Applying to the PhD Program in Political Science

The Fall 2008 Ph.D. Program Application Deadline has passed.

Applications are no longer being accepted by the department.

Instructions updated on 10/24/2007

Please read all instructions carefully before beginning your application. You may also find helpful information on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

The application for graduate study in the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science at Berkeley consists of two components, both completed online:

The UC Berkeley Graduate Application (click HERE to scroll down for instructions and a link to the application), AND

The Political Science Department Application Supplement (click HERE to scroll down for instructions and a link to the form)

APPLICATION FORMATS

Due to the volume of applications received, the department expects all prospective graduate students to use the online application systems with the exception of applicants who have PREVIOUSLY ENROLLED AS GRADUATE STUDENTS at Berkeley. Prior Berkeley graduate students are not eligible to use Graduate Division's online application, and must therefore submit a printed version of the online application to the department.

The department's online application supplement is available to all applicants, regardless of prior enrollment.

UC BERKELEY GRADUATE APPLICATION

Please be sure to follow the directions for the online UC Berkeley Graduate Application found on its website. The information in this section is intended to act as an additional guide for Political Science applicants only.

Application Fee:

A $60 application fee for U.S. citizens or permanent residents, or $80 for all other applicants (payable online) is due at the time of submission of the UC Berkeley Graduate Application. Fee waiver request forms are available with the online application. Read and follow instructions carefully. All waiver applications should be sent directly to:

Graduate Admissions
309 Sproul Hall, University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-5900

Standardized Tests:

Take standardized tests as early as possible and self-report the scores on the UC Berkeley Graduate Application. Direct Educational Testing Service (ETS) to report official scores to the Political Science department:

UC Berkeley code: 4833
Political Science department code: 1901

GRE (scores must be from October 1, 2002 or later): The GRE (Graduate Record Exam) general test is required of ALL applicants, domestic and international. GRE scores are valid for approximately five years from the date taken. Valid scores are those for test dates on or after October 1, 2002.
TOEFL or IELTS (scores must be from June 2006 or later): All applicants from countries in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. Applicants must take either the TOEFL exam (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) (NOTE: If you have completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better in residence at a U.S. university, you do not need to take a standardized test. Instead, you must submit an official transcript from the U.S. college or university). The minimum TOEFL scores are 570 on the Paper Based Test (PBT) and 230 on the Computer Based Test (CBT). The TOEFL Internet Based Test (iBT) emphasizes integrated skills so that its format and scoring are different from either the CBT or the PBT versions of the TOEFL. The Graduate Division of the University of California has established a minimum required score of at least 68/120 on the iBT for the 2008-09 admissions cycle. No scores for TOEFL or IELTS exams taken before June 2006 will be accepted.

GPA:

Please calculate and fill in all requested GPA information in the Graduate Division Application. A GPA worksheet is available HERE.

POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT APPLICATION SUPPLEMENT

The department requires that in addition to the online UC Berkeley Graduate Application, you complete the Political Science Department Application Supplement (found HERE) and submit additional documents.

The Department Application Supplement includes:

Your intended major sub-field of research (find a list of sub-fields offerred HERE),
A 500-word abstract (PDF only) of a political science research paper (or of any previously written paper). Do not submit the entire research paper; the committee will read only a 500-word abstract, AND
An unofficial transcript (PDF only), which is required for the purpose of admission review.

The following documents must be sent separately from the online departmental application supplement:

Three letters of recommendation written by persons in a position to judge your academic abilities and potential. The graduate division online application DOES NOT accept recommendation letters for the political science department. Therefore, please indicate whether you waive your right to access to recommendation letters in the graduate division online application, then ask your recommenders to send their recommendation letters as PDF files to pscsupplement@berkeley.edu. (Do NOT send admissions questions to this address; if you have questions for the admissions staff, please contact us at pscadmit@berkeley.edu). You may provide more than three letters if you choose and may use your college or university letter service. If any of your recommenders are unable to submit PDF versions of their letters for you, please ask them to mail the letters to the department's address below.
A hard copy of one official transcript from each college or university attended since high school must be mailed to the Political Science Department. No offer of admission will be made without official transcripts on file in the department. Transcripts may be sent directly from the schools or may be submitted by the applicant in official, sealed envelopes to:

Graduate Admissions Office
Department of Political Science
210 Barrows Hall #1950, UC Berkeley
Berkeley, California 94720-1950

APPLICATION REVIEW

Only files containing all required materials are considered complete and are reviewed by the admissions committee. The departmental Admissions Committee carefully reviews all completed applications and makes its recommendation for admission to the Graduate Division of the University. The UC Berkeley Graduate Division officially admits and notifies applicants. Admissions decisions will be made by the end of February and notification of acceptance or denial will be emailed to applicants by the department in early March.

ADMISSIONS CRITERIA

The admissions committee is composed of department faculty members from the various sub-fields. At least two committee members review each application. Applicants judged to have the highest scholarly promise are recommended to the Graduate Division for admission. The Committee's evaluations are based on the overall strength of an application after reviewing the following:

Academic degrees and record (GPA)
Statement of purpose
Letters of recommendation
Standardized test scores: GRE, TOEFL, IELTS
500 word abstract of previously written research paper
Previous training and experience

FELLOWSHIPS AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

The department assists students in financing their graduate work through a combination of campus and departmental fellowships, as well as teaching and research positions. Over three million dollars are awarded to new and continuing graduate students each year in the form of tuition and fee remissions, teaching or researching salaries, and living stipends. Students are automatically considered for financial aid when they submit an application for admission. Please review the following websites for more information:

Department financial support website:
http://www.polisci.berkeley.edu/grad/finances.html
Graduate Division financial support website:
http://www.grad.berkeley.edu/financial/index.shtml
Listing of outside Political Science fellowships:
American Political Science Association