PhD Admissions

Submit an $85 application fee or request a fee waiver. Students who attend in-person or virtual events may be eligible for a fee waiver.

We accept both unofficial and official transcripts. For the application, we prefer unofficial transcripts, which allow us to process your application more quickly.

If you decide to matriculate, you will be required to provide a final official transcript from the institution that awarded you your bachelor's and master’s degrees, with the date of degree conferral. Students without final official transcripts on file by the end of orientation will not be allowed to start classes.

For your PhD program application, we recommend that you submit two letters of recommendation from professors or others who know your academic work well. The third letter can be from another academic contact or can be a professional reference. Choose recommenders who know you and can write about you. 

It may be helpful for your recommenders to review your statement of purpose and resume. A typical letter of recommendation to Fletcher is between one and two pages in length.

We also have some tips for you to share with your recommenders:

• Explain why a student succeeded (or failed) in a class. Even if it seems obvious that an "A" grade demonstrates the student's strength, the context for the grade is useful.
• Note if a student took the time to get to know you outside of class (through research, office hours, etc.).
• If you are writing about the applicant's professional experience, describe the applicant's progress in and contributions to your organization.
• If the applicant performed any functions that are relevant to academic work (research, writing, data collection or analysis, work within a team), bring this information to our attention.
• Assess the applicant's professional potential: will the applicant be able to achieve their research and career goals? 

Please tell us about your goals for graduate study at Fletcher and for your career. Describe the elements of your personal, professional and/or academic background that have prepared you for your chosen career path. Why is The Fletcher School the right place to pursue your academic objectives and to prepare you to meet your professional goals? 

What global and/or social contributions do you hope to make after completing your studies? Why have you selected the degree program to which you are applying?

Please select and answer one of the following prompts:

• Please share how your background, worldview or perspective influenced your decision to study international affairs.
• We are shaped by the places we live. Tell us about the city, town or region that you consider to be your “hometown”—that place where you lived for most of your life or to which you feel most connected. What makes this place special and how has it contributed to who you are now?
• Describe an experience (academic, personal or professional) that contributed to your interest in the study of international affairs or an international career.

Please explain why you believe a PhD from a multidisciplinary program in international affairs at a professional school, as compared with a doctorate from a conventional program in a single academic discipline, advances your intellectual and professional ambitions.

Please upload a current version of your professional resume.

• GMAT or GRE (optional)
• TOEFL/IELTS/Cambridge C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency/Duolingo is required of international students whose native language is not English and who have not earned a university degree where English was the primary language of instruction.

PhD applicants are encouraged to schedule an interview during their application process; please select the PhD option when scheduling. An evaluative interview is a valuable way for you to share information about yourself and to learn how Fletcher will help meet your academic and professional goals. 

Interviews are conducted by current students, and occasionally, staff members. Interviews are evaluative, not informational, and a report of the interview will become part of the interviewee's application record. Interviews should be completed before an application has been submitted to Fletcher.

Proposals should be 1500 words in length.

Please submit a complete writing sample.

Please submit a list of all programs to which you are applying.

Please submit if applying for aid. 

Please note: application materials and supporting documents become the confidential property of The Fletcher School and are not returnable. We suggest that, for your own records, you retain a copy of the application and make a copy of those documents that are not confidential.

Applications from external candidates to the PhD program are due on December 15 for enrollment in September of the following year. There is no Early Notification application for the PhD program. Note that internal candidates (graduates of the MALD or MIB program) should email the Office of Admissions regarding application procedures.

Although Fletcher provides scholarship support to PhD students who demonstrate financial need, the school does not routinely waive tuition.

Coursework scholarships are awarded on the basis of need and merit, and are renewable for those who remain in good academic standing while taking required classes. Following completion of classes, students are responsible for a relatively modest enrollment fee, for which they can receive a scholarship for up to five years.

For students who are not sponsored by another organization, Fletcher aims to provide stipend support for the first two years in the program, after which most students find employment on or off campus, or they apply for external fellowships.

Admission to Fletcher's PhD program requires a prior master's degree similar to Fletcher’s Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy, lasting at least three semesters and requiring at least 12 semester-long courses.

In establishing this requirement, the Fletcher faculty was aware that some very interesting students would not be able to apply directly to the PhD program. Those students have the option to pursue the MALD program, and apply later to the PhD. The majority of the students in the PhD program have previously pursued a MALD.

Submitting results from the GRE or GMAT exam is optional for all Fletcher applicants and there is no required minimum for those who choose to submit scores.

Fletcher may accept one Visiting PhD Scholar each year. Interested PhD researchers will be required to identify a Fletcher faculty member who agrees to be your advisor or mentor for the time you are here. For more information, please contact the PhD program director.

Visiting PhD Scholars start their year at Fletcher in September. Application materials are due by the preceding January 1. The selected Visiting PhD Scholar will pay a fee to Fletcher for use of facilities, and must also arrange their own housing. The scholar will be offered a space to use within the library.