Admission to the PhD program is selective. Talented individuals from the United States and abroad with superior academic records and a strong interest in careers emphasizing research and scholarship in public policy and management are encouraged to apply. We encourage applications from students with varied life experience, skills, academic training, perspectives, and scholarly interests.
The Glenn College considers an applicant’s whole application. Applicants can compensate for weaknesses in one area with strengths in another. The OSU Graduate School requires a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average (cGPA) (on the 4.0 scale used at this university) in the last degree relevant to the program of study earned by the applicant, but the Glenn College has no strict cutoffs beyond that. We also do not have a minimum GRE score for admission to our PhD program. Instead, we consider a GRE score alongside all of the other parts of an application. Strength in one area of an application may compensate for weaknesses in other areas.
Given our emphasis on the whole application, we also encourage applicants to carefully craft their personal statements to demonstrate that they have adequate preparation to complete our program and that their interests align with those of some of our faculty.
How to Apply
For a step-by-step guide on how to apply to the PhD program, including important deadlines and resources, please visit our doctoral program overview.
Deadlines:
The deadline for domestic applicants is December 1 and the deadline for international applications is November 1. We begin reviewing applications December 1st and admit students until the student cohort is full. Faculty can only review complete applications. Applicants are encouraged to check the status of their application materials online through Graduate Admissions.
Materials:
All applicants for the PhD program are required to submit the following materials to Graduate Admissions via the online application:
- A completed Graduate School application
- Transcripts of all prior academic work*
- At least three letters of recommendation, preferably from faculty or researchers, assessing the applicant’s potential for doctoral-level work*
- A personal statement summarizing the applicant’s preparation, career goals, and primary research interests as they relate to our PhD program*
- A resume or CV. Be sure to include work experience, volunteer activities, academic and professional honors, honorary societies, extracurricular activities, any publications, and other significant activities*
*NOTE: If you choose not to attach these materials when completing the online application, you may attach them later, using the online uploader.
English proficiency testing requirements for international applicants are available here.
Admission Criteria
An applicant must submit documentation that demonstrates, at a minimum, fulfillment of the following admission criteria:
- An earned baccalaureate or graduate/professional degree from an accredited college or university by the expected date of entry
- A minimum of 3.0 cumulative point-hour ratio (on a 4.0 scale) in all previous undergraduate work or in the last degree earned.
- Prerequisite training that will enable the student to pursue the graduate program to which admission is sought
- A score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) of 100 or greater is preferred on the Internet Based TOEFL (This requirement applies to applicants from a country where the first language is not English, unless a degree was earned from an English-speaking institution. Additional TOEFL information and minimum university score requirements may be found online.)
- A clear and concise personal statement that outlines how the applicant’s research interests and career goals fit with our program
- Strong letters of support, preferably from university faculty members or researchers, commenting on the applicant’s potential for success in a rigorous academic program
Guidance on Personal Statements
Personal statements are important, as they provide the applicant with an opportunity to make an overall case that they are a good fit for our program.
Statements should be no more than three single-spaced pages and should be well written.
Specifically, the personal statement should describe the applicant’s preparation, career goals, and primary research interests as they relate to our PhD program:
- Preparation: Describe your preparation for doctoral study in public policy and management. Have you taken courses related to government, research methods, or some other key feature of our curriculum? Did you do well in those courses? Do you have research experience? Do you have professional experience that has helped prepare you for doctoral study?
- Career goals: Describe your career goals. Do you wish to become an academic or perhaps a researcher in another setting? Explain how learning to conduct high-quality public policy and management results might help you realize those goals.
- Research interests: Describe in specific terms (e.g., “non-profit management,” “policy evaluation,” etc.) what your research interests are, and identify some of our faculty who do research that is of interest to you. Do not feel obligated to identify specific research questions, and you are surely not committing to any specific topics you might provide. But it is very important that we can determine from your personal statement whether we have the faculty capacity to help you become a successful scholar.