How to Apply?

General Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with minimum of 3.0 GPA
• GRE Recommended
• TOEFL/ IELTS  (For all non-U.S. citizens or non-U.S. permanent residents). Learn more about testing requirements.

Accelerated B.A.-M.A.

Qualified Virginia Tech undergraduates may begin earning graduate credit while completing the undergraduate majors in Political Science. Students must apply and be accepted into the BA-MA program before the beginning of the semester in which graduate courses are taken. Graduate credit will not be granted retroactively.

Students enrolled in the accelerated BA-MA may double count up to 12 credits.

Learn More about accelerated B.A.-M.A.

Transcripts

Scanned copy of your college transcripts with your online application, then arrange for an official copy to be sent to us after you receive an offer of admission.

Letters of Recommendation

Three letters of recommendation are required for Political Science (M.A.). You can include the email addresses of your references/recommedations in your online application, or have them send paper copies directly to the department.

Graduate School Testing Requirements

Official GRE is recommended for M.A. in Political Science by the Department of Political Science but not required. An official report of scores on the quantitative, verbal and analytical writing portions of the GRE. Please have the testing agency send official scores to Virginia Tech Graduate School, code 5859.  

Letter of Interest and Curriculum Vitae

A letter of interest (250-500 words) is required by the Department of Political Science along with your latest Curriculum Vitae.

Please address the following questions in the letter of interest:

• Why do you want to undertake graduate work in Political Science at Virginia Tech?
• Why do you qualify to pursue a graduate degree at Virginia Tech?
• If you have a concentration or area of interest in mind, briefly outline your interests in this area.
• What graduate faculty members are you interested in studying with and why? (A list of graduate faculty is available in the "Faculty" area of our department's website).
• What do you expect to contribute as a student and subsequently as a member of the profession?

Evidence of English Proficiency 

The Graduate School requires that all non-U.S. citizens or non-U.S. permanent residents demonstrate English proficiency to ensure they enter the university with sufficient English skills necessary to function in a graduate program. A TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) test score is the most common way international applicants demonstrate English proficiency. We require a minimum TOEFL score of 100 (IBT) or IELTS score of 6.5 for admission. Test scores should be sent to us using ETS institution code 5859. See this page if you qualify for a English language proficiency test waiver. 

Applying as an International Student

• Blacksburg Campus: Prospective residential on-campus international students might be required to submit immigration documents, and other additional materials with their application. 
• Online (Virtual) Campus:  Prospective online campus international students does not require any visa as our program is 100% online and can be completed through asynchronously conducted courses online. 

Additional Information/Supporting Material

Applicants are welcome to submit any additional information with application material that would be useful in evaluation of your application.

Application Fees

Degree-seeking students must include a $75 fee with their application, though check to see if you qualify for a waiver or reduced fee. All application fees are non-refundable.

Application Fee Waivers

Veterans and other applicants are eligible for waivers of the application fee. This form includes the eligibility requirements.

To apply to the graduate program, students must submit the Virginia Tech Graduate School online application. 

Include a scanned copy of your college transcripts with your online application, then arrange for an official copy to be sent to us after you receive an offer of admission.

The official transcripts showing degree conferral should be sent directly from your institution(s) to Graduate Admissions:
_{Virginia Tech Graduate Admissions
120 Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown (Mail Code 0325)
155 Otey Street NW
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061}

 Send official scores to Virginia Tech Graduate School, code 5859.

The Department of Political Science has a limited number of graduate assistantships and fellowships available for students applying for full time study on the Blacksburg Campus. Entering students can apply for such funding as part of their admissions application. No separate application required.

Find out what loans are available as a graduate student and other opportunities.

The Graduate School sends an official offer of admission to applicants upon the recommendation of the department faculty. Admitted applicants who are offered graduate assistantships at Virginia Tech are not required to make a decision to commit to the assistantship offer until April 15. See the assistantships page for more details.

You may be eligible to apply for non degree programs as a commonwealth campus status, non-degree student status or visiting graduate students. Learn more about this program.

Apply for Graduate Courses in Political Science