Admissions Requirements
Bachelor's Degree requirement
You must have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution in the U.S. or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from an international institution that is officially recognized by that country.
GPA requirement
You must have maintained a “B” (3.00 on a 4.00 scale) grade point average (GPA) in the last 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours of undergraduate course work. If you do not meet the minimum GPA requirements, your application may still be considered.
Admissions Process and Application Components
Applicants to the MPA and MPP programs are accepted year-round. Students may be granted admission for fall, spring and summer semesters.
Applicants must submit the materials listed below. Materials must be submitted online through the ASU Graduate Application. Contact the School of Public Affairs at (602) 496-0450 or email [email protected] if you have any questions about the application process.
Priority application deadlines:
- July 1 for fall semester
- Nov 1 for spring semester
- April 1 for summer semester
Apply by these dates and you will be guaranteed consideration for admission when all application materials are received. We admit on a rolling basis and are flexible. When all application materials have been received, we will review your application and make an immediate admission decision, even if that's a week before classes start in a given semester. To avoid last-minute frustration, however, it's recommended that all application materials -- application, Letters of Recommendation, personal statement, transcript(s), and English Language Proficiency scores (international students only) -- be received no later than 2 weeks before classes start.
- An official ASU Graduate application
- Application fee: $75 domestic, $120 international.
- Unofficial copies of transcripts may be uploaded into the graduate application to speed up admissions processing. We can admit you based on these unofficial transcripts. Eventually, however, official transcripts must be mailed to the Graduate Admissions Office. Official transcripts are defined as transcripts that are mailed by a college/university Registrar's Office and not handled by the student. Only paper transcripts are accepted, no electronic transcripts may be used. ASU requires only the transcript from the institution from which you earned a bachelor's degree. If you took classes in American government and statistics (program competencies) at a college or university other than the one from which you earned your bachelor's degree, you can email those unofficial transcripts to the School of Public Affairs graduate academic advisor at [email protected]. ASU graduates are not required to transmit transcripts. Transcripts should be addressed to:
Regular Mail
Admission Services Applicant Processing
Arizona State University
PO Box 871004
Tempe AZ 85287-1004
FedEx, DHL, UPS
Arizona State University
Admission Services Applicant Processing
1150 East University Drive Building C, Room 226
Tempe, AZ 85281
- Two letters of recommendation from academic (faculty) and/or professional (work-related) sources. See Note # 1 below.
- Written statement of your educational and career goals and how the MPA/MPP degree will help you reach those goals. 1 – 2 pages in length, single-spaced. This statement will also be used as a sample of your writing skills.
- Resume
- International applicants must also submit proof of English proficiency -- The School of Public Affairs does not offer conditional admissions in conjunction with English Immersion courses or ASU'S Global Launch program. To be admitted to the MPA/MPP programs, you must submit proof of English proficiency when applying for admission.
- OPTIONAL: Official verbal, quantitative and analytical scores on the GRE (institution code 4007).
Note #1: When completing the application, you will list the names and email addresses of two "recommenders." When you SUBMIT your application, your recommenders will be contacted by email and given instructions to upload their letter of recommendation to your e-application. It is recommended you contact your recommenders in advance to alert them of a future email from ASU and ask them to complete their letter of recommendation within 1-2 weeks of receiving the email.