Admission Requirements
Applications for admission are invited from students who have completed an undergraduate politics major or who have demonstrated excellence in some related discipline (e.g., sociology, economics, history, anthropology, or philosophy). However, the Politics Department will be particularly interested in evidence of outstanding achievement in any rigorous field and the promise of originality of thought.
Admission to the program is based on the applicant’s statement of purpose (500-1000) words, transcripts of undergraduate work(and previous graduate-level work, if any), scores for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test, three letters of recommendation, and an abstract of a scholarly written work.
The abstract of a scholarly written work (1200-1500 words) should represent the applicant’s best research and capacity to engage in scholarly inquiry. The work need not be in the area of politics, but should reveal an ability to address abstract issues and formulate and investigate precise hypotheses. The abstract may represent a term paper, thesis, article, conference paper, or problem solution. The entire work upon which the abstract is based should be available to be sent electronically to the admissions committee upon request.
All applications are submitted online through the Graduate Division web site. Only when all the application materials are received, along with the application fee, will your application be reviewed.
The Graduate Division's web site also contains a great deal of helpful information on topics of interest to UCSC graduate students, such as registration, fees, tuition, financial support and housing.
Deadline: Completed applications ie: writing sample, letters of recommendation, GRE & TOEFL official scores and any other materials must be received by Graduate Admissions no later than January 15 for admission in the following fall quarter.
Application fee: The $60 graduate application fee is nonrefundable. Fee waivers are available for hardship cases. Funds for waivers are extremely limited, but students who feel they are qualified for a waiver should obtain a Request for Graduate Application Fee Waiver from the Politics Department to submit with their application for admission.