Social Science Building - South

 Ph.D. Admissions

Thank you for your interest in applying to our Ph.D. program. The Department accepts applications of students interested in obtaining a doctoral degree. The department does not admit students who are interested solely in obtaining a Master's Degree.

Students are only admitted into the program for Fall Quarter. The school year typically begins the third week of September. The APPLICATION DEADLINE is December 10 for the following September.

Application Information.

Students who wish to apply for the Ph.D. program must present the following materials:

  1. UCSD Application for Graduate Admission
  2. Official evidence that a baccalaureate degree has been received from an accredited institution or the equivalent, with training comparable to that provided by the University of California.
  3. Official transcripts from each college attended.
  4. Three letters of recommendations from faculty members familiar with previous work and able to assess the potential for graduate study (online process for submission of letters preferred).
  5. Official score reports on the Graduate Record Examination. (institution code 4836, department code 1902).

Transcripts and paper letters of recommendation should be sent directly to the Department of Political Science at:

Graduate Admissions
Department of Political Science
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive, 0521
La Jolla, CA 92093-0521

INTERNATIONAL (non US Citizen) APPLICANTS: You should be aware that non-U.S. citizens are responsible for tuition and fee payments that total close to $24,000 per year for every year in residence. Unlike many other state universities, this tuition is not waived for students receiving teaching assistantships, which is the primary source of graduate student funding in the Department of Political Science. In almost all cases neither the University nor the Department of Political Science has the funds to cover these payments. As a consequence, very few non-citizens enroll in the program. Please keep this in mind when deciding whether or not to request the application.