​Frequently Asked Questions

Submit Your Application  Review Application Process

Complete the online application for graduate admission, which consists of your resume, statement of purpose, and a space to list your recommenders. Your recommenders will receive an email to upload their letters electronically through a separate portal. All master's programs require two letters of recommendation; the PhD programs require three letters.

Note that any additional application materials such as official transcripts, evaluations, and official test score reports should be sent: 

• As an official electronic document to grads@sandiego.edu or; 
• By mail to:
  • University of San Diego
    Office of Graduate Admissions
    Manchester Hall 205
    5998 Alcalá Park
    San Diego, CA 92110

An application checklist can be found in our program pages and is listed under each programs' "Program Requirements".

Access our online list of upcoming application deadlines.

Some programs offer admission for the fall or summer semesters only, while others admit students for spring, summer and fall semesters. Access our online list of upcoming application deadlines for more information.

A $45 nonrefundable fee is required in order to submit the University of San Diego's graduate application.

Please contact the Office of Graduate Admission at (619) 260-4524 or grads@sandiego.edu for support with the online application system.

The best way for your recommenders to submit their letters is through the online application system. Depending on your program, you are asked to designate two or three recommenders. If they are not able to use the application portal and plan to instead submit their letters in hard copy or via email they are welcome to do so.

All items should be either mailed or emailed to the following address:
University of San Diego
Office of Graduate Admissions
Manchester Hall 205
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110
grads@sandiego.edu

You can track the status of your application online via the MySanDiego portal. Login instructions will be sent from the Office of Graduate Admission approximately one week after your online application is submitted. We encourage applicants to be proactive in ensuring that their applications are complete and all materials are received by the deadline.

Your application status can change daily. Please note that processing time for materials can be one week or more during busy periods, so even though your materials may have been received, they may not yet show as such because they have not been processed by Graduate Admissions staff. 

The University of San Diego Office of Graduate Admission is the central unit for the processing of all application materials for all USD graduate divisions, including SOLES (but excluding the School of Law). Staff prepare application materials for review, communicate admissions decisions via mail, accept enrollment confirmation deposits, and assist international students with obtaining student visas. Graduate Admissions staff also represent USD at some graduate school fairs and conduct application status checks.

The SOLES Office of Admissions and Outreach coordinates SOLES-specific recruitment events such as information sessions and open houses, and represents SOLES at graduate school fairs and off-campus events. Our office also maintains SOLES' web presence for prospective student information, manages communications to interested students and applicants, and creates SOLES marketing materials. SOLES Admissions staff provide SOLES-specific advising appointments and can connect prospective students with current students, alumni, faculty and relevant campus offices.

Prospective students may also communicate with USD's One Stop Student Center. This office's counselors provide advising and assistance in the areas of financial aid, student accounts and the Office of the Registrar.

The admissions timeline varies by program, but most programs notify students of their admissions decision within 4-6 weeks of the time their application becomes complete, meaning all materials have been received, and goes under review. Please note that for all programs, with the exception of the Master's Credential Cohort programs, an application will not be reviewed until the deadline has passed and all required materials have been received and processed.

After your application is submitted, the Office of Graduate Admissions must process all of your materials and prepare each application for review. Each program's faculty must then review all applications for admission and in some cases interview applicants. Once admissions decisions are rendered, this information is communicated to both the Office of Admissions and Outreach and the Office of Graduate Admissions, which will email and mail decision letters. At this point, The Office of Financial Aid will begin the process of creating financial aid awards for admitted students who have filed the FAFSA.

The status of your application can be tracked online via the MySanDiego portal. Login instructions will be sent by email from the Office of Graduate Admission approximately one week after your application is received. 

The strongest applicants can demonstrate an active passion for their chosen field of study through an academically rigorous background and a rich variety of experiences leading to their decision to pursue graduate education. Applications are carefully reviewed by first by SOLES Administration and Alumni and then faculty who craft an incoming class by choosing to offer admission to individuals who will benefit most from the programs the faculty have developed. All parts of the application will be considered in a holistic review process. All of our graduate-level programs require that applicants have completed a bachelor's degree, and our doctoral program requires a master's degree. Many of our programs do not require that applicants have professional experience, but many strongly recommend or require it for admission. Carefully review the program requirements tab for your program of interest to ensure that you are eligible to apply.

The only SOLES programs that requires the GRE for admission is the MA in Marital and Family Therapy. Students may submit GRE scores for other SOLES programs, but it is not required.

The Marital and Family Therapy program will accept the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or the GRE. The program has no preference as to which test is submitted.

Applicants should take the GRE at least one month in advance of the deadline in order to allow time for the official score report to be sent by ETS and received and processed by the USD. Score reports arriving after the deadline has passed will result in an incomplete application, which will not be reviewed.

The Marital and Family Therapy Program will accept the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) in lieu of the GRE. However, no other exams may be substituted for the GRE for any of our SOLES programs. The PhD in Leadership Studies does not accept the Miller Analogies Test (MAT).

You must have taken the GRE less than five years from the test date in order for your scores to be valid.

No, score reports must be official in order to be considered valid.

If admitted to the one-year, summer start program be prepared to submit a copy of your official pdf score report for both CSET and CBEST by July 9, 2018 in order to begin summer classes. Candidates who do not meet the testing requirement, will need to defer their admission to the fall semester.

If admitted to the two-year, fall start program be prepared to submit a copy of your official score report for both the CSET and CBEST by last day of your fall semester classes, December 14, 2018 in order to enroll in the following semester.

Applicants to our teaching credential programs are strongly encouraged to obtain their certificate of clearance from the County Office of Education prior to beginning their program, but it is not required for admission.

We encourage you to request official transcripts at least several weeks in advance of the deadline to ensure that your request is processed by your university in time for us to receive the reports.

Students with transcripts from foreign universities should allow more time because those transcripts will need to be evaluated by an approved outside evaluation agency such as WES. This process generally takes a minimum of seven days from the time the official transcripts are received by the agency, though rush evaluations may be available.

Yes. We need to receive official transcripts from any institution at which you completed undergraduate or graduate level coursework, including community colleges, even if you did not complete a degree there. If those credits transferred into the degree granting school we need the officials.

No, as long as the study abroad experience was completed as part of your degree program.

Yes, we still need official transcripts from both institutions.

Please have official transcripts mailed to:

University of San Diego
Office of Graduate Admissions
Manchester Hall 205
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110

If your institution is able to send official electronic transcripts, please have them emailed to grads@sandiego.edu.

SOLES offers a variety of graduate programs in our three departments: Leadership Studies, Learning and Teaching, and Counseling & Marital and Family Therapy. To learn about all the graduate programs we offer, visit our program pages.

SOLES offers an online PhD in Leadership Studies with a specialization in Leadership for International School Leaders. Coursework will begin at our adjunct/satellite campus in Madrid, Spain and will blend into an online format.

The following Master's of Education (MEd) programs are offered through a partnership between SOLES and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. If you are interested in pursuing online coursework through USD, please contact the Division of Professional and Continuing Education at (619) 260-4585.

• Inclusive Learning: Special Education and Universal Design Specialization
• STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) Specialization
• Curriculum and Instruction Specialization
• Literacy and Digital Learning Specialization
• School Leadership Specialization

SOLES does not offer any other online or hybrid degrees.

USD offers Open Campus through the Division of Professional And Continuing Education. Open Campus allows non-degree seeking students to take graduate level coursework at USD so long as the seeker already possesses a bachelor's level degree. Application instructions and additional information on taking courses as a non-degree seeking student can be found on the Open Campus webpage.

Please note that as non-degree seeking students, you are not eligible for university financial aid and must pay full graduate tuition on a per-unit basis. Availability of courses is on a space available basis after all degree-seeking students have registered. Permission must be granted by the department and course instructor. Permission to take courses through Open Campus does not imply admission to the university, though if the student later applies and is offered admission to one of SOLES' graduate programs, up to 6 units taken through Open Campus may be applied toward their program. International students are not eligible to apply for special student status.

The majority of our programs hold classes in the late afternoons and evenings on campus at the University of San Diego. Most classes meet for 2 hours and 50 minutes once per week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays. Occasionally classes will be available on the weekend. The exception is our Marital and Family Therapy Program, which holds most classes during daytime hours.

Please keep in mind that many programs have required field-based components, such as student teaching or practicum, which often take place during daytime hours.

Many of our students are working professionals who complete their SOLES graduate programs while pursuing a career. Programs in the Department of Leadership Studies and most master's degrees (without teaching credentials included) in the Department of Learning and Teaching are structured to allow students to attend class after their workday has ended or on weekend days.

Coursework in our counseling and teaching credential programs often takes place in the late afternoons or evenings, so some students work full-time until their field-based experiences begin (since these experiences typically take place during the day). Our marital and family therapy students do not typically work full-time while pursuing their degree since coursework takes place during the daytime hours.

It is not possible to work full-time while completing the Master's Credential Cohort Program.

Most of our master's degrees and credentials are completed in about 2 years, but some can be completed more quickly or require more time. Our program pages include the estimated length of time to complete each program.

The length of time needed to complete the program will depend in part on whether the student is attending full-time or part-time. The majority of our programs offer a part-time option, in which students choose to take fewer classes each semester. Though they will complete the program at a slower pace, they will be in the same classes as full-time students and receive the same advising. The typical courseload for a Fall or Spring semester is:

Many students also take condensed courses during the shorter summer and Intersession (January) semesters.

Yes. The University of San Diego, of which SOLES is one division, is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). SOLES programs are accredited by a variety of accreditors including the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE), the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).

California Licensure Exam Pass Rates

Per California Assembly Bill (AB) 2086, the following information is made available to provide access to California license examination passage rates for graduates of University of San Diego programs that require California licensure. Data will continue to be updated as California licensing and/or regulatory agencies make the data electronically available.

School of Leadership and Education Sciences Teaching Credential Programs

• 2009-10
• 2010-11
• 2011-12
• 2010-11 Accreditation Report
• 2011-12 Accreditation Report
• 2012-13 Accreditation Report

School of Leadership and Education Sciences Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Marital and Family Therapy Programs

• MFT Standard Written Examination
• MFT Written Clinical Vignette Examination
• LPCC Examination Statistics

Visit our Tuition and Financing page for tuition information. Please note that tuition and fees are subject to change.

Yes. The majority of our students receive some form of financial assistance from the University in the form of scholarships, grants and/or student loans. Our Tuition and Financing and Scholarships pages have more information on how to finance your education with us.

The Office of Financial Aid creates financial aid packages for applicants once a current FAFSA has been filed and the student has received an offer of admission from the university. For graduate students, the package is typically available around two weeks after both of these conditions have been satisfied. Admitted students are notified by email when their financial aid package is available on the MySanDiego portal.

Doctoral Graduate Assistantships are available for students pursuing the PhD in Leadership Studies and Student Affairs Graduate Assistantships are available for students pursuing the MA in Higher Education Leadership. Applicants for admission to these programs will be contacted by the department with information on how to apply for assistantship positions. Students in other programs are encouraged to explore on-campus work opportunities.

Yes! SOLES welcomes veterans and their dependents and is proud to participate in in the Yellow Ribbon Program, a provision of the Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. For further information please visit the USD Veteran's Affairs website.

Transfer students follow the same deadlines and requirements for admission as first-time applicants.

USD students who wish to transfer programs within the same department (such as a transfer from the MA in Higher Education Leadership to the MA in Leadership Studies) should consult their department chair. Some programs will allow students to change to another graduate program within the same department by submitting a shortened version of the application for admission, with the approval of the faculty.

Students who wish to transfer to a program in a department different from their current department (such as a transfer from the MA in Counseling to the MA in Leadership Studies) should contact the Office of Admissions and Outreach at (619) 260-7988. Transfers from other departments must complete a new application following the same deadlines, procedures and requirements as first-time applicants.

You may be eligible to transfer a limited number of credits into a SOLES program. The eligibility of courses for transfer will be determined by department faculty after you have received an offer of admission.

Credits must be from graduate-level coursework taken within the past five years at an approved, accredited university, and those credits cannot have been applied toward another degree. You must have earned a grade of "B" or higher in the coursework to be transferred. The maximum number of non-USD credits permitted is:

*This policy is subject to change

Students with out-of-state certifications and credentials who wish to obtain a California credential or certification should contact the San Diego County Office of Education for assistance. SOLES staff cannot determine whether an out-of-state credential will transfer, and we cannot recommend candidates for a credential unless they completed their credential coursework at SOLES.

Mother Rosalie Hill Hall is home to the School of Leadership and Education Sciences. Hill Hall is located on the northwestern corner of the University of San Diego campus, overlooking the city of San Diego and the Pacific Ocean. Directions and maps are available online.

Our state-of-the-art, 80,000 square foot building includes classroom space, faculty and staff offices, department suites, an auditorium, two computer labs, a career services office, counseling observation rooms, a reading room, team project rooms and Bert's Bistro. Hill Hall is also home to nearly a dozen SOLES centers and institutes such as The Institute for Entrepreneurship in Education and The Nonprofit Institute.

Yes! The Office of Admissions and Outreach is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. PST. We are located in suite 149, on the first floor of Mother Rosalie Hill Hall, the building that houses SOLES. If you would like to meet with an Admissions and Outreach representative, please schedule an appointment in advance or call (619) 260-7988 to ensure that someone is available to counsel you.

SOLES also offers prospective student Information Sessions throughout the year. These events give you the opportunity to meet faculty and current students as well as our admissions staff.

To inquire about setting up a class visit, please contact the Office of Admissions and Outreach by calling (619) 260-7988 or by sending an email to solesadmissions@sandiego.edu. A staff member will be happy to assist you in coordinating a visit to an available class.

If you are interested in meeting our faculty members we recommend attending one of our on-campus Open Houses or Information Sessions, which are offered throughout the year. These sessions give you the opportunity to meet with our faculty, as well as administrators and current students. If you are unable to attend one of these sessions but would still like to connect with a faculty member, please contact the Office of Admissions and Outreach at solesadmissions@sandiego.edu or (619) 260-7988.

You are always welcome to schedule a phone or Skype appointment with The Office of Admissions and Outreach at (619) 260-7988. If you are not able to visit but would like to meet one of our representatives, review the SOLES Graduate Fair Calendar and the Office of Graduate Admissions Graduate Fair Calendar to see if a representative will be coming to your area. You can also communicate with us via Facebook and Twitter!