The graduate application to SPA is available online, and can be saved and completed at your convenience. We strongly encourage you to submit the application form as early as possible and to allow time for your supplemental documents to be received by the application deadline.

The non-refundable application fee for SPA graduate programs is $55. This fee may be waived for:

• Applicants who have received a “fee waiver code” for attending an in-person or online recruitment event.
• Current AU employees, AU students (including BA/MA and BA/MS applicants), and AU alumni.
• Active duty members or veterans of the U.S. military.
• Active member of Golden Key or Phi Beta Kappa.
• Active or returned AmeriCorps, Bonner Scholar/Bonner Leader, Teach for All, Teach for America, and Peace Corps participants.
• First-generation college students.
• Recipients of eligible nationally or internationally recognized fellowship or scholarship programs, including FAMU Scholars, Fulbright Fellows, Koch Summer Fellows, McNair Scholars, Pickering Fellows, PPIA/IIPP Fellows, Rangel Fellows, and Truman Scholars.
• Graduates of a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) or Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).

All applicants to SPA graduate programs must possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution by the date of anticipated enrollment at SPA. Applicants are required to submit transcripts from all institutions attended. For admissions review purposes, SPA allows applicants to upload unofficial transcripts from most colleges and universities. Prior to enrolling, all admitted students are required to submit official transcripts confirming degree conferral.

Visit the Transcript section of our FAQ to learn more about U.S.-based transcript requirements.

Learn more about international transcript requirements here.

Your personal statement is an opportunity for the Graduate Admissions Review Committee to get to know you, so it should be a well-written and carefully crafted discussion of your relevant qualifications and experiences. We ask for an essay of between 1.5 to 2 typewritten pages for master’s degree applicants and approximately 5 typewritten pages for PhD applicants. You should describe in detail your personal and career goals, relevant employment experience, reason for wanting to study at American University’s School of Public Affairs, and ability and commitment to undertake graduate education at this time.

All of SPA's master's programs (including the combined bachelor's/master's programs), as well as the graduate certificate in Women, Policy & Political Leadership, require two letters of recommendation. Three letters of recommendation are required for the PhD programs.

Your recommenders must submit their letters directly to the SPA Office of Graduate Admissions electronically via the online application recommendation request form. In the online application, you will be prompted to identify your recommenders and their contact information. Please notify your recommenders that they will receive an e-mail prompt to submit their recommendation online.

Recommendations should come from supervisors and/or professors who know you well and can attest to your professional or academic abilities, as well as your potential for graduate study. Recent college graduates are strongly encouraged to include at least one academic recommendation source (faculty member) who can attest to their prior academic work and their potential for success in graduate study.

Requesting more than the required number of recommendations is not encouraged, unless the Graduate Admissions Review Committee has asked for an additional recommendation. Friends or family members should not provide your recommendations.

Note: Recommendation letters can be requested only after the application has been submitted and the application fee has been paid.

Visit the Recommendation Letters section of our FAQ to learn more.

Your resume or curriculum vitae serves as a major source of information about your background and experiences, so we encourage you to be detailed and thorough. Your resume or CV should be updated, free of grammatical errors, and in a well-composed layout. At a minimum, it should include educational background, employment and/or volunteer experience, special skills and attributes, and academic and/or professional honors and affiliations.

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) general test is required for general admission to the following programs in the School of Public Affairs:

• Graduate Certificate in Public Policy Analysis
• MA in Political Science
• Master of Public Administration (MPA)
• Master of Public Policy (MPP)
• MS in Justice, Law & Criminology
• MS in Terrorism & Homeland Security Policy
• PhD in Justice, Law & Criminology
• PhD in Political Science
• PhD in Public Administration

Submit official test scores from the GRE (institutional code: 5007) to the School of Public Affairs. Scores must be less than five years old to be considered official. Submission of GRE scores for other SPA programs not listed above is optional.

GRE Waivers

The GRE may be waived for admission to the master's degree and certificate programs listed above if the applicant has five or more years of full-time professional and relevant work experience. Typically, internship experience is not counted towards the requisite five years of work experience. The GRE is required for all applicants to the PhD programs regardless of work experience.

To apply for a GRE waiver, please complete the waiver request on the online application or send your resume OR CV to spaapp@american.edu with a written request. 

Other Standardized Tests in Lieu of GRE

If you are applying for one of the dual degree JD/Master’s or LLM/Master’s programs through the Washington College of Law and the School of Public Affairs, you may substitute the LSAT for the GRE. MPP and MPA applicants may choose to submit the GMAT instead of the GRE. There are no other exceptions.

Minimum Required GRE and Superscoring

We do not require a specific minimum GRE. Prospective students may contact the SPA Office of Graduate Admissions at 202-885-6230 or spaapp@american.edu to inquire about average GRE scores of previously admitted applicants. We take the best scores from multiple test attempts and take the highest score from each section of each test. Official test scores must be sent to the School of Public Affairs directly from the testing agency for each test in order to be considered.