CPP Admission Requirements

Admission & Application Requirements

Applicants seeking admission to the Master of Public Policy should have a bachelor’s degree with a strong academic record (minimum 3.0 GPA out of 4.0) from a recognized university. Applicants from all fields are welcome to apply, including engineering, natural sciences and humanities, but preference will be given to those with an academic background in political science, public administration, economics, communications, or other social sciences.

Applicants are required to submit a valid IELTS score of 6.5 or a TOEFL score of 79 in order to demonstrate their proficiency in English. Applicants can be exempt from this requirement if they meet one of the conditions listed below:

The applicant completed their studies at a university in a country where English is the native language
The applicant provides an official letter confirming that they obtained their degree from a university where the medium of instruction is English (if not otherwise exempt)
The applicant's first language is English

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Application

The completed online application form can be accessed here.

Please note that this application is for admissions only. Information on how to apply for funding (where this is an option) is provided to students who have been admitted to the program.

It is the applicant's responsibility to submit all required documents at the time of application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Academic transcripts

Official electronic copies of transcripts should be submitted as part of the online application. Final transcripts and graduation statements are required for all previous university studies. All transcripts submitted should include an explanation of the grading system.

For those who have not completed their current studies, transcripts must include results from the last completed semester of coursework. Transcripts in languages other than English or Arabic must be accompanied with an official translation.

Applicants who are admitted to the program based on copies of or incomplete transcripts will be required to provide original transcripts upon enrollment in order to register for courses.

Standardized test results:

Official copies (where required) must be sent directly to HBKU. Please refer to the institutional codes below:

TOEFL: 4981
IELTS: No code required. Students should ask the IELTS center where they tested to send the IELTS TRF to Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

Applicants should also submit copies of their test scores with the online application.

Letters of recommendation:

Applicants should submit two letters of recommendation, one of which must be from an academic referee. The referees should email their recommendation letter from their professional email to: and mention the name of the applicant and program they are applying to in the subject line of the email.

Letters which are not directly written for this program or which are incomplete will not be accepted.

Click here to download the recommendation form.

Personal statement of interest:

Applicants should submit a personal statement as part of their online application. The statement should explain why they are applying and how their studies will contribute to the achievement of their personal objectives, including information about the applicant's research interests and achievements (minimum of 300 words, maximum of 500 words). Personal statements that are incomplete or below the minimum word count will not be accepted.

Resume/curriculum vitae:

Applicants should submit a copy of their current resume or curriculum vitae as part of the online application. This should include the following information:

Academic Qualifications
Professional Experience
Publications
Research Projects
Academic Awards or Honors
Conference Presentations

Identification document:

All applicants should submit an electronic copy of their passport as part of the online application. Nationals and residents of Qatar should also submit their valid Qatari ID.

STUDENT FUNDING:

The College of Public Policy provides opportunities for scholarships/funding on a competitive basis. Further information will be provided to applicants who are admitted to the program.

Please do not submit any additional application materials which are not on the list of required items. Any additional materials received will be automatically discarded.
HBKU cannot return documents to the applicant once they are submitted.
All documents submitted through the online application must be in PDF format. Any documents submitted in a different format will not be accepted.