Doctoral Program Admissions

​All applications and supplemental materials for any Biden School doctoral program must be submitted through the University of Delaware's online graduate application. 

Grad​uate Application​

The Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration has a long and proud tradition of caring deeply about the individual success of all included in the Biden School community—​especially our students!

Here are some important dates to keep in mind as you explore our graduate programs and work on your application:

PhD applications are only accepted for Fall terms.

• December 15 is the priority deadline for applications to the Ph.D. programs
• May 1 is the final deadline for the Ph.D. programs. ​​​

Fall Semester Admission

The priority deadline for full-time fall semester admission to all Biden School doctoral programs is December 15.

The majority of the available research and financial assistantships are awarded for the fall semester to those applicants who meet the priority deadline. Applications are accepted after the mid-January deadline and will be considered on a rolling basis until the final deadline of May​ 1, or until cohorts are full. ​

Applications must be complete to receive full consideration and review by the admissions committee. Please plan accordingly when seeking references, and scheduling English Proficiency tests (if necessary).

When applying to a Biden School doctoral program, the following documents must be submitted online through the graduate application system. Please do not attempt to mail any printed copies of materials, as this may cause delays and errors in the processing of your application.

• University of Delaware Graduate Admission Application.
• One copy of the unofficial transcript(s) for all colleges and universities previously attended that documents and shows all undergraduate and graduate-level work completed.
• A current resumé.
• Three letters of recommendation. We suggest that at least one be an academic recommendation. You are responsible for entering the recommenders' names and email addresses, and then the application system will automatically contact your recommenders for their letters to be uploaded online.
• Scholarly Writing Sample​. Please provide a scholarly writing sample, preferably a master's thesis or research paper. You do not need to write something new—​supplying a piece of writing from your master's program is preferred.
• Personal Statement. Please follow the submission instructions in the Graduate Admission Application.
• Biden School Supplementary Inform​ation Form: Word version or PDF version
• Nonrefundable university graduate application fee of $75.
• The Biden School accepts IELTS and ​TOEFL scores as indicated on the Graduate Admissions Test Score website: Grad Admissions Test Scores​

Please note that admissions criteria for the education and social policy program may differ. Please refer to the website pages for these programs for more information.​

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