PS Evaluating applicants for the PhD Program involves an assessment of the applicants’ skills and the program’s ability to serve their interests. Therefore, the key element of the application is the statement of purpose.The statement of purpose should be focused and succinct, no more than four pages long. Applicants should describe work and educational experiences that have influenced their interests, social concerns, and career goals. The statement should focus on how doctoral study will help them meet their goals and their connection to a substantive area of policy.The statement of purpose must be submitted electronically when you complete the application. Documents should be saved on your computer and uploaded in PDF format. This is preferable for the admissions committee. If you are unable to upload documents in PDF format, you may also use .doc, .docx, and .rtf. Other file types will be unreadable. Please do not email us or mail to us a copy of your uploaded documents. Doing so will delay the processing of your application. CV Applicants should submit a professional resume or curriculum vitae outlining all work and educational experiences, including any volunteer activities, detailing particularly those relevant to their proposed field of study; any academic and non-academic honors or prizes awarded; and publications and research projects with which the applicant has been associated.The resume or CV must be submitted electronically when you complete the application. Documents should be saved on your computer and uploaded in PDF format. This is preferable for the admissions committee. If you are unable to upload documents in PDF format, you may also use .doc, .docx, and .rtf. Other file types will be unreadable. Please do not email us or mail to us a copy of your uploaded documents. Doing so will delay the processing of your application. Fee The Application Fee is US $55.00. This fee is waived for applicants from developing nations and current or returned Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, City Year, and other service organization volunteers. RL Applicants to the doctoral program must submit three letters of recommendation representing their professional and academic lives. At least one reference should be from someone able to evaluate the applicant’s academic abilities, preferably from a former teacher. Recommendations should address the applicant’s abilities to be analytic, reflective, and to express ideas, orally and in writing. Transcript We must receive transcripts from every university, college, or graduate institution you have attended. Transcripts should show the name of each course and the grade received, as well as the year/term in which it was taken. We encourage you to submit scanned, electronic copies of your transcript with your online application to ensure the quickest review. Transcripts must be electronic copies of the official transcript issued by the institution and include one or more of the following features: the registrar signature, the registrar's seal, an institutional watermark, or be printed on official institutional paper. Please do not mail paper-based transcripts to us until you have been offered admission and you have accepted that offer, or we have specifically requested them.International applicants whose transcripts are not in English must have transcripts translated by a certified translation agency, and both the original and translated transcripts must accompany the application. Applicants may not translate their own transcripts.