expect to honor. In that context, the conditions affecting such offers and their acceptance must be defined carefully and understood by all parties.

Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution.

If a student accepts an offer before April 15 and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit a written resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. Applicants are not required to obtain a formal release from the program whose offer they accepted, either before or after the April 15 deadline. Once applicants have informed the program that they are withdrawing their acceptance of the offer, they then can accept any other offers.

It is further agreed by the institutions and organizations subscribing to the above Resolution that a copy of this Resolution or a link to the URL should accompany every scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, and assistantship offer.

• This Resolution applies to offers of financial support only, not offers of admission.
• This Resolution is reviewed and reaffirmed by the CGS Board of Directors every five years and was last renewed October 2019.

CGS has prepared several documents regarding the April 15 Resolution:

• A PDF of the Resolution , which includes a list of CGS member institutions that support the agreement;
• A sample letter to send to your school deans, graduate program directors, and administrators outlining the Resolution
• An FAQ page that addresses the most common questions.

Many institutions have worked with their graduate councils to garner broad institutional support for the resolution. If your institution is not currently a signatory of the April 15 Resolution and is interested in being added, please contact Cari Moorhead .

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Chemistry, University Of Toronto

Added on April 15, 2024

Physics And Astronomy, University Of Pennsylvania cosmology theory.

English, city university of new york (cuny) accepted off the waitlist and accepted the offer, philosophy, georgetown university accepted off waitlist but decided to accept another offer so declining. finally finished with this: a5/r4.

Added on April 14, 2024

Architecture, Yale University Accepted off of waitlist

English, harvard university also off the waitlist lol (finally), physics, university of pennsylvania hep-th, expected, biomedical sciences, microbiology, icahn school of medicine at mount sinai, biomedical sciences and neuroscience, microbiology, icahn school of medicine at mount sinai, molecular microbiology and immunology, university of maryland, bioengineering, university of pennsylvania, cell & molecular biology (camb), microbiology, virology & parasitology (mvp), university of pennsylvania, civil and environmental engineering, suny buffalo, classics, university of cincinnati i'm just going to assume it's a rejection since the deadline to commit to a program is tomorrow. i never received a decision. i even reached out directly to the department and never got a response. not really what i was expecting from such a high-caliber program, especially since i was applying to the bronze age archaeology track, which is one of the best in the world. very disappointed that they couldn't be bothered to let me know either way. anyway, gpa is master's. i have multiple publications, multiple international conference presentations, i'm currently a lecturer in classics at a university, and i have several years of field experience. pretty bummed at this season's results. 0a/12r/0w/0p, computer science, university of pennsylvania ms from another top school + 2 yoe. all silence then rejection the next day after my inquiry email., creative writing, university of virginia closes me out for the season and i will be attending :) 4a/6r, philosophy, university of wisconsin-madison rejected off waitlist, political science, university of california, san diego waitlisted since february. please formally decline the offer on the portal, if you’re admitted but have decided not to go. please tell the department if you’re on the waitlist but have decided to attend other programs. many thanks.

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Deadlines for admissions

Deadlines for admissions purposes are the dates at which time the application file should be complete and materials received in Graduate Admissions and the academic departments. Applicants are responsible for completing a timely application. The Graduate School is not responsible for delays caused by postal or courier services. Admissions decisions will be made only on complete files. Each completed application, with supporting materials, is forwarded to the department in which the applicant proposes to study, where it is considered by the faculty of that department. No applicant will be admitted without the recommendation of an academic unit. Departmental recommendations for admission are forwarded to the Graduate School after careful consideration of the entire admissions application. Final consideration is given by the dean of the Graduate School. Consider three sets of deadlines in filing a timely application:

• Departmental deadlines for admission and consideration for assistantship from departmental sources of funding Deadline : Applicants must contact the academic departments to determine the departmental deadlines, which may be earlier than Graduate School deadlines.
• Graduate School deadline for applicants seeking assistantship consideration through Graduate School funding and competition Deadline:  All general application admission materials must be received in the Office of Graduate Admissions by January 1. Applicants must be admitted as prospective degree candidates by February 15.
• Graduate School deadline for applicants not seeking assistantships and for those whose academic departments do not have earlier deadlines. Applications for admission and all supporting documents must be received in the Graduate School Office by the following deadlines:

Domestic Applicants

• Fall Semester – July 1
• Spring Semester – November 15
• May and Extended Summer Session – April 1
• Summer Semester – May 1

International Applicants

• Fall Semester – April 15
• Spring Semester – October 15
• Summer Semester – February 15

Applicants are urged to apply as early as possible up to one year in advance of the desired matriculation date. All applicants should consult with the graduate coordinator of the specific program for which they are making application to ascertain if the program adheres to an earlier application deadline. An applicant is admitted for a specific semester. Applicants may not register unless they have been notified of their acceptance to the Graduate School by the Office of Graduate Admissions. Admission is valid only when the person registers for the specified semester. Applicants may contact the Office of Graduate Admissions for information on reapplying or  deferring applications  to future semesters. Deferred or resubmitted applications are reconsidered for admissions decisions by the academic departments.

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Operations, Information and Decisions, PhD

Wharton’s program in Operations, Information and Decisions emphasizes research on real management problems and maintains a balance between theory and implementation. The faculty trains scholars in decision making, information systems and operations management.

Our faculty leads in the development and application of an innovative blend of analytical and empirical approaches to important problems facing the private and public sectors, including the design, development, and evaluation of:

• behavioral approaches to individual and managerial decision making;
• information systems as a means of commerce and of decision making; and
• operations for the fulfillment of demand and broader economic and social needs.

Our PhD program provides a unique mix of behavioral, economic, statistical and analytical training to its students, and its strength is reflected in our students’ record of placement and achievement.

Three Areas of Specialization

Decision Making (DM)

What factors influence human judgment and decision-making? Why and when are people prone to judgement errors and biases? What kinds of interventions will help people make better decisions, or improve human welfare? Our interdisciplinary Decision-Making PhD program focuses on training students to conduct and publish academic research that helps to answer these important questions. Along the way, students receive rigorous quantitative/statistical training and acquire a deep understanding of the literature on judgment and decision-making, significant exposure to the fields of psychology, economics, organizational behavior, and marketing.

Information Systems (IS)

The Information Systems PhD Program covers a broad range of research interests, from the development of detailed analytical and information-technology-based methods for managing complex organizations to the broader economic evaluation of the impact of organizational and market-based use of information systems and information-based strategies.

Operations Management (OM)

The Operations Management PhD Program focuses on the processes that define an organization’s outputs, as well as the methods commonly used to analyze these processes. Students specializing in OM are interested in a wide range of functions, including operations strategy, product and process design, technology management, capacity planning, and supply chain management.  Their work similarly covers a wide range of organizations and industries, including education, health care, hospitality, manufacturing, distribution, and retailing.

For more information: https://doctoral.wharton.upenn.edu/operations-information-decisions/

View the University’s Academic Rules for PhD Programs .

Students must complete 16 course units (CU’s) of classes to graduate.  They may earn up to 4 CUs of credit for courses previously completed as a part of a master’s degree or PhD program, with the approval of the PhD Coordinator and the Wharton Doctoral Program Office.

Program Milestones

The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2023 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.

Typical Course Schedules

As the Requirements Outline suggests there is great flexibility in how students may complete their course requirements.  Thus, while the example plans of study, below, provide a sense of common first-year course rosters for the three concentrations, individual students’ plans can vary widely.  

Decision Making

Decision Making students then take a second economics course and electives in the second year.  

Information Systems

Information Systems students then take electives in the second year.  

Operations Management

Common Electives

The choice of elective courses can also vary widely, according to each student’s interests and focus of research, and valuable electives are offered within OID, as well as by departments throughout the University of Pennsylvania.  The following list is a sample of courses, beyond the options listed above, that multiple OID PhD students have taken in the recent past.

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For the most information on deadlines, admission requirements, and degree details you should search for your program on the Degrees and Programs Page . There you can find resources such a program advisors and links to the departmental website for the degree you wish to pursue. Below is table for quick reference on graduate program deadlines and other admission requirements at a glance.

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