Brown School › Admissions & Aid › Apply to MSP

Apply for the
Master of
Social Policy

Take the next step to join
the Brown School community

The Brown School welcomes students from a variety of academic backgrounds and considers each applicant holistically. Students entering the MSP program must hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent from an accredited college or university. Admissions and scholarship decisions are based primarily on a review of the following:

  • Your commitment to the mission of the Brown School and ability to introspectively articulate your reasons for pursuing a master’s degree in social policy.
  • Demonstrated interest and commitment to making an impact in the U.S. policy environment.
  • Your undergraduate GPA over the last 60 – 75 semester credit hours on transcripts provided at the time of application. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is preferred. NOTE: If applicable, an optional field in the Academic History section of the application provides the opportunity to describe any significant or extenuating circumstances that you would like to be considered in the review of your academic history.
  • Additional academic work you may have undertaken following completion of an undergraduate degree, if applicable.
  • Specialized training(s) relevant to the degree program you completed.
  • Your human service-related experience (paid, volunteer, research, and internship).
  • Your leadership experience and/or potential.
  • Your ability to think critically about issues related to the field of social policy.
  • Recommendations received from academic and professional references.
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Application Timeline

The Brown School admits one class each year for the fall semester. Applications are accepted on a modified rolling basis; however, applicants are strongly encouraged to apply early. Please see our Admissions Timeline for important dates and deadlines.

  • Early Review Deadline – December 1
  • Priority Review Deadline – March 1

Application Requirements

Please review the following instructions carefully prior to beginning your application. The Brown School promotes a self-managed application process; it is your responsibility to monitor the status of your application and ensure the timely submission of all required materials. Your submitted application will be considered fully complete and placed under review once all MSP application requirements are met.

Transcripts
Personal
Statement
Resume
or CV
Video
Interview
Letter
of Recommendation
$50 Application Fee
Scholarship Form
Standardized
Testing

Applicants are required to demonstrate successful completion of a bachelor’s degree (or degree in-progress*) from a regionally accredited college or university.

Unofficial electronic or scanned student-issued copies of transcripts must be provided with the application. Record your academic institution(s) and upload your unofficial transcript(s) in the Academic History section. You must report all institutions where 6 or more credit hours have been completed towards your primary undergraduate degree.

Unofficial transcripts must provide the institution name, applicant name, dates of attendance, grades received for each course taken in all terms attended, degree information, and transcript key or interpretation guide.

*In-Progress transcripts: If you have not yet completed your bachelor’s degree or equivalent at the time of application, please provide unofficial transcripts showing the work you have completed to date. Any offer of admission is contingent upon the successful completion of your degree.

Admitted students are required to provide a final official transcript from the institution that conferred their undergraduate degree. The Brown School reserves the right to revoke an offer of admission if discrepancies are found between your uploaded unofficial documents and official educational documents.

Foreign Transcripts: Applicants earning a degree outside of the U.S. or English-speaking Canada must provide a certified foreign credential evaluation. Applicants may provide a credential evaluation report from any NACES member organization. Brown School applicants are eligible to receive a discounted rate and expedited services with our preferred evaluation partner, SpanTran: TEC.

Additional information about the foreign credential evaluation requirement can be found on the International Applicant page.

Provide a personal statement that describes your interest in social policy and demonstrates your understanding of social policy concepts. Your essay should be two (2) pages single-spaced and should include the following:

  • Significant factors influencing your decision to pursue a Master of Social Policy degree.
  • Demonstrated interest and commitment to making an impact in the U.S. policy environment.
  • Relevant experiences involving social welfare policy and/or advocacy.
  • Career goals and impression of how this degree will amplify your professional work.
  • Specific reasons the Brown School is a good fit for your educational and professional goals.

Upload to the Application Materials section of the application.

Submit a comprehensive resume or curriculum vitae highlighting your experiences, skills, awards and accomplishments.

Upload to the Application Materials section of the application.

The Brown School requires applicants to complete a brief video interview. You will access the interview through a personalized link to our video interview platform, Kira Talent. The link will be available in your application checklist once you submit your application. Learn more about the interview process here.

Two (2) letters of recommendation from professional and/or academic colleagues are required. You will be asked to provide contact information in the application. Your recommenders will receive an email with instructions for completing the recommendation form and uploading a recommendation letter through our online system. Recommendations must be submitted through our online system. Please monitor the submission of your recommendations to ensure they are received by the stated application deadline.

The $50 non-refundable application fee must be paid by credit or debit card upon submission of the application. All major credit cards are accepted.

The application fee is automatically waived for applicants meeting any of the following criteria, as demonstrated in the application:

  • Current Washington University students
  • Active duty, reservists, or veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces
  • Member or alum of a national volunteer service corps organization (AmeriCorps, City Year, Peace Corps, TFA, etc.)
  • Participants in an academic pipeline to post-baccalaureate outreach program or scholars organization (Bonner Foundation, Coro Fellows, Fulbright, Gates Millennium Scholars, McNair Scholars, etc.)

The Brown School will consider MSP application fee waivers for financial hardship or other extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis upon request.

The Brown School offers a range of partial-tuition scholarships to assist students with funding their graduate degree.

Students wishing to be considered for scholarship must complete the Brown School Scholarship Consideration form found in the Application Materials section of the application.

The Brown School does not require a graduate entrance exam, such as the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), for admission to the MSP program.

International students are required to provide official English language proficiency test scores. Additional information about the language proficiency requirement can be found on the International Applicant page.