Master's Program Admission Requirements
An application for any of SUPA’s master’s programs is reviewed for admission only when all of the required application materials are received. Incomplete applications, or applications received after the deadline, will be deferred.
Application deadlines are available from the Graduate School.
In considering applications and making admission decisions, the School of Urban and Public Affairs is guided by a holistic approach based on the following sets of factors and decisional criteria.
Admission Criteria:
Section A: Sets of Factors considered for admission to Master’s programs:
1. Basic Factors:
a. Grade point average (GPA): The undergraduate GPA based on the last 60 hours of course work as calculated by the Graduate School.
b. The Graduate Records Examination (GRE) scores: verbal and quantitative.
2. Determinative Factors:
a. Letters of Recommendation
b. Personal statement
c. Undergraduate field of study, especially in the social sciences or other related fields
3. Enhancing Factors:
a. Community Service, especially volunteer service in disadvantaged areas and for disadvantaged people
b. Multilingual proficiency
c. First generation graduate student in family
d. Work experience, publications, and/or level of responsibility
e. Geographic diversity
Section B. Decisional Criteria for admission to Master’s programs:
Level 1: Applicants with a GPA of 3.0 or above, a Verbal GRE of at least 400, a Quantitative GRE of at least 400, and a combined Verbal and Quantitative score of at least 1,000, will be admitted unconditionally, except for international applicants who are also required to have a score of 550 or higher on the paper-based TOEFL, 213 or higher on the computer-based TOEFL, or 79 or higher on the TOEFL iBT.
Level 2: Based on a majority of enhancing factors and all determinative factors, the Graduate Advisor will unconditionally admit applicants with a GPA of 3.0 or above, and a Verbal GRE score of at least 400 and a Quantitative GRE score of at least 400, and a combined Verbal and Quantitative score of 800-999.
Level 3: The Graduate Advisor may admit applicants with the GPA of less than 3.0, and/or a Verbal GRE score less than 400 and a Quantitative GRE score less than 400, and a combined Verbal and Quantitative GRE score of less than 1,000, on probation based on a majority of enhancing and determinative factors. The Graduate Advisor will set the probationary standards.
Level 4: Applicants who do not meet the standards of Level 3 will be referred to the Admissions Committee for final adjudication. If admitted on probation, the committee will set the probationary standards.
Section C: Other Types of Admission:
1. Denial: An applicant who does not meet the above admission requirements, will be denied admission.
2. Deferral: A deferred decision may be granted when a file is incomplete or received after the deadline, or when a denied decision is not appropriate.
3. Provisional: An applicant unable to supply all required documentation prior to the admission deadline but who otherwise appears to meet admission requirements may be granted provisional admission.