Graduate Admissions

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

All applications for the SM and PhD programs must be submitted online through GradApply by December 15, 2024 for Fall 2025 admission. Students are admitted as degree candidates only for September. The Political Science GradApply website is at https://gradapply-mit-edu.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/polisci. 

The admissions committee will not review late or incomplete applications.

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required. The institution code is 3514, and the department code is 1902.

If your language of instruction from primary school through college/university was not English, you must take either the TOEFL iBT or the IELTS. We require a minimum TOEFL score of 100 on the internet-based test. On the IELTS you must score a minimum of 7. MIT only accepts official score reports. Degrees from US or English-speaking ­universities are not accepted in lieu of TOEFL or IELTS. In limited cases the department will consider a waiver. Applicants must request the waiver form from the department. The institution code for the TOEFL is 3514 and the department code is 92.

It is advised that these tests be taken as early as possible as official scores from ETS should be received by the deadline.

Special Instructions

In your Statement of Objectives, please be sure to discuss the research questions you would like to pursue in your graduate studies. We also require a personal statement of 250-500 words. You should use the personal statement to address how your background and life experiences (including cultural, geographical, financial, and educational opportunities and challenges) have shaped your academic career and your decision to pursue a graduate degree in political science. The personal statement is distinct from the statement of objectives in that it should focus on your personal journey to graduate school rather than your proposed academic plans.
 
Please submit two other documents, both in .pdf format: a copy of your resume and a writing sample. The writing sample should be no more than 50 pages in length and is used to assess your conceptual thinking and analytical skills. Therefore, please submit a writing sample that best represents your potential to conduct graduate-level research, such as a research paper or a portion of an undergraduate or master’s thesis. Writing samples are welcome from any discipline and do not need to be from a political science course.

Academic Transcripts

All applicants are required to scan and upload official transcripts with their applications. Accepted applicants will be required to provide a sealed official transcript from each school attended. Any discrepancy between the scanned and official transcript may result in a withdrawal of our offer of admission.

If you participated in a study abroad program and your coursework/credits are reflected on your home institution's official transcript, you do not need to list this or send an official transcript from that program.

If you attended a community college or university from which you did not receive a degree and transferred those credits to an institution from which you received a degree (for which you are submitting an official transcript) you do not need to list the community college/university or provide an official transcript.

Letters of Recommendation

We advise you to request letters of recommendation as soon as possible from individuals who can best evaluate your scholarly potential as a graduate student in political science. We ask that all recommendations be submitted electronically, using the online system. Use Letters of Recommendation and then Letter Status to ask for electronic recommendations and to check whether recommendations have arrived. You must e-mail your recommenders the instructions shown in Letter Status.

You may address additional questions about Political Science graduate programs and the application process to twarog@mit.edu  or dsgall@mit.edu .

Application Mentorship Program

The Political Science Application Mentorship Program (PS AMP) is a student-run and student-initiated program specifically intended for PhD applicants from communities that have historically been underrepresented in higher education. This includes, but is not limited to: BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), non-cisgender individuals, members of the LGBTQIA+/queer community, individuals with disabilities, first-generation college students, and individuals from low-income or otherwise disadvantaged backgrounds. If you think you fall into one of these groups but aren’t sure, we still encourage you to sign up. Applicants will be paired with graduate student mentors who can answer questions about MIT PoliSci and provide application assistance. Participating in PS AMP is completely voluntary and will not affect your graduate admissions decision. Please sign up here, and check out the FAQ page or email mit.ps.amp@gmail.com. PS-AMP will accept applications on a rolling basis until December 1, 2024 to accommodate the department's application deadline of December 15, 2024. However, we recommend signing up in October for the best chances of getting paired with a mentor. 

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