Admissions Requirements

Must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Admission:

Office of Graduate Admission
University of San Diego
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110-2492
grads@sandiego.edu

Official transcripts from the universities where you earned your master's degree and bachelor's degree are required at the time of application. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) in all graduate coursework.

Applicants must either:

1. Hold a master’s degree in theology, a related field of leadership, social science or business (MBA) with at least three years of relevant work experience (preferred), or
2. Hold a bachelor’s degree and 10 years of work experience (considered)*

*Degrees may be in progress at the time of application, but must be conferred before enrollment.

Applicants who are still completing their master's degree may apply using the most recent transcripts. If admitted, a second set of official transcripts must be submitted once the degree is conferred.

If you earned a degree from an institution outside the United States, you are required to submit an official international transcript evaluation (also called a foreign credential evaluation) as part of your application. Please note that the evaluation must be a course-by-course. You must order your official course-by-course evaluation from one of the following evaluation services:

• World Education Services, Inc. (WES)
• Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE)
• International Education Research Foundation, Inc. (IERF)
• Josef Silny & Associates, Inc. (JSA)
• SpanTran: The Evaluation Company (SpanTran)
• Foreign Academic Credential Service (FACS)

Please be sure to carefully read the application checklist for international students found on USD's Graduate Admission website.

Include all relevant education and employment information to help the admissions team make an informed decision.

Please provide two letters of recommendation from professors and/or employers. We strongly recommend that at least one letter of recommendation come from someone who can speak to your academic preparation, written and oral communication skills and potential for success in a doctoral program. For applicants who have been away from academia for a period of time, a current or previous supervisor who can address these qualities is an acceptable alternative.

Please limit your response to no more than two pages. This essay is an opportunity for the admissions committee to understand your unique perspective, motivations, and writing style. We ask that you prepare and submit an original response written in your own voice without the use of generative AI.

• How your academic, professional and personal experiences make you a good fit for this program.
  Please describe your academic preparation in applied theology, leadership, or management.
• Describe an experience working with underserved, marginalized people or a community and what impact this experience had on your self-understanding.
• Relate a personal story about your professional life that offers insight into your leadership experience.
• In your own voice, describe a professional experience of yours in which the organization you worked for failed to live up to its mission, and describe your personal response, both within yourself and behavior within the organization. You do not have to identify the organization.

Please include a work sample that demonstrates your practical experience in organizational leadership or a related field. This work sample could consist of a project report, strategic plan, research paper, or any other relevant document that showcases your ability to analyze complex issues, develop innovative solutions/recommendations, and effectively express an ethical, religious, or values-based vision. It may be a document or in another media.

The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is not required for admission. Applicants who choose to submit GRE scores must provide results from tests taken within the past five years.

The University of San Diego’s GRE institution code is 4849.

• This number must be included on test registration forms in order to ensure official results are sent to the university.
• Standardized testing should be completed well in advance of the deadline, as it typically takes about two weeks for score reports to be delivered after a request is made.

For information on preparing for the GRE, visit USD's Test Prep or call (619) 260-4585.