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Admissions

Apply Online

Applications are due by December 28 for admission to the autumn quarter of the next academic year. Applicants for the Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences are expected to meet the graduate admissions requirements of the division. Submission of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores is required. Applicants from non-English-speaking countries must also submit TOEFL scores of a minimum of 600 (paper exam) or 250 (computerized exam) with minimum section scores of 60/25.

MAPSS is designed to be completed in one academic year (three or four quarters on a full-time basis). All financial aid is merit based, and the MAPSS program offers partial tuition scholarships on a highly competitive basis. Persons with flexible daytime schedules may make part-time arrangements, but such students will not be eligible for financial aid.

We urge you to use the online graduate application link at http://grad-application.uchicago.edu. Please read ALL the instructions before beginning your application. The application is available in September for the admissions competition, with matriculation in September of the following year. A paper application is mailed only upon special request. The Office of Admissions must receive ALL materials supporting your application by the appropriate deadline. Materials should not be sent directly to the Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences office.

For more information, you may contact:
The Office of Admissions, Division of the Social Sciences
The University of Chicago
1130 E. 59th Street, Foster 107
Chicago, Illinois 60637
Phone: 773-702-8414
Facsimile: 773-834-3509

Or the MAPSS Departmental Office at:
5828 South University Avenue, Pick 301
Chicago, Illinois 60637
Phone: 773-702-8316,
Facsimile: 773-702-5140
mapssstaff@uchicago.edu

You could also contact E.G. Enbar, Student Affairs Administrator at: 773-702-8312 or egenbar@uchicago.edu .

Holiday Dmitri (MAPSS '03) Senior Manager for Media Relations, The Cato Institute, DC

I came to the University of Chicago with a journalism background from Northwestern University. MAPSS taught me the theoretical, opening the door to a new level of understanding of politics and popular culture. In my Master's paper, I examined how a theory of popular psychology was used to help legitimize President Bush's foreign policy doctrine. After graduating, I became Tony Snow's head of research at Fox News in DC, before moving on to the media department of the world's foremost classical liberal think tank. I now use the research and analytical skills I developed during my time at Chicago to identify political and cultural trends.

Nicole Spencer (MAPSS '03) Democracy Specialist Partners of the Americas

"In MAPSS, I had the freedom to create my own course of study, drawing on classes offered throughout the university. I was also able to use my MA paper to explore organizations that provide international political assistance, the field in which I now work."

Ora Szekely (MAPSS '04) Human Rights Intern, Relief International -Schools Online, Jordan, (Summer '04),Ph.D program in Political Science,McGill University

"MAPSS allowed me the flexibility to structure my own program of study, as well as the chance to work with some great faculty. After a year working in Amman, Jordan, on a variety of e-learning projects, I've just started my PhD in Political Science at McGill University in Montreal."

Neena Mahadev (MAPSS '03) Graduate Student, Department of Anthropology Johns Hopkins University

"MAPSS did wonders for me. I applied to MAPSS not knowing whether I wanted to be an activist or an academic, a doer or a thinker. MAPSS allowed me to do both. I chose to take the route of an academic, yet I hold out hope that the activist voice will never be lost in my work.

My experience in MAPSS was one that allowed me to work closely with a Chicago professor/thesis advisor of my chosing, who shared common topical interests to my own, and serendipitously guided me towards theoretical orientations which suited me well. I am now in the Johns Hopkins University Department of Anthropology, studying under new professors, being guided towards new theoretical orientations. MAPSS has opened new doors in my thought and my work, and helped me see my own potential as a thinker and a doer."

©2007, Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences
The University of Chicago

5828 South University Avenue, Pick 301
Chicago, IL 60637

Telephone: (773) 702-8316
Fax: (7730 702-5140
E-mail: mapssstaff@uchicago.edu