Application

Dear Applicant:

Thank you for your interest in the Pardee RAND Graduate School Ph.D. Program. For your convenience, PRGS uses an applicant-managed process. Although you will complete much of the application online, you are responsible for requesting and receiving your letters of evaluation and academic transcripts, and sending those materials to us in one package. This helps the admissions process in two ways: first, you will know if your evaluators and schools have indeed sent the materials you requested; and second, receiving these materials together helps our staff get your application to the admissions committee as quickly as possible.

The Online Application

You will be submitting a large portion of your application electronically, including your essays. Prior to the time that you begin to fill out the application, we strongly urge you to collect the information you will be asked to complete, and compose your essays on a word processing program of your choice.

This information will include:

Your academic background, including your major, degree and field of study for all institutions you have attended since finishing high school.

Your work history, including your title, organization, dates of employment, principal responsibilities and reason for leaving for all full-time and relevant part-time jobs you have held.

Essays. You will be asked to answer each of the following questions in the form of a concise essay (approximately 2-3 pages in length, or 1000-1500 words). These responses will help the Admissions Committee to become acquainted with you as an individual, and to understand your interest in PRGS.

How have people, events, and/or situations in your life influenced who you are today?

How did you become interested in policy analysis as a career, and why are you specifically interested in PRGS?

Follow this link to access the online application.

To Be Submitted by GRE, GMAT or TOEFL

Official scores on the Graduate Record Exam (School Code 4648) or the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) (School Code M9X-GD-45) should be sent directly from GRE or GMAT. The test must have been taken within the past five years. Original score reports are required.

Important: The Educational Testing Service has advised PRGS and other graduate schools about systematic problems with the Graduate Record Examination in China, Korea, and Taiwan. These problems have now been corrected. Applicants from these countries must have taken the GRE after September 2002.

For all applicants whose native language is not English: Official scores on the TOEFL (School Code 4648).

International applicants are exempted from the TOEFL requirement if they hold a bachelor's or higher degree from a university located in the United States or in another country in which English is the spoken language and the medium of instruction, or if they have completed at least two years of full-time study at such an institution.

To Be Collected and Submitted by the Applicant

Three (3) Letters of Recommendation

Each applicant is asked to submit three letters of recommendation, which may be from either academic or professional sources, and should address the following topics, to the extent to which the recommender has been able to observe the candidate’s:

Interest in Policy Analysis as a career/field of advanced study

Prospects for success as a policy analyst

Intellectual ability and potential for future intellectual growth

Quantitative preparation and aptitude

Ability to handle the demands of a highly rigorous doctoral program

The Recommendation Form is available in PDF format. Please download and print three copies, complete your section at the top of the page, and forward to your recommenders, along with a return envelope addressed to you. Please instruct your recommenders to complete the form, enclose it in the accompanying envelope, sign their name across the envelop flap, and mail it back to you

Official undergraduate and graduate school transcripts from all institutions you have attended since completing high school. Transcripts should show a record of all courses completed, along with degree confirmation. Request the schools to send these copies to you in sealed envelopes.

Writing sample. A research paper, study, or report that reflects your best work.

$50 application processing fee (not required for international students living outside the United States).

Please obtain and send the above application materials together to:

Pardee RAND Graduate School

Admissions Officer

1700 Main Street

Box 2138

Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138

All applications are carefully reviewed by the Admissions Committee. Notification of acceptance or rejection is usually sent to applicants within six weeks of the admission deadline.

Application Deadlines

Priority Deadline (January 10, 2007)

The priority application deadline is Wednesday, January 10, 2007. Candidates whose applications are complete (i.e., all materials have been received by PRGS, including transcripts and letters of recommendation) by that date will be notified of the admissions committee's decision by Friday, February 16.

Applications Received After January 10, 2007

Applications will be accepted after the priority deadline until Friday, February 9, 2007. Candidates whose applications are complete (i.e., all materials have been received by PRGS, including transcripts and letters of recommendation) by that date will be notified of the admissions committee's decision by Friday, March 9.

Applications received after February 9 will be reviewed only on a space available basis.