Master of Arts in Higher Education Leadership

• The University of San Diego Graduate School Admission Application and $45 application fee

  • Upload the following to submit your online application
    • Statement of Purpose
    • Resume
    • Copy of Official Transcript
    • Recommenders’ Contact Information
  • Letters of Recommendation and International Transcript Evaluations must be received by the program deadline to complete your application.

• A copy of your unofficial transcripts from the university where you earned your bachelor’s degree is required at the time of application.

  • Unofficial transcripts from student portals without a registrar’s signature are not acceptable.
  • Students who earned their bachelor's degree from an institution outside the United States must submit a course-by-course degree evaluation conducted by a NACES current member.  
    • Applications for students educated outside the United States will not be considered complete nor can an admissions decision be made until this degree evaluation has been submitted.
  • NOTE:  If admitted to the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, you will be required to submit an official sealed transcript from all colleges and universities from which you received credit, including community colleges.
    • Official E-Transcripts are acceptable only if emailed to grads@sandiego.edu.
    • Transcripts from study abroad courses are not required.
• A minimum of two professional letters of recommendation from professors or employers
• A current resumé or curriculum vitae
• A 500-word maximum statement of purpose: Please include a brief narrative describing yourself, your career goals and the importance of graduate study at this point in your life. In addition, please address how diversity, inclusion, and social justice influence who you are today and how you would approach your work in higher education. You may discuss influences on your intellectual development, education and cultural opportunities (or lack thereof), and the ways in which these experiences have affected you. This should not be a recording of facts already listed on the application; it should give the Admissions Committee a better sense of who you are and why you are applying to graduate school at the University of San Diego. If you are in a graduate program at another university, please explain why you wish to leave.
• International applicants only:
  • Official score reports for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is required of all international applicants and may only be waived if English is the applicant’s primary language or if he or she obtained a bachelor’s degree in the U.S., Great Britain, Canada or Australia.
    • TOEFL minimum scores:
      • Internet-based test: 83
      • Computer-based test: 237
      • Paper-based test: 580
    • IELTS minimum score:
      • Band score 7
  • Transcripts from universities outside of the United States must be accompanied by a Course-by-Course transcript evaluation from World Education Services (WES).

Admission Requirements