Taubman College

Apply / Doctoral Studies

How to Apply

Admissions Eligibility:

Applicants will normally possess a Master's degree in Planning or a related field (such as Public Policy, Environmental Studies, Geography, Social Work, Architecture, etc.). Applicants with other Master's degrees will be considered, as will exceptionally well-prepared applicants with a Bachelor's degree. There is no foreign language requirement for Doctoral students in Planning. However, work in some areas of specialization and on certain research/dissertation topics may require knowledge of one or more foreign languages (obtained either before or during Doctoral studies).

Office of Admissions
Rackham School of Graduate Studies
The University of Michigan
915 E. Washington Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1070
Phone: 734-764-8129
Fax: 734-647-7740
rackadmis@umich.edu
http://www.rackham.umich.edu/

Non-refundable Application Fees

The fee for United States Citizens and those with permanent resident visa status is $60 (U.S. funds) . The fee for non-U.S. citizens is $75 (U.S. funds). The application fee is paid online, via credit card, before the application is submitted.The application is submitted electronically to the program of study and the Rackham Graduate School.There is no need to follow-up with a paper copy of the application or an additional application fee. Applications received without fees will not be processed.

Application Materials:

Rackham

Submit the following materials to the Rackham School of Graduate Studies:

Doctoral Studies

Submit all of the following materials via the Rackham online application.

  • Statement of Purpose
  • Personal Statement
  • Official Transcripts
  • Three Letters of Recommendation
  • Examples of Work
  • GRE Scores (required)
  • TOEFL (required)

Statement of Purpose

This is a vital component of your application. Explain how you arrived at the decision to pursue doctoral studies in urban and regional planning, what you plan to do during the course of your studies, and how you hope to use your doctoral education in planning. In particular, discuss the intellectual and policy challenges that you hope to address in your doctoral studies, outline the methodological skills you plan to pursue, and briefly note any tentative dissertation research topics. (The typical length is 2–4 pages.)

Personal Statement

The personal statement should be a concise, well-written statement about how your personal background and life experiences, including social, cultural, familial, educational, or other opportunities or challenges that have motivated your decision to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Michigan.

Official Transcripts

Submit official academic records/transcripts from the institution from which you received or will receive a Bachelor's, Master's, Professional, or Doctoral degree to the Rackham Graduate School and Doctoral Studies in Architecture.

When, how and where are transcripts sent?

Academic records/transcripts must be submitted prior to the graduate program deadline date, through:

1) The online application

  • To expedite the processing of your online application, you are encouraged to include a scanned image of your academic record/transcript(s) with the online application. This enables the admissions committee to make a preliminary decision based upon your submission of a scanned transcript.
  • A scanned copy of an official student copy, provided to you by the Registrar's Office, is acceptable. Unofficial transcripts printed from your institution's student portal (a screen print of a transcript) are not acceptable.
  • Scanned images of official transcripts that are uploaded into the online application will be considered unofficial.

Learn more about Uploading Transcripts and Other Supporting Documents Using the Online Application Process.

2) The mail

All applicants are required to mail 1 set of official academic records/transcripts representing a Bachelor's, Master's, Professional and/or Doctoral degree to:

Rackham Graduate School
Attn: Transcripts/U-M ID# (if known) or Date of Birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
915 E. Washington Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1070
USA

DO NOT send transcripts from a Community or Junior College, non-degree study or study abroad coursework to the Rackham Graduate School.

What type of academic records/transcripts to submit if you attended an undergraduate or postgraduate institution:

Letters of Recommendation

Three (3) letters of recommendation are required and should testify mainly to your academic and professional capacity and promise. Letters should be substantive statements from academics and professionals familiar with your abilities and accomplishments. Electronic submission of recommendations is preferred. You will be prompted to register recommenders using the Rackham online admissions application, enabling recommenders to submit letters of recommendation electronically to Urban Regional Planning.

Writing Samples

One or several examples of relevant work by the applicant. Submissions should support the statement of purpose and clearly demonstrate research and writing abilities. These may consist of academic papers (from previous coursework), published articles, and/or a portfolio that are representative of the applicant's work and potential for doctoral studies.

Resume or C.V.

Please submit an up to date résumé or curriculum vitae with your application.

Graduate Record Examination Scores (required)

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Score Report is required of all students. Information about the GRE including test dates and locations can be found at http://www.gre.org. Please have an official score report sent to the University of Michigan at least 6–8 weeks prior to the January 9th deadline. GRE scores must be no older than five years old (not before 2005) to be valid; recent scores are preferable. There is no minimum GRE score required to apply.

*Institution code GRE: 1839
*Department code GRE: 4402

TOEFL Examination (International Students Only)

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or Internet Based Toefl (IBT) is required of all non-native English speakers. Information about the TEOFL/IBT including test dates and locations can be found at www.ets.org/toefl/. Please contact ETS (www.ets.org) and have an official score report sent to the University of Michigan (Institution code 1839, department code 97) at least 6–8 weeks prior to the January 9th deadline. TOEFL/IBT scores must be no older than two years old (not before 2008) to be valid. The minimum requirement for the TOEFL test is 250 computer based or 600 paper based. The minimum requirement for the IBT test is 100. Non-native English speakers that have graduated from a four-year University where English was the primary language of instruction are not required to submit a TOEFL score.