Required Application Materials

Applicants to graduate programs at The University of Texas at Austin should complete the appropriate application for admission. Please note that applications can take up to 72 hours to load to the UT-Austin system after submission of the application. Please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions for general inquiries. 

Pay non-refundable fee by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express accepted) or electronic check. You will pay your application fee via MyStatus 2-3 business days after the submission of your online application. The fee is $65.00 for U.S. Graduate and $90.00 for International Graduate. 

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After satisfying the application fee, provide an official transcript from every institution you have attended. Even if courses taken at one institution are recorded on another institution's transcript, transcripts must be submitted from the institution at which the courses were taken. Failure to list all colleges on the application and provide those transcripts will be considered an intentional omission and may lead to the cancellation of your application for admission or withdrawal of your offer of admission. 

Official transcripts bear the facsimile signature of the registrar and the seal of the issuing institution. Transcripts from U.S. colleges or universities must have been produced within the last calendar year, and should include the award of degree printed on the transcript unless coursework is still in progress. Transcripts written in a language other than English must be accompanied by a translation, and if a degree was awarded, you will need to provide the separate award of degree or degree certificate document. The Office of Graduate Admissions does not accept outside evaluations or transcripts. 

All transcripts must be submitted via SPEEDE, Parchment, or UT's Document Upload system. Electronic transcripts will not be accepted and you should not mail official transcripts. For more information on submitting transcripts, please visit this page or contact gradtranscript@austin.utexas.edu. 

GRE scores are required for all applicants. Please have the testing agency send your official scores to the university (ETS code: 6882, no department code needed). Applicants who have participated in the NSF's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program are eligible for a waiver and should email gov-PhDadmissions@austin.utexas.edu. For more information on providing test scores, please contact giatest@austin.utexas.edu. 

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All international applicants must submit either an official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Testing System (IELTS) score report. Scores must be sent to the university by the testing agency (self-reported scores are not accepted). For TOEFL scores, use ETS code 6882. For IELTS scores, use the IELTS electronic delivery service to send your scores to the "University of Texas at Austin" account. Exemptions are only provided to international applicants from a qualifying country or who have earned a bachelor's degree from an institution in the U.S. or a qualifying country. You can find more information on this page or contact giatest@austin.utexas.edu. 

The minimum scores considered acceptable for admissions are TOEFL: 79 on the Internet-based test (iBT) and IELTS: An overall band of 6.5 on the Academic Examination. 

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The GOV Department has created a template that includes all of the information we are looking for. While you do not have to use our template, please ensure your resume/CV includes all of the requested information, including your desired field(s) of study. You must pick at least one field (and up to three) from the following seven: American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Methodology, Political Theory, Public Law, or Public Policy. Please consult the department's field pages for more information on each field. 

Your Statement of Purpose should demonstrate your academic preparation for graduate study, articulate your specific research interests, and explain why you are pursuing a PhD in Goverment at The University of Texas Austin. The admissions committee uses this statement to evaluate your readiness for doctoral-level work and to understand your long-term scholarly goals. You should clearly define the topics or questions you intend to study and present compelling case for why UT Austin is the right place for your research. 

Be sure to describe how your background-academic, professional, or personal-has equipped you for success in a rigorous graduate program. The statement should also convey enthusiasm for contributing to the department's intellectual community and your protential to thrive as a researcher and educator. We recommend that your Statement of Purpose be between 500 and 1000 words, or approximately one to two single-spaced pages.

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This sample should demonstrate your potential to conduct political science research. Specifically, it should reflect your ability to apply the necessary technical and communication skills-such as constructing arguments, analyzing evidence, and engaging with scholarly literature-in a clear, rigorous, and compelling manner. 

You will enter the contact information for three (3) individuals. The information you provide will be used to contact your recommenders by email with instructions on how to submit their letter of recommendation. Please note that you will need to indicate that you are waiving the right to view your letters after they are submitted. If you do not list recommenders in the online application, you will be able to add their information after you submit the online application. You do not need to wait until recommendations are complete to submit your online application. If you have any questions about the Letter of Recommendation process, please email gradref@austin.utexas.edu. 

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