1. A master's degree in a field related to policy studies is required for admission to full standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy.
2. Exceptional performance at the master's level is required.  This means a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.3 in the master's degree program.
3. Students with baccalaureate degrees may be admitted if they have an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.5.
4. Admission to the Program will require strong scores on the quantitative, verbal, and analytic sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).  An average score of 500 on these three components of the GRE should be considered the minimum for admission.
5. Three strong, positive letters of recommendation, at least two of which must come from faculty in the student's previous academic programs.  All letters should be written by individuals in a position to judge the applicant's likely success in a Ph.D. program.  Letters should address the applicant's suitability for a highly analytical Ph.D. program and ability to complete the program in a timely fashion.  Letters from the student's master's level program are preferred.
6. Students who are not native English speakers will be required to score at least 550 on the TOEFL exam, as well as achieve a minimum score of 55 on each of the components of the TOEFL, or a 220 on the computer-based TOEFL or 85% on the MELAB.  In addition, international students who will be teaching assistants will be required to undergo evaluation by the English Language Training Institute at UNC Charlotte prior to beginning their first semester of study.
7. Students entering the program will be expected to remedy any course work deficiencies identified by their advisory committee.  The amount and kinds of remedial course work required for the program will depend on the background of the student and will be established by the  student's advisory committee.  Possible deficiencies are indicated in the prerequisites for the required core courses of the program.  However, it is important to note that this Program will emphasize the quantitative and analytical skills necessary to confront the challenges of urban and regional growth and development.
8. Students currently in master's programs may wish to prepare specifically for entry in the Ph.D. Program during work on the master's degree.  In most cases this can be accomplished by taking appropriate courses as part of the elective course work provided in existing master's programs.  These elective courses may remedy any course work deficiencies by the student's advisory committees.

Admission Assessment

An Admissions Committee will review applications and recommend to the Program Director whether each applicant should be admitted or not and, if so, under what conditions.  The Admissions Committee will play a role that is strongly advisory to the Program Director.

A five-member Cohort Advisory Committee of Public Policy Faculty will be established for each year's entering students.  Students entering the Program in that year will be advised by this Committee whose members will assess each student's previous academic course work in light of the student's stated direction of study.  This assessment will be used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the student's previous academic history and to suggest specific course work for the student's public policy program.  The amount and kinds of remedial course work required for the Program will depend on the student's background and will be established by the Advisory Committee and confirmed by the Interdisciplinary Public Policy Committee.  The Advisory Committee may also suggest specific course work based on the student's intended direction of study within the Program.  The Advisory Committee will conduct this assessment upon the student's acceptance and formal declaration of intent to attend.  For each entering student, a member of the Committee will be selected to serve as his or her major advisor for the first year in the Program.

Student Responsibility

Students entering the Program must present evidence that their background is sufficient to undertake the course work required of them.  Such evidence must include:

• familiarity with political and legal processes, behaviors, and institutions
• the nature of urban regions
• a graduate level social science quantitative methods or statistics course
• college course work in both macro- and micro- economics
• a course in Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
• substantial background in a public policy specialty area.

Students may have completed equivalent courses elsewhere.  Normally, transcripts will provide the evidence required by the Advisory Committee.  However, if the student's previous experience is offered as evidence, the student must provide all of the documentation necessary to specify such experience.

Special Note

In most cases students will have been adequately prepared by course work in their master's level work or, in some cases, in undergraduate course work.  However, to provide some direction on the types of preparation necessary, the following list examples the types of course work at UNC Charlotte a student would need to satisfy the minimum requirements listed above:

For political and legal processes, students would need at least one course in the following areas:

• American Politics
• Urban Politics, and/or
• Legal/Institutional Foundations of Public Administration

For the nature of urban regions, students would need at least one course in the following areas:

• Urban-Regional Analysis
• Urban Studies
• Regional Planning
• Internal Structure of the City
• American Cities or
• Urban Sociology

For graduate level social science methods or statistics, students at UNC Charlotte should include one of the following:

• Graduate Econometrics
• Quantitative Analysis
• Applied Probability
• Advanced Quantitative Analysis
• Applied Statistics

For micro and macroeconomics, students should have taken the equivalent of a micro-economics class.

For GIS, students should have taken the equivalent of an Introduction to Geographic Information Systems.

Application Materials

There is a $65.00 nonrefundable application processing fee for domestic applicants and a $75.00 nonrefundable application process fee for international applicants. 

Along with a Graduate School Application, you must submit the following documents.

1. The UNC Charlotte Graduate Admissions Application
2. Official GRE scores (verbal, quantitative, and analytical)
3. Two official transcripts from each college or university attended
4. Three letters of reference from academics who have taught or worked directly with the applicant
5. Each applicant must prepare an essay which addresses motivation and professional goals as well as the reasons for earning the degree, suitability for the program, career goals following the degree, and the policy specialty area they would pursue within the Program
6. TOEFL scores (if the student is not a native English speaker)

For application materials and more details on admission requirements, please visit the Graduate School's web site.