FAQs

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December 15, for each of our graduate programs.

No, SPIA has only one application deadline, which is December 15. Graduate programs begin each summer.

Only the STEP Ph.D. program is OPT eligible.

The Princeton University Graduate School provides fee waivers for applicants involved with designated organizations, active United States Military, or American citizens with financial hardships. International students with financial hardships are not eligible for application fee waivers.

Yes! SPIA will provide an application fee waiver for those who submit their Graduate Application for Admission by November 1, 2024.

The GRE is no longer required from applicants into the MPP and Ph.D. programs. However, it continues to serve as a requirement for the MPA program.

No. The GRE is the only exam accepted from MPA applicants.

No, SPIA does not provide GRE waivers for MPA applicants. It is a required component of the MPA Application.

No, there is no age limit for admission into SPIA’s Graduate Programs. Please note, you will need to articulate why now is the right time to begin graduate studies at Princeton as part of the application process.

For International Students: Are English-language proficiency exams required at SPIA if I earned my college degree in an English-speaking school?

All applicants whose undergraduate instruction is entirely in English as certified by the institution and for whom the degree will be awarded prior to anticipated enrollment at Princeton and applicants whose graduate study was on a full-time basis for at least one year where instruction is entirely in English as certified by the institution do not have to provide DET, TOEFL or IELTS scores.

No, SPIA cannot waive the DET/TOEFL/IELTS requirement for international applicants whose primary language is not English.

Yes, SPIA now accepts Duolingo DET scores as an alternative to the TOEFL/IELTS. The three internationally recognized tests of English language proficiency which are accepted by the Graduate School at Princeton University and SPIA are the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), and Duolingo English Test (DET). For more on this change, please see Required Tests | Graduate School (princeton.edu).

The Graduate School at Princeton University has no minimum score requirements for the TOEFL/IELTS/DET English language tests when submitting an application. The Grad School does have minimum scores for requiring an admitted student to be tested in ELP by the McGraw Center. All incoming graduate students who were notified at the time of admission that they require English language testing must have their oral English proficiency evaluated by the ELP staff at the start of the fall term. Such students will be given placement tests to evaluate their oral English proficiency by the ELP staff. The Graduate School has established that passing either the placement test or the Princeton Oral Proficiency Test (POPT) qualifies a graduate student to be appointed as an assistant in instruction (AI) and attests to the student’s basic proficiency in spoken English. Successful completion of the POPT test is required for all students who place into the ELP program. Students who do not pass the POPT following the first semester of ELP participation will be required to participate in the ELP program for an additional semester. You may review the Princeton University Graduate School policy here: English Language Proficiency | Graduate School (princeton.edu).