MPA Admissions

Full-Time and Part-Time MPA applicants should plan to gather the following required Evans School application materials:

• Application fee of $85 (U.S.)
• Resume, including:
  • Relevant academic, professional, volunteer, and/or military experience
  • Academic and/or professional honors, prizes, or scholarships
  • Leadership positions
  • Societies and clubs to which you belong
• Statement of purpose, describing in 750 words or fewer:
  • Yourself and your experience in the context of your decision to pursue the MPA degree and a public service career
  • Your expectations of the program in furthering your career objectives
  • Your academic background, extracurricular activities, professional experiences, community and/or volunteer work, and any other factors relevant to your interest in public policy
• Unofficial transcripts from each college or university you have attended (this does not include coursework taken during study abroad). Official transcripts should not be sent unless/until you accept an offer of admission.
• One to three letters of recommendation, to be submitted electronically by your recommenders through the online application system. You must start the online application and submit the names and email addresses of your recommenders for them to complete the recommendation. An application is not complete without at least one letter, and up to three letters may be submitted.
• Quantitative Preparation can be demonstrated in the following ways:
  • Official GRE or GMAT scores can be submitted. Any test must be taken by or before January 15. Applicants submitting GRE scores should self-report scores into the application and need to have official scores sent electronically to the University of Washington as the institution (code 4854), and Public Administration as the department (code 4801). GRE scores take a minimum of 1-2 weeks from the time they are ordered until they post to an application.
  • A written statement of 500 words or fewer can be submitted to describe how you believe you are, or will be, prepared for the quantitative coursework in the MPA program, specifically PUBPOL 516, 517, 527, and 528. Sample syllabi for these courses are available by following the preceding links. Applicants are encouraged to describe one or more of the following:
    • Past quantitatively intensive coursework taken at the undergraduate, or graduate level in areas such as Economics, Statistics, Quantitative Research Methods, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, Linear Algebra, Chemistry, or Physics. This coursework must be demonstrated on the transcript(s) uploaded into the online application. Unofficial transcripts of any coursework described should be included in the Schools Attended section of the online application.
    • Present and/or future quantitatively intensive coursework taken at the undergraduate, or graduate level in areas such as Economics, Statistics, Quantitative Research Methods, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, Linear Algebra, Chemistry, or Physics. This could include community college or other accessible coursework such as the Kahn Academy’s Microeconomics, Statistics and Probability, and/or Algebra 1.
    • Current and/or past professional work requiring significant quantitative and/or analytically intensive knowledge and skill (such as a finance role, or a position in which you are conducting program evaluations or making policy recommendations). Please describe the skills you have applied to this analytic work and how they might prepare you for your MPA studies.
    • Or, if you completed an undergraduate major or minor in a quantitative field, please state what major or minor you earned. This may include fields such as Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Engineering, Math, Physics, Statistics, etc.
  • English language proficiency needs to be demonstrated if you are not a native speaker of English. The University of Washington Graduate School’s Memo 8 outlines how applicants can demonstrate English proficiency.