Applications & Admissions

The application fee is $120.00. There are two options available for eligible students:

1. 1. USC offers fee waivers to domestic applicants under certain circumstances. To see if you qualify for a fee waiver, please visit the Graduate Admission website.
   2. The POIR Department will offer a limited number of fee waivers for international students who can demonstrate financial need. To be considered for a departmental fee waiver, international applicants must submit the following documents as a single .pdf to the POIR Application Fee Waiver form no later than November 7, 2026:
      1. A cover letter addressed to the department explaining the personal circumstances justifying the need for a fee waiver. You must include your full name as it appears on the application and CAS ID at the top-left of the letter.
      2. An updated curriculum vitae.
      3. The research statement (2-3 pages) that will be submitted with your application.

Note: application fees cannot be reimbursed if you submit the application before a fee waiver is approved and confirmed by the USC Office of Graduate Admission.

In a 2-3 page statement (single- or double-spaced), please provide the committee with background information and, most importantly, the research agenda you wish to undertake in the program, spelling out the field specializations you would declare if admitted, and identifying 2-3 faculty with whom you are interested in working and why you would like to work with them.

You should select the best representation of your writing and research capabilities. This should be a 15-30 page scholarly or critical paper that has been evaluated by a faculty or other authoritative group or body such as the editorial board of a journal or a selection committee. The paper should present a clearly articulated thesis, amply supported with creative and original ideas and evidence. The sample should be uploaded in the online application. DO NOT SEND HARD COPIES.

The ability to communicate effectively in English — to read, write and speak the language fluently — is vital to your success as a USC student.

International graduate applicants are therefore expected to demonstrate their proficiency in English as part of the application process and should carefully review the guidelines set by USC.

English-Language Test Waiver
International applicants are exempt from submitting English-proficiency scores under the following circumstances:

1. You hold a degree (bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate) from USC or are currently enrolled in a USC degree program.

2. You hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university in the United States or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from an officially recognized university in another qualifying Anglophone country where English is both the only official language and the language of instruction.
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   To determine degree equivalency, please refer to our country requirements.
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   Students who transferred credits from a non-Anglophone country may still qualify for this waiver if they subsequently completed their bachelor’s degree in the United States or another qualifying Anglophone country. The bachelor’s degree does not need to have been completed entirely in the qualifying country.
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   Dual-degree holders who completed only part of their degree in the U.S. or another qualifying country do not qualify for this waiver.

3. You have completed a master’s or doctoral degree from a country in which English is both the language of instruction and the only official language. The degree needs to have already been completed at the time you submit your USC application. Applicants who have not yet completed a qualifying master’s or doctoral program at the time they apply will still need to submit English-proficiency scores.

4. Your native language is English. This applies to native English speakers from countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada (except Quebec), where English is both the only official language of the country and the language of instruction.

USC does not waive the English-proficiency requirement based on any other consideration such as work experience, ESL enrollment, amount of time spent in the U.S., etc. It also cannot be waived on the basis of programs taught in English in non-Anglophone countries.

To determine if USC requires TOEFL/IELTS/PTE scores for your country of study, please check our Country Requirements page.

Applicants must submit official transcripts from all institutions attended, whether or not a degree was conferred from that school or credits were transferred elsewhere. This includes study abroad programs, community colleges, and all other institutions or academic programs attended after secondary school. These transcripts must be sent directly to the USC Office of Graduate Admission by the institution.

Applicants must upload a copy of all transcripts to the CAS Portal. Applicants may upload either unofficial or official transcripts. Please note that if you upload unofficial transcripts, your application will be considered incomplete until the Office of Graduate Admissions receives official transcripts and POIR cannot offer admission if selected. Therefore, we encourage applicants to upload official copies of their transcripts whenever possible to avoid delays in processing.

Do not upload anything other than transcripts in this section of the application.

All applicants must submit at least three letters of recommendation. While academic letters are preferred, you may seek professional recommendation letters in the cases where academic letters are not available.

All letters of recommendation must come directly from the writer. Applicants will provide contact information for their recommenders in CAS, and each recommender will be emailed a link to Liaison Letters to upload it.

For the Fall 2027 admission cycle, submission of GRE score is optional, but encouraged if available. Applicants should plan to take the GRE General Exam no later than November 15, 2026 to ensure ETS can submit the score before the application deadline. USC’s ETS test code is 4852. A department code is not necessary, but if asked, applicants may select any of the options for political science and international relations.

GRE scores must be no older than five years prior to the applicant’s intended first term (i.e. no older than August 2021 for August 2026 matriculation).

In addition to having ETS send official scores, applicants will upload a copy of their numeric scores (available on your ETS account) to the portal for submission.

If you encounter any problems with the CAS application portal, you should consult these videos posted by the USC Office of Graduate Admissions to assist applicants. If you are having technical issues, you should email support@usc.myliaison.com for assistance.