Admissions

Application Requirements

The application deadline is December 5.

The Division of the Social Sciences website offers comprehensive information on how to apply and the application requirements. UChicagoGRAD also offers comprehensive information on admissions and the University of Chicago.

Graduate Record Exams (GRE) test scores will continue to be optional for the Fall 2025 application cycle, but are recommended for applicants to the methods, international relations, and comparative politics subfields.

We do not offer a standalone MA in this program.

Please see the Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences or the Committee on International Relations for alternative options.

Questions regarding the online application or application requirements should be directed to ssd-admissions@uchicago.edu. 

Application Advice

The department aims for an incoming graduate class of 10 students out of around 500 applications. The faculty in the main subfield of your interest will be reviewing your application. Think deliberately about your strongest interests if you are planning on working in multiple subfields.

We do not require GRE scores as part of our application for admission. If submitted, we do not use any threshold of GRE scores to be considered for admission. We want to be confident that applicants will be able to develop the technical and communication skills to succeed at doing research, and GRE scores are one indicator among many that we can use to make this determination. A faculty committee makes admission decisions based on a holistic assessment of all of the materials required in the University application: candidate statement, transcripts of grades, letters of recommendation, analytical preparation, and the writing sample. Committee members want to know what applicants find intellectually exciting and why they want to study at the University of Chicago.

We do recommend that students submit GRE scores if applying to the International Relations, Comparative Politics, and Methods subfields. While consideration is given to applicants who do not submit GRE scores in those fields, GRE scores are an important indicator of quantitative skills. If GRE scores are not included with your application, you should demonstrate (through coursework, research experience, or other ways) your ability to develop these essential quantitative skills. (If you are applying in American Politics or Political Theory, but are proposing to work quantitatively, we would also expect you to demonstrate your quantitative skills in some way, whether that is prior experience or a GRE score.)