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.

From professors or individuals who can attest to your academic capabilities. We strongly recommend that at least one of the letters be from a professor who can address your academic abilities and potential and overall promise as a doctoral student.

Applicants should address each of the three questions, no more than four single-spaced pages:

1. Why you are interested in earning a doctoral degree in Catholic Social Thought in Practice and how does this degree align with your academic, professional and personal goals?
2. What are one or two research topics that you want to investigate as part of your doctoral program and how can the work of faculty support these research interests?
3. How have your academic, professional and personal experiences made you a good fit for this program?

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.