PhD Admission Requirements:

  • A four-year baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and a 45-quarter (equivalent) credit hour graduate degree from an accredited university.
  • A master level degree from an accredited university with a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher. 
  • Completion and submission of Graduate Record Examination Scores [quantitative, verbal and analytical components]. Only applicants with combined quantitative and verbal scores of 310 will be considered for admission. The school code for submitting GRE scores is: 4586.
  • Course transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.
  • Three letters of recommendation and recent resume. Reference letters and resumes should be submitted through the Graduate School application system.
  • Statement of purpose concerning why the applicant would like to pursue the PhD in Public Policy at Oregon State University. The statement should include your reasons for applying to the program, academic and professional background information, policy interests, and any personal experiences or history that are related to your interests in public policy. 
  • A writing sample. 
  • Domestic students are strongly enocuraged to submit FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Student Aid Reports as part of their application.
  • Identification of at least three possible mentors from the PhD Public Policy Faculty.
  • Only applicants interested in a full-time resident PhD program should apply.

Satisfaction of minimum entrance requirements does not guarantee admission, since the number of qualified applicants may far exceed the number of places available. As a consequence, many well-qualified applicants may not be accommodated.

OSU ADMISSIONS ON-LINE APPLICATION: http://oregonstate.edu/admissions/graduate-students

International Student Requirements:

General graduate admission standards for international students are available at: Graduate School Admissions Information; for specific country requirements also see: http://oregonstate.edu/admissions/international/requirements.html#country_requirements

All international applicants must meet minimum requirements as detailed above.

For calculation of U.S. equivalent grades, see: http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/index.asp 

Please note that the Public Policy PhD Program does not consider Conditional Admission for international students who do not meet the minimum OSU TOEFL scores or that is below a combined 90. IELTS scores must be 7.0 or higher for consideration of admission to the PhD. 

Application Process:

Application forms required for admission are available on the Graduate School website: http://oregonstate.edu/admissions/graduate.html.

Deadline:

All applications for the PhD in Public Policy at Oregon State University must be complete by February 15 for full consideration of admission and scholarships/financial support (for Fall Quarter admission only).