Non-Thesis One-year Master’s Degree Program (1 year)

Students pursuing the M.A. degree must complete a total of 30 credits. Six of these credits must be research credits (with a maximum of three credits per semester). Although a thesis is not required for the M.A. degree, the program offers students the opportunity to acquire  substantial research experience. The remaining 24 credits are comprised of graduate courses, including graduate-level professional development classes. Successful completion of the M.A. degree requires a 3.0 cumulative GPA); students receive credit only for courses in which they earn at least a B-. Specific coursework selection varies according to student interest and goals.

Graduate courses outside of Politics can be taken with approval from the Director of Graduate Studies. With permission, students may substitute one or two graduate courses from disciplines other than Politics (e.g., Public Policy, Economics, Sociology, Psychology, Education, etc.).

Students wishing to use their M.A. degree as a stepping-stone to a Ph.D. degree may want to transfer their M.A. degree course credits to a Ph.D. program. Students who apply and are admitted to UVA’s Ph.D. program in Politics may do this seamlessly. Other universities may apply different transfer credit rules to incoming Ph.D. students.

Students in the Politics Department’s M.A. program are self-funded and responsible for paying their own living expenses, tuition, and fees. Students are also responsible for providing their own health insurance coverage, either by purchasing a UVA student health plan or demonstrating that they have another plan with the same standard of coverage. Tuition and fees include access to university facilities, such as fitness centers and sporting events. Information about current costs for tuition, fees, and health insurance for in-state and out-of-state master’s level students is available on the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Tuition and Health Premiums webpage.

Applicants who are U.S. citizens may complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to determine whether they are eligible for federal aid in the form of work-study and loans. For more information, please visit Financial Aid Basics: Graduate Students.

Qualifications for Admission

Applications for admission to the UVA Politics M.A. program are reviewed by the Department’s Graduate Admissions Committee, which is composed of department faculty. Admission decisions are based on the review of the applicant’s undergraduate transcript, personal statement describing experiences and interests, letters of recommendation, and in some instances, TOEFL scores.

In addition to students who have completed a bachelor’s degree in politics or public policy, the Politics Department also accepts students with training in social science and social science adjacent disciplines, who may not have completed a program in political science, but who have completed rigorous coursework in an adjacent discipline.

How to Apply

Students are admitted to the MA program for the fall term of each year. We do not accept applications for part-time, online, or spring semester admission.

Applications are accepted from October 1 to March 1. Applications and all supporting documents must be submitted through the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences' (GSAS) online application portal. Technical questions related to the application system should be addressed to the Graduate Admissions Office, by email (gsasadmission@virginia.edu) or phone (434-243-0209). The deadline for MA applications is March 1.

Complete applications must include the following materials: 

• Statement of purpose
• Transcripts (unofficial transcripts may be submitted for the application; students who accept an offer of admission must then have official transcripts sent directly from their previous university directly to the Graduate Admissions Office)
• 2 confidential letters of recommendation (for current UVA undergraduates, at least one letter should be written by a faculty member in the UVA Politics Department); letter writers will upload their letters directly to the admissions portal.
• An application fee of $85 (the fee is automatically waived for current UVA undergraduates; external applicants who believe they qualify for a fee waiver should review the fee waiver policy below).

Additional Materials for International Applicants

• Unless they have completed a 4-year undergraduate degree in the U.S. or at an international program whose instruction is entirely in English, international students whose first language is not English must submit self-reported TOEFL/IELTS scores (if they accept an offer of admission, students must have the testing agency send official scores directly to the Graduate Office of Admissions).

Click here for the ONLINE APPLICATION.

Application Fee Waivers

If you are a US citizen or permanent resident seeking an application fee waiver, you should first submit a fee waiver application to UVA’s Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs - Diversity Programs. Applicants may qualify based on a variety of criteria:

• Participation in specified organizations and training programs
• Graduation from a Minority Serving Institution (MSI)
• Current or former membership in the United States Armed Forces
• Financial hardship 

Click here for detailed information on eligibility requirements and directions for submitting fee waiver applications. Additionally, applicants from select foreign countries may automatically have their fees waived. 

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences requires that students graduating with an MA:

• Complete a minimum of 30 hours of coursework;
• Be enrolled in a minimum of two semesters of full-time study; and 
• Achieve satisfactory standing in a final examination. 

Here is one possible example of a two-semester path to the Politics M.A. degree:

Semester 1 Coursework (15 Hours)

Semester 2 Coursework (15 Hours)

Students will be required to select a major subfield (American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Theory) and take at least three of their five substantive courses in that subfield. In the second semester, students will also take a field examination in the subfield they choose as their major field. Students may take up to two courses outside the Department of Politics with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.