Admission Procedures

All applicants must submit an application, two official transcripts from all colleges and universities previously attended, scores on the aptitude test of the Graduate Record Examination, three letters of recommendation and a brief (300-500 words) statement of interest. Personal interviews are encouraged.

M.A. applicants should have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and a combined score of 301 or better (1080 on the old GRE scoring system) on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE aptitude test, and an analytical score of 5.0. Applicants for the master's program must present evidence of receipt of the bachelor's degree before they begin their course of study. Students may be required to make up deficiencies in their backgrounds before beginning their formal master's programs.

Admission to the Doctoral Program is highly selective. Ph.D. applicants are normally expected to have a graduate level GPA of 3.5, verbal and quantitative scores of 308 or better (1200 on the old GRE scoring system, and an analytical score of 5.0. Ph. D. applicants must also provide a 15-page writing sample. Applicants must either have a master's degree by the time they begin their doctoral studies or they must have earned at least 24 credits as students in the department's M. A. program; they must have a particular interest in environmental politics and policy. Students may be required to make up deficiencies in their backgrounds as part of their admission to the Doctoral Program.

All international students for whom English is a second language and do not have a degree from an approved English language University must submit TOEFL examination scores in addition to the above materials. A minimum TOEFL score of 600 (or 250 on the computized test) is required.

Persons who do not meet these minimum requirements should submit additional supporting materials including statements from professors with whom they have studied. It should be understood, however, that exceptions are seldom granted.

Because the Department values interdisciplinary knowledge related to environmental politics and policy, applications from individuals with related or complementary specializations will be given serious consideration. As a precondition for admission such individuals may be required to take as many as five additional political science courses in order to strengthen their preparation in Political Science.

Applications for admission and financial aid must be completed by February 15. Doctoral students are normally admitted only for the Fall semester. Master's students are admitted for Fall and Spring. Deadline for application for Spring admission is August 1 for international students and October 15 for U.S. students. The department reserves the right to consider and admit promising students before or after these deadlines.