APPLY
Apply to the Doctorate in Nonprofit Administration Program
Admissions Requirements
Applicants for admission to the Doctorate in Nonprofit Administration Program at the School of Social Policy & Practice must meet the following criteria:
- Hold a master’s degree in a related field with a GPA that reflects strong academic ability
- Have a minimum of 5 years of nonprofit experience
Students with a master’s degree from unrelated fields may be required to take additional courses prior to matriculation or may not be considered for admission.
Application Deadline
Applications must be submitted by February 15th.
Applications, transcripts, and supporting materials (letters of recommendation and, if applicable, evaluated transcripts) must be submitted through the online application system by the deadline for applications to be considered complete.
Application Components
Online Application
Online Application
Your admissions process begins with submitting your application online. After creating an account to start your application, you will be able to return to your application as many times as you wish before submitting. You can track the status of your application, including the receipt of letters of recommendation and any other supplemental materials, at any time by logging into your account.
Resume
You must submit a resume as part of your online application.
Application Essay
Applicants are required to complete an application essay. Please respond to the questions listed in the application, adhering to the word limits provided.
Transcripts
Applicants must submit transcripts detailing all undergraduate and postgraduate study via the online application. This includes coursework conducted at an applicant’s degree-granting institution(s) as well as in study abroad programs and at institutions out of which an applicant may have transferred. Applicants should upload copies of their official transcripts (i.e. not screenshots from a student record or student grade system) that clearly display their name, dates of enrollment, the names of all courses in which they enrolled, and the credits and grades awarded for each class. Applicants should not mail hard copies of transcripts to the School for purposes of application review.
Please be advised that transcripts reflecting more than two semesters of study at institutions based outside of the United States must be evaluated on a course-by-course basis by a third-party evaluation service such as WES or Educational Perspectives, or another NACES-accredited member. This applies even if the studies were conducted in English and even if the transcript is printed in English.
Applicants with these international transcripts should upload their university-issued transcripts into the online application and order their official, third-party evaluations sent to the School of Social Policy & Practice. Please note that these international transcripts cannot be considered official until they have been evaluated. Please allow for sufficient processing time as recommended by your chosen third-party evaluation service. Transcript evaluations are due to the Admissions Office by the application deadline.
Letters of Recommendation
It’s never too early to start preparing your application. Please note that all application materials become the property of the University of Pennsylvania and will not be returned. Remember to retain a personal copy of your application materials. Penn SP2 requires recommenders to submit letters of recommendation online. Please note that all letters must come directly from the letter writer’s email account. All recommendation letters will be verified to ensure that the proper protocol is followed.
Letters of Recommendation
Each application requires three letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation should be submitted directly to the online application.
You are required to have one academic reference and one professional reference. The third reference may be either academic or professional.
Test Scores
Standardized tests are not required for the DSW program.
Deposit
Upon notification of acceptance for admission to the University, you are required to submit a nonrefundable $300 to reserve your spot in the class. The deposit due date is provided with the offer of admission. The deposit will be credited to your account upon matriculation.
The DNPA degree program is offered by the University of Pennsylvania, an institution of higher education authorized to confer degrees and certificates conferring academic credit under applicable laws of the United States. Students who are interested in participating in the program from countries other than the United States are advised that each jurisdiction may have its own laws and regulations governing online educational programs, and some jurisdictions may not recognize course credit or an online degree awarded by the University as satisfying local requirements for professional licensure, employment qualification, or other purposes. Before enrolling in this program, prospective students should investigate their jurisdiction’s treatment of foreign online programs to ensure that participation in this program will meet their objectives.
Due to visa sponsorship limitations for the required in-person immersion component, the program is not open to international students at this time.
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