phd personal statement political science

Graduate Program

Graduate admissions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

All applications for the SM and PhD programs must be submitted online through GradApply by December 15, 2023 for Fall 2024 admission. Students are admitted as degree candidates only for September. The Political Science GradApply website is at https://gradapply.mit.edu/polisci . 

The admissions committee will not review late or incomplete applications.

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required. The institution code is 3514, and the department code is 1902.

If your language of instruction from primary school through college/university was not English, you must take either the TOEFL iBT or the IELTS. We require a minimum TOEFL score of 100 on the internet-based test. On the IELTS you must score a minimum of 7. MIT only accepts official score reports. Degrees from US or English-speaking ­universities are not accepted in lieu of TOEFL or IELTS. In limited cases the department will consider a waiver. Applicants must request the waiver form from the department. The institution code for the TOEFL is 3514 and the department code is 92.

It is advised that these tests be taken as early as possible as official scores from ETS should be received by the deadline.

Special Instructions

In your Statement of Objectives, please be sure to discuss the research questions you would like to pursue in your graduate studies. We also require a personal statement of 250-500 words. You should use the personal statement to address how your background and life experiences (including cultural, geographical, financial, and educational opportunities and challenges) have shaped your academic career and your decision to pursue a graduate degree in political science. The personal statement is distinct from the statement of objectives in that it should focus on your personal journey to graduate school rather than your proposed academic plans.   Please submit two other documents, both in .pdf format: a copy of your resume and a writing sample. The writing sample should be no more than 50 pages in length and is used to assess your conceptual thinking and analytical skills. Therefore, please submit a writing sample that best represents your potential to conduct graduate-level research, such as a research paper or a portion of an undergraduate or master’s thesis. Writing samples are welcome from any discipline and do not need to be from a political science course.

Academic Transcripts

All applicants are required to scan and upload official transcripts with their applications . Accepted applicants will be required to provide a sealed official transcript from each school attended. Any discrepancy between the scanned and official transcript may result in a withdrawal of our offer of admission.

If you participated in a study abroad program and your coursework/credits are reflected on your home institution's official transcript, you do not need to list this or send an official transcript from that program.

If you attended a community college or university from which you did not receive a degree and transferred those credits to an institution from which you received a degree (for which you are submitting an official transcript) you do not need to list the community college/university or provide an official transcript.

Letters of Recommendation

We advise you to request letters of recommendation as soon as possible from individuals who can best evaluate your scholarly potential as a graduate student in political science. We ask that all recommendations be submitted electronically, using the online system. Use Letters of Recommendation and then Letter Status to ask for electronic recommendations and to check whether recommendations have arrived. You must e-mail your recommenders the instructions shown in Letter Status .

You may address additional questions about Political Science graduate programs and the application process to [email protected]   or [email protected] .

Application Mentorship Program

The Political Science Application Mentorship Program (PS AMP) is a student-run and student-initiated program specifically intended for PhD applicants from communities that have historically been underrepresented in higher education. This includes, but is not limited to: BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), non-cisgender individuals, members of the LGBTQIA+/queer community, individuals with disabilities, first-generation college students, and individuals from low-income or otherwise disadvantaged backgrounds. If you think you fall into one of these groups but aren’t sure, we still encourage you to sign up. Applicants will be paired with graduate student mentors who can answer questions about MIT PoliSci and provide application assistance. Participating in PS AMP is completely voluntary and will not affect your graduate admissions decision. Please sign up here , and check out the FAQ page or email [email protected] .

Privacy Policy

MIT is committed to protecting the individual privacy of applicants and students by restricting the use of all collected information as specified by Institute policies. In accordance with these policies, the information in your application may be used by MIT officials only for appropriate administrative and research purposes.

This site uses cookies to maintain a session identifier while you are actively using the site, but does not use cookies for any other purpose. The software we use to process credit card payments uses secure encryption technology (SSL) to reduce the possibility of theft, manipulation, and other alteration of information that you provide to us.

Any changes to our policy will be posted on this page.

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

• Information for Prospective Students

Application Materials

For your application to be given full consideration, you must submit all materials by   December 21, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. (Central U.S. time).

If you have any questions please consult our   FAQs   page.

Required materials:

Application form.

The Graduate School accepts   online applications  through CollegeNet .

• You do not need to complete the online application in one sitting. You may save your application and return to it later before you SUBMIT; be sure to record your user ID (email) and password. 
• Answer all of the required questions, upload required documents, and submit the application fee (by credit card only).
• C hanges to the application cannot be made after you SUBMIT .
• You may apply to only one program at Northwestern. The Graduate School only allows students to submit one application per year. Additional applications will not be reviewed and application fee refunds will not be provided.

Admission decisions will be conveyed via CollegeNet. 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 is available, a "view decision" link will appear. If a decision has not yet been rendered, no link will be present.

APPLICATION FEE

The online application will prompt you to pay the application fee after all required questions have been answered. The application fee is $95 and must be paid via credit card at the time of application submission. Your application can not be processed without payment of the fee. 

To review the criteria for a fee waiver, click  here .  If you are eligible for a fee waiver, a message will appear at the end of your application, in lieu of a payment entry page. 

We are unable to provide fee waivers beyond the criteria listed.  If you think you may qualify for a fee waiver, please submit your application at least three days before the application deadline to allow time for review and final submission.

TRANSCRIPTS

An unofficial transcript from each post-secondary institution attended, including records from courses in any university-level institution attended abroad, must be uploaded to your application.   Official transcripts are only required for applicants that have been admitted and have chosen to enroll at Northwestern.  Official transcripts received before an offer of admission has been made will be discarded.

• Your fall term grades may not be posted at the time the application is due ; please submit your transcript as it stands, and if we require an update we will request it from you.
• Transcripts should show all the coursework taken, whether or not within a degree program, the grades received and the degrees earned.
• Certification of degrees received, including the date each degree was awarded are required. This information may be included on the final transcript or on the diploma. Final credentials must be submitted as soon as they become available. 

NOTE TO INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS:

The academic records we refer to as transcripts should provide a listing, year-by-year, of all courses taken and the grade or marks received for each one. It is helpful to have the grading scale of the institution and the student's rank in class included when such information is available.

If your college or university will not mail original official academic documents to you, you may send exact copies that have been verified as "Certified True Copies" by the appropriate institutional official of each institution you have attended. Uncertified photocopies are not acceptable. To be considered, all documents not in English must be accompanied by official English translations which adhere to the following guidelines:

• If an institution's transcripts are only available in a foreign language, please include an English translation completed by a verifiable, neutral third party (i.e.  ATA translators , a transcript evaluation service, etc.) in addition to the original copy.  

The Graduate School will accept applications from international students earning three-year bachelor's degrees.

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

Letters of recommendation are very important so choose your writers carefully. The Admissions Committee is most interested in recommendation letters from those who are able to assess your academic and research abilities in areas related to your field of study.

• The Department of Political Science requires a minimum of   three   letters to accompany your application.
• Please note, you will not be able to edit an email address or change a recommender after you have submitted the application.  Should you need to make a change, please contact   [email protected] . 
• There is no required or expected format for recommendation letters.
• Please give your recommender enough time ahead of the application deadline to submit your letter; we begin review of applications immediately, and late letters may not be considered.  We recommend contacting your letter writing at least two weeks  before you submit the application to give them time to prepare a letter.
• Letters of recommendation are due December 30th, 2023 at 11:59 pm Central Time

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Write a statement that addresses the following prompt (500 words max):

• The Graduate School values diverse backgrounds, approaches, and perspectives, understanding them as essential ingredients for true academic excellence. As a Northwestern graduate student, how could you contribute to an intellectual community that prioritizes equity, inclusion, belonging, and cultural humility? Your answer may draw upon past or present experiences, whether in academic work, extracurricular or community activities, or everyday life.

ACADEMIC STATEMENT

• What are your academic interests, and why do you wish to pursue graduate studies in this specific program?
• How has your academic and professional background prepared you for graduate study? (Please include any research, training, or educational experiences that align with the program you are applying to.)
• How will our program help you achieve your intellectual and professional goals?
• (For research-focused programs) Please make sure to address any scholarly questions you wish to explore in the program and name any specific faculty members in this program whose research interests align with your own.  

WRITING SAMPLE

There are no firm requirements for the writing sample. It should be academic, best demonstrating your abilities and potential. 

• We recommend between 10 and 30 pages in length, but we intend this as a guideline to help you think about the type of sample you should send. 
• Don't focus on the exact page number, focus on sending your best work! 
• Your writing sample does not have to pertain to your intended area of study.  It can be a term paper, a chapter from a thesis, a series of published articles, etc.
• Once submitted, writing samples cannot be updated or edited, even in the case of typos.  Be aware that some graphs or images may become distorted when the PDF uploads to CollegeNet; this is not a problem, the Committee understands this and we will request an updated copy if we need it. 

GRADUATE RECORD EXAM (GRE)

For the 2023-24 application cycle (Fall 2024 start), submission of GRE scores is NOT REQUIRED.  

Should you choose to submit scores, please review the information below:

Official scores must be taken no more than  five years  before the intended quarter of entry and must come directly from the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Personal copies are not considered official, nor are "attested" or notarized copies.

• Do not plan to take or retake the test on or after the deadline.   No new scores will be added after the deadline .
• You may submit your application before or after your official scores arrive from ETS.  CollegeNet will connect the scores automatically.
• The institutional code assigned to The Graduate School at Northwestern by ETS is 1565. There is not a designated department code for the GRE, you may enter Undecided. 

ETS will offer you the option to send us scores from every test you've ever taken, or to select the scores you want to send.  We recommend that you send us ALL scores; we will look for your highest score in each section. 

CERTIFYING ENGLISH PROFICIENCY (TOEFL, IELTS)

Much of your success in graduate study will rely on your ability to understand, read, write and speak English. If your native language is not English, you must certify your proficiency in the English language by one of the following:

• Providing official scores for either the TOEFL or IELTS exam. The test must be taken no more than  two years  before the intended quarter of entry (for entry in Fall 2023, please ensure your TOEFL was taken no earlier than September 2021).
• On the TOEFL, you must score 600 or higher on the paper-based test, 250 or higher on the computer-based test, 100 or higher on the internet based test. On the IELTS, you must receive a score of 7.0 or higher.
• Providing official transcripts verifying an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution or equivalent, where the language of instruction is English.
• Providing official transcripts verifying a graduate degree from an accredited institution where the language of instruction is English.
• Personal copies are not considered official, nor are "attested" or notarized copies. However, it is to your advantage to include a scanned copy of your score report in Supplemental Information. 

The Graduate School's school code for TOEFL is 1565. Students taking the TOEFL should also reference department code 01. This will ensure that the TOEFL scores are sent to The Graduate School and not the undergraduate college.

More information regarding the   TOEFL

More information regarding   IELTS

All materials should be submitted by December 21, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. (Central U.S. time), via CollegeNet.

Department of Political Science

Application Information

This page is divided into information about Degrees, Procedures, and Frequently Asked Questions.

The department accepts applications only for full time study for the Ph.D. in Political Science. We do not offer a Master’s (M.A.) program or part-time study. More information about the Ph.D. program, including program requirements, is available here. All admitted students receive five full years of funding (with a possibility of a sixth), including tuition, health insurance, and a generous stipend.

A joint Ph.D. degree is available with  African American Studies , Statistics and Data Science , the  Yale Law School , or the  School of Management .  Students applying for a joint degree program must apply to and be accepted by both programs independently. Consult the Yale Graduate School’s Requirements for Joint Degree Programs for further information.

(Visting students from other universities may apply for Visiting Assistant in Research Positions. Students who wish to take classes without pursuing a degree may apply for Special Student status. More information is available under Frequently Asked Questions.)

Students interested in pursuing quantitative political science research in American politics should consider the pre-doctoral fellows program from the Center for the Study of American Politics (see  here ).

The application deadline for admission in Fall 2024 is December 15, 2023. 

Late applications are not accepted. Applicants will be informed of the results of the application process by mid–March 2024.

Please note that ALL applicants for the Ph.D. in Political Science are required to submit GRE General Exam test scores, a writing sample, a personal statement, transcripts, and 3 letters of recommendation.

Students are also required to select a primary subfield of study among our eight fields (American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political economy, or political theory, quantitative empirical methods, qualitative and archival methods, and formal theory).

Additionally, the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Test System) is required of all applicants whose native language is not English .

This requirement is waived only for applicants who will have received a baccalaureate degree, or its foreign equivalent, prior to matriculation at Yale, from a university or college where English is the primary language of instruction.

The application is an online process—all policies, procedures, instructions and answers to frequently asked application questions, as well as access to the application, can be found at Yale Graduate School of Arts & Sciences .

We encourage applicants, in their personal statement, to do the following succinctly (in no more than 1000 words): (1) discuss their motivation for conducting research, (2) provide a detailed summary of their research experience and training and how it prepares them for doctoral study in their proposed program (the standalone PhD in Political Science or the combined degree, if applicable), (3) the topic(s) they plan to study in graduate school and how they would approach those questions, and (4) why Yale is a good fit given their interests.

The Political Science department at Yale is committed to building a diverse and inclusive field. For more information about Yale’s commitment to diversity, including the Diversity Preview Day, see  here . For more information about resources on diversity, safety, and wellness, see  here . The department participates in the annual job fair of APSA’s Ralph Bunche Summer Institute. For more information about the program, see here .