Resources for Prospective Students

The application for Fall 2025-Spring 2026 academic year will open September 5, 2024 and is due December 15, 2024. Applicants are required to submit all application materials through the Graduate School’s online application. You can review the Graduate School’s website Application Process at a Glance for an overview of the application process.

Current UW-Madison graduate students must apply here, and should also contact Graduate Program Coordinator Erin Moskowitz (erin.moskowitz@wisc.edu) for additional details on the application process. 

Our admissions process considers applicants’ academic preparation, research experience, motivation, pursuit of excellence, resilience and perseverance, and contributions to diversity. We view applicants as being more than the sum of their parts. As such, our admissions decisions rely on getting to know you as a scholar and person.

Application Fees Waivers

The Graduate School offers application fee grants to U.S. citizens, permanent resident applicants and students with DACA status who can document that they:

1. participated in selected pipeline programs designed to prepare students for graduate studies (for example, McNair Scholars and SROP participants at Big-1o institutions), or
2. grew up in a low-income family.

For more information and to apply for the Graduate School’s application fee grant, click here. Our Department also provides application fee grants for participants in APSA’s Ralph Bunche Summer Institute and Diversity Student Recruitment Program. If you have participated in either of these programs, please contact Erin Moskowitz to request an application fee grant (erin.moskowitz@wisc.edu).

Admissions Requirements

The Graduate School sets the minimum admission requirements for all applicants. All elements of the application are reviewed holistically, but it may be useful to know that students admitted to our program in 2022 had the following average scores:

• GPA of 3.84
• TOEFL exam (if required) iBT score of 110. Applicants required to submit a TOEFL score will be admitted only if they have a TOEFL score of 100 or more.

Application Materials Checklist

• Statement of Purpose for Graduate Study (no more than 2 pages in length). The statement of purpose is a very important part of your application; it allows you to inform and convince the admissions committee that your intellectual interests and goals align well with our program and faculty and that you are ready to take on the challenges of a PhD program. Questions to answer in your statement include: Why do you want to get a PhD in political science? What research question(s) do you hope to pursue while here? Why is Wisconsin a good fit for you, and why are you a good fit for the program? What faculty do you hope to work with, and why? You may also use the statement to indicate what else you would like us to know about you to better evaluate your application. Click here for more guidelines for the statement of purpose.
• Curriculum vitae (c.v.) or resume
• Three letters of recommendation, submitted electronically. The references identified in your online application will be sent a recommendation request by email. This email will include your name and a link to the electronic recommendation form. Contact your references in advance so that they can expect your request for recommendation. The request can be sent at any time providing you meet the December 15th deadline. You are able to change references or send a reminder through your application.
• Writing sample with an abstract (a research paper or thesis chapter that demonstrates your research, writing, and analytical skills. The document should also include a research abstract of no more than 600 words that indicates the central question, arguments, data sources, methods, and conclusions of the research paper or thesis chapter being submitted)
• Copies of transcripts or academic records from each institution attended. *For international applicants: your school should provide an official translation of your documents, or you must have a translation done by your school or an official translator. Do not submit an evaluation from a credential evaluation service, such as WES, in lieu of a translation.
• Supplemental Application. As a part of the online application, you will also complete a “supplemental application” section specific to our program. This section of the application will ask you questions with regards to items such as your research interests, level of language proficiency (for those students interested in studying Comparative Politics), methodological coursework you’ve taken, thesis and research experience, and which faculty at Wisconsin you are most interested in working with. On the supplemental application we also ask the following question: what lessons have you learned from your background and life experiences – including cultural, geographical, financial, educational, or other opportunities or challenges? What skills or abilities have you acquired from those lessons? Your answer to this question is a chance for our admissions committee to get to know you better.

• TOEFL scores (if required; applicants required to submit a TOEFL score will be admitted only if they have a TOEFL score of 100 or more). Please note: our program only accepts TOEFL scores.

GRE scores are not required and will not be considered if submitted.

All materials must be submitted electronically through the Graduate School application. If you have questions about the application process or application fee waivers, please contact our Graduate Program Manager, Erin Moskowitz at erin.moskowitz@wisc.edu.

When is the application deadline?

The application for the Fall 2025-Spring 2026 academic year will open September 5, 2024 and is due December 15, 2024.

Can the application fee be waived?

The Graduate School offers application fee grants to U.S. citizens, permanent resident applicants and students with DACA status who can document that they:

1. participated in selected pipeline programs designed to prepare students for graduate studies (for example, McNair Scholars and SROP participants at Big-1o institutions), or
2. grew up in a low-income family.

For more information and to apply for the Graduate School’s application fee grant, click here. Our Department also provides application fee grants for participants in APSA’s Ralph Bunche Summer Institute and Diversity Student Recruitment Program. If you have participated in either of these programs, please contact Erin Moskowitz to request an application fee grant (erin.moskowitz@wisc.edu).

Are GRE scores required?

GRE scores are not required and will not be considered if submitted.

Is a resume or C.V. required?

Yes. Our supplemental application requires a resume or a curriculum vitae (C.V.).

How do I submit letters of recommendation?

All letters of recommendation are submitted electronically through the admission application.

Can I request recommendations before I submit my application?

You may send the request to your recommenders at any time during the application process. The recommendation section of the application remains accessible after you submit your application.

My recommender has not responded. Can I send them another request?

Yes. To send another request to your recommender, you should go back into the recommendation section of your application and click the “Send Reminder” button. An email should be sent within 24 hours. You should contact your recommender to let them know to watch for the new message to arrive.

I am a current UW-Madison graduate student – how do I apply?

Current UW-Madison graduate students must apply here, and should also contact Graduate Program Coordinator Erin Moskowitz (erin.moskowitz@wisc.edu) for additional details on the application process.

How long should the statement of purpose be?

The statement of purpose should be no longer than two pages, single-spaced.

What should go into my statement of purpose?

The statement of purpose is a very important part of your application; it allows you to inform and convince the admissions committee that your intellectual interests and goals align well with our program and faculty and that you are ready to take on the challenges of a PhD program. Questions to answer in your statement include: Why do you want to get a PhD in political science? What research question(s) do you hope to pursue while here? Why is Wisconsin a good fit for you, and why are you a good fit for the program? What faculty do you hope to work with, and why? You may also use the statement to indicate what else you would like us to know about you to better evaluate your application. Click here for more guidelines for the statement of purpose.

Can I submit more than three letters of recommendation?

Yes, you can submit more than three letters of recommendation.

Am I required to take the TOEFL exam?

Every applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English, must provide a TOEFL score. Please note: our program only accepts TOEFL scores. TOEFL scores must be submitted electronically via ETS. Your score will not be accepted if it is more than two years old from the start of your admission term. Country of citizenship does not exempt applicants from this requirement. Language of instruction at the college or university level and how recent the language instruction was taken are the determining factors in meeting this requirement.

Applicants are exempt if:

• English is the exclusive language of instruction at the undergraduate institution; or
• you have earned a degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university not more than 5 years prior to the anticipated semester of enrollment; or
• you have completed at least two full-time semesters of graded course work, exclusive of ESL courses, in a U.S. college or university, or at an institution outside the U.S. where English is the exclusive language of instruction. Completion of graded course work cannot be more than five years prior to the anticipated semester of enrollment.

Can I submit IELTS or MELAB results instead TOEFL?

No, our program only accepts TOEFL scores.

How do I apply for funding?

We consider all applicants for funding, and you do not need to submit any additional materials to be considered for funding. We guarantee five years of funding for every admitted student. This support may come as a combination fellowships, teaching assistantships (TA), project assistantships (PA), or lectureship for one of our undergraduate courses. Our funding package includes a stipend, tuition, and excellent healthcare coverage.

What should I know about the writing sample requirement?

The writing sample should be a research paper or thesis chapter that demonstrates your research, writing, and analytical skills. The document should also include a research abstract of no more than 600 words that indicates the central question, arguments, data sources, methods, and conclusions of the research paper or thesis chapter being submitted.

What should I know about the supplemental application?

As a part of the online application, you will also complete a “supplemental application” section specific to our program. This section of the application will ask you questions with regards to items such as your research interests, level of language proficiency (for those students interested in studying Comparative Politics), methodological coursework you’ve taken, thesis and research experience, and which faculty at Wisconsin you are most interested in working with. On the supplemental application we also ask the following question: what lessons have you learned from your background and life experiences – including cultural, geographical, financial, educational, or other opportunities or challenges? What skills or abilities have you acquired from those lessons? Your answer to this question is a chance for our admissions committee to get to know you better.

Can I submit a coauthored paper as my writing sample?

Yes. If you submit coauthored work as your writing sample, include a description at the start of the writing sample summarizing your precise contribution to the piece.

How do I check the status of my application?

The submission of your application is a 2-step process. First, you get your submission confirmation. Within a few days you will receive an email with directions to activate your NetID through MyUW. It is very important that you set up your MyUW account to check your application status. If you have further questions, please contact admissions@grad.wisc.edu.

Can I transfer credits that I’ve taken in another graduate program?

The Graduate School’s minimum credit requirement can be satisfied only with courses taken as a graduate student at UW-Madison. Courses from a master’s degree from another institution may, at the discretion of the associate chair, be used to satisfy the department’s minor requirement.

I already have a Master’s degree. Do I have to complete another one?

Yes. You will earn an additional master’s degree as you pursue your Ph.D.

Is there a separate program for those who want to just earn a master’s degree?

No, we only admit to the doctoral program.

Do you admit for spring or summer terms?

No, we only admit for fall terms.

Do I need an undergraduate degree in political science to be considered for admissions?

No. While a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution is one of the requirements to apply to our graduate program, we regularly admit students who have completed an undergraduate degree in other disciplines.

How long does it take to earn a Ph.D.?

For detailed program data, click here.

For more FAQs, click here.

The Political Science Department and Law School at the University of Wisconsin-Madison invite students to enroll in a Dual-Degree Program (“the Program”) whereby students can earn both a Ph.D. and a J.D. with a course of student and writing requiring approximately seven years to complete.

The Program involves meeting the individual requirements for each of the two degrees, but also allows work taken in Political Science to count toward the J.D. program and the J.D. program to fulfill some requirements of the Ph.D. program.

For detailed information on the dual JD/PhD program, please see our most recent Graduate Guide.

Department of Political Science Ph.D. students are encouraged to participate in our weekly workshops and colloquia. The workshops and colloquia offered in the Department are the American Politics Workshop, Comparative Politics Colloquium, International Relations Colloquium, Political Economy Colloquium, MEAD – Models, Experiments, and Data Workshop, Political Theory Workshop, and the Diversity, Equity, Justice and Power (DEJP) Lecture Series.

Workshops are one of the most important intellectual spaces in the department, providing an opportunity to become exposed to cutting-edge research and a chance to meet with scholars from other universities. In addition to featuring faculty papers and outside speakers, the workshops are an integral part of graduate training, serving as a place for students to present papers, as well as dissertation prospectuses, grant proposals, dissertation chapters, and practice job talks.

The department also hosts the Political Science Graduate Workshop (PSGW), which focuses on personal and professional development for graduate students in the department. The PSGW’s mission is to “foster communication and information-sharing among the grad students and faculty members of the political science department and to promote professional development opportunities for the grad students.” The topics covered in PSGW range from topics in graduate life (health and balance, financial life) to discipline professional development (publishing, communications). This workshop convenes several times per semester each academic year.

The following are a few examples of recent presentations by speakers at our workshops:

• Ariel White (MIT), “Throwing Away the Umbrella: Minority Voting after the Supreme Court’s Shelby Decision”
• Barry Burden and Jess Esplin (UW-Madison), “People Versus Places: The Unrepresentative Nature of Local Election Administration”
• Paru Shah (UW-Milwaukee), “Follow the Science: Evaluating Local Political Communication about COVID-19”
• Ada Johnson-Kanu (Kentucky), “Colonial Legacies in State building: Bureaucratic representation, policy implementation, and accountability in Nigeria”
• Gladys Mitchell-Walthour (North Carolina Central University), “Revisiting the Lulismo and Petismo Debate:  Afro-Brazilian Women Auxilio Brasil Beneficiaries and Voting in the 2022 Presidential Election”
• Andrew Kydd (UW-Madison), “You Can’t Get There from Here: On the Gap between Realist Theory and ‘Realist’ Foreign Policy”
• Risa Brooks (Marquette University), “To Support and Defend: Assessing Democratic Norm Socialization in West Point Cadets”
• Cyrus Samii (NYU), “Can Communities Take Charge? A Randomized Controlled Trial on Sustaining Schools in Afghanistan”
• Gary King (Government, Harvard), Title: “Statistically Valid Inferences from Privacy Protected Data”
• Diana Kim (School of Foreign Service, Georgetown), “Untouchability in the 21st Century”
• Laia Balcells Ventura (Government, Georgetown), “Past conflict, media, and polarization in Spain”
• Emma Rodman (Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell), “On Political Theory and Large Language Models”

Intellectual Life Across Campus & Our Campus Partners:

• African Studies Program 
• LACIS
• CREECA
• European Studies Center 
• Southeast Asian Studies Center 
• East Asia Studies Center 
• Nelson Institute 
• LaFollette School
• Global Legal Studies Center 
• Gender and Women’s Studies 
• Science and Technology Center 
• Land Tenure Center 

We guarantee five years of funding for every admitted student. This support may come as a combination fellowships, teaching assistantships (TA), project assistantships (PA), or lectureship for one of our undergraduate courses. Our funding package includes a stipend, tuition, and excellent healthcare coverage.

Teaching assistant (TA) duties vary from course to course, but they generally involve attending lectures, leading discussion sections, meeting with students outside of class, and grading class assignments and examinations. Project assistant (PA) positions give you a chance to work closely with a faculty member on his or her research. Your duties would depend on the nature of the specific research project, but we try to match incoming students with faculty working in their areas of interest.

All appointments include two valuable benefits. First, you qualify for complete remission of the cost of tuition. Second, you receive a fringe benefit package that includes single or family health care coverage at little cost.

Students are also eligible for a number of internal awards in the Department and at the University. These include awards through the Department’s Summer Initiative, which supports research and training during the summer; the Graduate School, which supports research and conference travel; a number of area and thematic research centers on campus; the Election Research Center, which supports research on elections; and a variety of other sources.

Department of Political Science Ph.D. students are encouraged to participate in our weekly workshops and colloquia. The workshops and colloquia offered in the department are the American Politics Workshop, Comparative Politics Colloquium, International Relations Colloquium, Political Economy Colloquium, MEAD – Models and Data Workshop, and the Political Theory Workshop.

Workshops are one of the most important intellectual spaces in the Department, providing an opportunity to become exposed to cutting-edge research and a chance to meet with scholars from other universities. In addition to featuring faculty papers and outside speakers, the workshops are an integral part of graduate training, serving as a place for students to present papers, as well as dissertation prospectuses, grant proposals, dissertation chapters, and practice job talks.

The Department also hosts the Political Science Graduate Workshop (PSGW), which focuses on personal and professional development for graduate students in the Department. The PSGW’s mission is to “foster communication and information-sharing among the grad students and faculty members of the political science department and to promote professional development opportunities for the grad students.” The topics covered in PSGW range from topics in graduate life (health and balance, financial life) to discipline professional development (publishing, communications). This workshop convenes several times per semester each academic year.

The Department also actively supports our students throughout their job search. The Director of Graduate Studies and the major advisors review all job market materials such as CVs, writing samples, and diversity and teaching statements.  In addition, the department arranges special informational sessions, “mock” interviews, and practice job talks to prepare students for the kinds of questions they will face from potential employers. This support complements other departmental activities designed to professionalize graduate students, including brown bag discussions about attending professional conferences, publishing opportunities, and seeking grant funding.

As part of our commitment to your success as a scholar, the Department provides a number of complementary mentoring structures to support you in your first year and beyond.

Faculty advisors

All first year students are matched with a faculty member who serves as their first year advisor. This is your first point of contact for questions regarding courses, requirements, and anything else that comes up during your first year. Although your first year advisor is likely to be someone whose interests align with yours, you may switch your advisor at any time.

Peer mentorship program

During your first year you will also be matched with a more advanced graduate student who will serve as your peer mentor. For information about the qualities of a good mentor see here.

Semi-annual meeting requirement

What you need from an advisor will change at different stages of the program. To ensure that you are getting the advising you need, mentors and mentees are required to meet at least once each semester (virtually or in person). For a list of recommended topics to be discussed, please see the Advisor-Advisee Meeting Guidelines.

Graduate Program Coordinator

The graduate program coordinator is your source for all administrative questions. If your question begins “How do I…?”, start with the Graduate Program Coordinator.

Director of Graduate Studies

The Director of Graduate Studies oversees the graduate program from admissions to placement.

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for the department of political science at UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The Political Science Department fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background — people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world. We commit ourselves to maintain a welcoming and inclusive environment in our learning spaces and workspaces.

As part of that commitment, we encourage members of historically under-represented groups, including women, racial and ethnic minorities, and first-generation college students to apply. Fellowships are available to assist historically under-represented applicants, as well as those from any background that might have made educational achievement more difficult. The Graduate School offers admissions fee grants for low-income students and those who participate in selected pipeline programs designed to prepare students for graduate studies (e.g., McNair Scholars and SROP participants). As part of its commitment to the diversity of the graduate program, the Political Science Department also provides admission fee grants for participants in APSA’s Ralph Bunche Summer Institute and Diversity Student Recruitment Program.

Our Department is an active member of APSA’s Diversity Student Recruitment Program. To enhance the diversity and inclusiveness of its graduate program (and of the discipline as a whole), the Department hosts an annual Diversity Recruitment Conference for undergraduates from underrepresented backgrounds with the interest and ability to pursue graduate study in political science. Unfortunately, last year’s conference was cancelled due to the pandemic. We hope to resume our outreach and recruitment efforts as soon as we can.

We strive to create a climate where every student can feel supported and thrive regardless of their background. There are a number of initiatives on campus that help foster this environment at UW, including the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Funding and First Generation Student Success network. These programs are part of the way we show that we value diversity together with colleagues across the University.

Built on an isthmus between lakes Monona and Mendota, Madison is renowned for its beautiful scenery. Urban culture, natural beauty, small-town charm – the greater Madison area offers it all. There’s also plenty to explore beyond the boundaries of the city, whether you get to know a favorite spot in one of Madison’s neighboring communities, or find a new hiking destination elsewhere in the state.

The Capital

Madison is not only home to the University of Wisconsin, it is also the state capital. There are many active organizations involved in local government in and around the City of Madison. It’s easy to get involved, whether you’re interested in attending proceedings of the state legislature, county board, or city council – all of which are open to the public – or want to be active in your local neighborhood association.

Arts

The Overture Center is the crown jewel of the Madison arts community and easily accessible on State Street. A wide variety of events, ranging from concerts to Broadway shows, are presented by local arts groups and traveling performers. The Wisconsin Union Theater on campus is a multipurpose performing arts facility offering a varied, quality program of dance, music, theater, film, and cultural events. The city also boasts the Madison Museum of Modern Art and the Chazen Museum of Art, both of which are free to students.

Outdoor activities

In Madison, people appreciate the weather and take advantage of it. In general, Madisonians are very active, participating in winter sports like skiing, ice skating, and snowshoeing. Once the weather gets warmer, outdoor activities abound. From sailing on the lakes (or sitting lakeside at the Memorial Union Terrace), to biking through the Arboretum, to participating in the numerous local festivals each year, people are out enjoying the spring and summer. The Wisconsin Hoofers club is one of the oldest and largest outdoor recreational organizations in the country. Founded in 1931 as an outing club, Hoofers has grown from a single club to having over 3,000 members in its six separate clubs: Mountaineering, Outing, Riding, Sailing, Scuba, and Ski & Snowboard.

There are always fun things to do and events to attend on and around campus. A few great ideas:

• See the University’s collection of artwork at the Chazen Museum of Art.
• Tour our beautiful State Capitol.
• Discover the Arboretum, one of the campus’s most celebrated features. Take in the scenery on the rooftop of Monona Terrace.
• Visit beautiful Allen Centennial Gardens.
• Walk the Lakeshore Path to Picnic Point.
• Visit a state park. Wisconsin is a beautiful state and maintains a state park system with modern facilities for camping and hiking. There are four great parks within easy driving distance of Madison: Lake Kegonsa State Park, Devil’s Lake State Park, Governor Nelson State Park, and Blue Mounds State Park.
• Catch a (free) movie on campus. The university is also home to a number of groups that bring films to campus. Most active and diverse is the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Film Committee which presents four to five different series each week, from recent releases to international cinema.
• Catch a Madison Mallards game
• Attend the Taste of Madison, where local restaurants showcase tastes of their fare in this Labor Day weekend event on Capitol Square.

Adapted from Graduate Student Life: A guide to the graduate experience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. You can check out more fun things to do in Madison here, and check out great examples of events around town here. 

Madison, Wisconsin Rankings & Accolades

 #3 Best State Capitals to Live In
wallethub.com February 2020

#3 Top 100 Best Places to Live
Livability.com February 2019

One of the Best Small Cities in America
National Geographic, January 2018

#1 Nicest Cities in America
Cheatsheet.com, June 2018

Biking and Walkability

#1 Surprisingly Bike-Friendly Cities
Liveability.com, August 2018

#2 Most Walkable Cities
Expedia.com, May 2018

Families

#1 Best Places in the U.S. for Raising Children
diversitydatakids.com, January 2020

Food & Drink

#2 Best Cities for Farmers’ Markets
Better Homes & Gardens, June 2019

#1/#2 Best Cheese Curds in Wisconsin
10best.com, June 2019

Each spring we welcome admitted students to Madison for our Prospective Student Visit Days. During these two days we will have a number of sessions to introduce students to our program in greater detail and opportunities to interact with our faculty and current graduate students. We also schedule one-on-one meetings between admitted students and faculty in their areas of interest. The visit is a terrific opportunity to talk with faculty, meet future classmates, and learn more about our program and Madison.