PS In this Personal Statement you should discuss how your background and life experiences, including social, economic, cultural, familial, educational, or other opportunities or challenges motivated your decision to pursue a Ph.D. degree in political science. Fee Pay the $75 nonrefundable application fee (drawn on U.S. funds) using Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express or an electronic check. RL You will need to request that three letters of recommendation be submitted as part of your application file. These letters of recommendation for you should be written by people who know you personally and who are also very familiar with your academic work and your academic capabilities. You should personally contact these individuals and provide them with the following list of items that should be covered in each letter: ? The recommender should discuss his or her relationship to you. Normally the recommender is (or was) an instructor for an academic class that you are currently taking (or that you took previously). In general, letters of recommendation from academic instructors or research advisors are much more useful in the admissions process than are letters from non-academic employers. ? The recommender should discuss what he or she sees as the special strengths that you would have as a student in a doctoral program in political science. ? The recommender should discuss what he or she sees as any weaknesses that you might have as a student in a doctoral program in political science. ? The recommender should compare you to other students he or she has previously taught. Especially useful would be how the recommender would compare you to other students he or she has taught who have attended graduate school. ? The recommender should provide an assessment of your prospects for completion of a doctoral degree in political science and for achieving success in your chosen subfield of political science. ? Finally, the recommender should feel free to provide any other observations that would enable the reader of the letter to gain a deeper understanding of you and your capabilities for graduate study in political science. Transcript You should ask the Registrar of each college or university you have attended to send one official copy of your transcript only to the following address: Ms. Karen Battin Graduate Programs Assistant Department of Political Science Michigan State University 368 Farm Lane, 303 South Kedzie Hall East Lansing, MI 48824 Transcripts for coursework completed at Michigan State University do not need to be requested. *** DO NOT HAVE YOUR TRANSCRIPT OR TRANSCRIPTS SENT TO THE “OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS” AT MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY. Your application will only be complete if your transcript or transcripts are sent directly to the departmental address listed above. If your transcript is not received at the departmental address listed above, your application will not be reviewed. If your transcript is sent only to the “Office of Admissions” at Michigan State University, your application will not be reviewed. *** Transcripts uploaded to the Grad Portal by the applicant ARE NOT OFFICIAL. Transcripts that are uploaded to the Grad Portal will be deleted and your application will not be reviewed until the official transcripts are received at the address listed above. *** International Applicants: International applicants must have a transcript and a copy of their diploma, in both their native language and in English, sent by the institutions they attended to the departmental address listed above. *** Graduate Applicants from China: When an applicant who studied in a Chinese university is admitted to MSU, the MSU Graduate School will send an email to the applicant. This email will indicate that the student must arrange for verification of three essential documents by an organization known as the China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center (the “CDGDC”). This verification by the CDGDC must be received by the MSU Graduate School no later than October 15th in the student’s first semester of enrollment at MSU. The three documents that must be received from the CDGDC are: a. Bachelor’s Degree Verification Sheet (issued by the CDGDC in English, verifying that the student obtained his or her degree). b. Institutional recognition and undergraduate program completion information (e.g., 2008 – 2012) in English. c. A copy of final bachelor’s degree transcript in Chinese/English or English. If the MSU Graduate School does not receive these three verified documents from the CDGDC by October 15th of the student’s first semester, the student’s enrollment at MSU may be terminated.