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Applying for the PhD

The Fall 2024 UC Berkeley Graduate Application is closed and we are no longer accepting applications.  

PhD Application Deadline for Fall 2024 Admission: December 4, 2023 at 8:59 PDT.

• The application process is completely online . All application materials (including official GRE and TOEFL/IELTS scores) are due at by the application deadline of December 4, 2023 at 8:59 pm PDT.
• GRE: Required. To ensure you meet the December 4 application deadline, please take the GRE no later than early November.
• TOEFL/IELTS: Required for eligible applicants . To ensure you meet the application deadline, please take the TOEFL or IELTS no later than early November. 
• Students are admitted to the GSPP PhD Program for the fall term only, and on a full time basis. There are no rolling admissions, and there is no spring admission for the PhD Program.
• After submitting your application, you will receive an email from UC Berkeley's Graduate Admissions Office confirming your submission. You may log back into your application to monitor the status of materials received or processed, such as fee waivers, test scores, and letters of recommendation.
• The answers to many common questions about the PhD application process can be found in our FAQ section .
• For more information about the Goldman School, refer to our 2023-2024 GSPP Program Bulletin .

PhD Application Checklist of Required Items

Before starting the online application:

• Review the application checklist for required items and instructions below. These instructions are specific to Goldman School PhD applicants for Fall 2024.   Please do not submit additional or supplemental materials.
• Review the Frequently Asked Questions here
• Additional Questions: Contact PhD admissions at [email protected]

After submitting your application, you will receive an email from UC Berkeley's Graduate Admissions Office confirming your submission. You may log back into your application to monitor the status of materials received or processed, such as fee waivers, test scores, and letters of recommendation. Admissions decisions are typically sent in early-March via email. Please check your Spam/Junk/Events folders if you do not receive your decision by early-March.

Financial Support

Fellowships.

GSPP typically admits only two or three applicants each year, and offers support to admitted PhD students through a combination of department fellowships, university multi-year fellowships, and teaching and research assistantships. While funding packages vary by student, incoming PhD students are generally awarded five years of funding support consisting of fees and non-resident tuition, student health insurance and a living stipend. For admitted PhD students who secure funding from external sources outside of UC Berkeley, external funding also goes towards the five years of funding support.

All funding packages are contingent on students meeting minimum academic and residency requirements for the Goldman School and the University throughout the tenure of support. United States citizens and Permanent Residents are required to achieve California residency by the end of their first year in California to receive continued fee support.

Graduate Student Instructors

In addition, there are many opportunities for PhD students to work as graduate student instructors at GSPP and other social science departments. These appointments provide a partial fee remission (in most cases) and a monthly salary.

Research Opportunities

There are many opportunities on campus for GSPP PhD students to engage in research (in many cases, in a paid research position) both at the Goldman School and elsewhere on campus. For example, research opportunities typically exist in campus departments including Energy and Resources Group, Labor Center, Global Policy Lab, California Policy Lab, People Lab, and Opportunity Lab, to name a few. These appointments may also provide a fee remission (in most cases) and a monthly salary.

Questions About the Online Application? Contact:

GSPP PhD Admissions [email protected]

Graduate admissions

Graduate admissions information, number and percent of applications, admits, and new enrollees, along with admit and yield rates, displayed by various applicant demographics, discipline, campus, and university wide.

Doctoral includes academic doctoral degree programs (with a relatively small number of professional doctoral programs).

Academic Masters includes academic master's degree programs (e.g., master of arts and master of science). 

Data excludes professional practice and professional masters degree programs.

Admit rate indicates the proportion of applications that were admitted. 

Yield rate indicates the proportion of admits that were newly enrolled. 

Since students often apply to more than one campus and/or more than one degree program at a specific campus, these data represent the number of applications rather than the number of applicants.

URM indicate underrepresented minorities including American Indian, African American, and Hispanic ethnicities.

Other discipline includes doctoral degree programs in otherwise professional disciplines, such as: architecture, clinical health, communication, education, public administration, and interdisciplinary fields.