Deadlines & Decisions

Application Submission Deadlines

All applications must be submitted by the deadline; we do not accept late applications. However, please see the University’s Hardship Request policy for possible extensions related to widespread disaster or disruption of access to services. All deadlines are 11:55 p.m. U.S. Central Time.

PhD Programs

The application deadline for all PhD programs is December 5.

Master’s Programs

Decisions are expected within 6-10 weeks of each deadline.

Note: Round 2 is on a space available basis only. Although we make every effort to accommodate later applications, we cannot guarantee full consideration to those received after the Round 1 deadline.

Interviews

Only a few programs interview applicants. Those that do will issue invitations via the online application system in January or February. At the time interview invitations are issued, applicants who are not selected to move forward are notified of their decisions. The following programs conduct interviews:

• Anthropology (PhD)
• Comparative Human Development (PhD)
• Political Economy (PhD)
• Psychology (PhD)
• Sociology (PhD)

Decisions

The Office of the Dean of Students notifies applicants of their admissions decision via our online application system. In some cases, departments may informally notify applicants of decisions earlier. Only the formal offer of admission from the Dean of Students is official.

PhD Program Decision Timeline

PhD programs typically issue decisions at the end of February or in early March.

All applicants who are not admitted to our PhD program are automatically forwarded for consideration by our MA programs, unless the applicant specifically opts out of this process on their application. That said, as referred applications are considered later than most other MA applications, scholarship assistance for students admitted to an MA program through the referral process may be limited. If you are interested in our MA programs and would need scholarship assistance to attend, we would encourage you to apply directly to the MA as well as our program (note that this would require a separate application and application fee). MA applications are accepted multiple times per year with decisions typically issued within 6 to 8 weeks. Questions about applying to an MA program should be directed to ssd-admissions@uchicago.edu.

PhD applicants whose applications are considered for review by our MA programs will receive a decision from the MA program in March.

MA Program Decision Timeline

MA programs issue decisions approximately 6-8 weeks after the decision round deadline.

Offers & Response Deadlines

PhD Programs

We ask admitted students to respond to their offers of admission by April 15, in accordance with the Council of Graduate Schools April 15 resolution.

The Division does not defer admission to PhD programs, except when matriculating in sanctioned dual programs with the University of Chicago law school or medical school. Other admitted applicants are invited to reapply for the next academic year application cycle and may contact the SSD Admissions Office to have the fee waived.

MA Programs

The deadline to respond to an offer of admission to an MA program varies by the application deadline round. No offer of admission will require a response earlier than April 20. Individuals admitted during the final round are usually requested to respond within 4 weeks.