Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

BA in Public Policy Application

This application consists of three sections:

Section 1: Demographics, Records Authorization, and Conduct

Section 2: Prerequisite Coursework

Section 3: Essay and Supplemental Document Upload

Full Name

First Name

Preferred Name

Middle Name

Last Name

UMID # (ex. 12345678)

UMich Email Address

In which UM school or college are you currently enrolled?

Course Work: Is there anything in your academic record you should explain? (For example, periods of time spent out of school, a failing grade, or not completing the minimum required coursework for admission).

Have you ever been found responsible for a disciplinary violation at the University of Michigan or any other undergraduate institution you have attended from your freshman year (or the international equivalent) forward, whether related to academic misconduct or behavioral misconduct, that resulted in your probation, suspension, removal, dismissal, or expulsion from the institution?

Yes No

If you answered “yes” to this question, please give the approximate date of each incident, explain the circumstances, and reflect on what you learned from the experience.

Have you ever been adjudicated guilty or convicted of a misdemeanor, felony, or other crime since you matriculated at the University of Michigan? [Note that you are not required to answer “yes” to this question, or provide an explanation, if the criminal adjudication or conviction has been expunged, sealed, annulled, pardoned, destroyed, erased, impounded, or otherwise ordered by a court to be kept confidential.] Is anything pending?

Yes No

If you answered “yes” to this question, please give the approximate date of each incident, explain the circumstances, and reflect on what you learned from the experience.

Admitted students have an ongoing responsibility to inform the Ford School of Public Policy of any changes to their disciplinary and/or criminal history until they begin their first term of enrollment at the Ford School. Failure to report prior or pending disciplinary and/or criminal history may result in the withdrawal of application or revocation of admission.

Essays: *Please either type directly into the text box or copy and paste your essay from a word document. The formatting and/or spacing may be lost, but rest assured it will not negatively impact your application in any way.

Essay 1: Explain how your background, your experiences inside and outside of school, your career aspirations, etc. have led you to apply to pursue a BA in public policy. Why do you think public policy is the right degree program for you? (300 words)

Essay 2: The Ford School aims to prepare students to engage respectfully and productively across difference, including differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and ideologies. Research has shown that diverse groups arrive at more innovative and effective solutions to problems. However, interacting across differences can be quite challenging. Please describe and critically analyze an experience in any setting (e.g., a classroom, extracurricular activity, job, volunteering, etc.) in which you had to work across difference and/or experienced difference because of your background, experiences, identity, or ideology. In what specific ways was this challenging? Did you attempt to work through difference and were you successful? Are there things that you wish you or others had done differently in this instance, or that you might do differently in the future when working with people who differ from you? (300 words)

Essay 3: Identify a contemporary policy issue that interests you and take a stance on the direction public policy should take. What would be a specific policy solution or way to address the problem and why? For the purposes of this essay, imagine that the audience is familiar with the topic but that you need to defend any assertions you make to be convincing. The admissions committee will evaluate you not on whatever position you take but on how well you can clearly defend your thesis with solid arguments, evidence, and reasoning. A strong essay will explicitly identify and respond to counter-arguments to your policy recommendation. (400 words)

We expect you to do some research for this essay and also expect some references using a professional citation format (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). Citations are not included in the word limit.

Upload all documents below as Adobe PDF. Select the Choose File buttons to find your essays, resume, and transcripts on your computer, and then press the Upload button to upload them.

Please upload your resume.

Please upload a copy of your UM transcripts. (You can access a copy of your transcripts through Wolverine Access>Students>Student Business>Academic Records>Order Transcript - Process Now - Electronic (PDF) Transcript and have it sent to your email.)

Have you have taken college-level coursework (post-high school) outside of U-M?

YesNo

Please upload a copy of your non-UM transcripts. (Transcripts can be unofficial)

Thank you for completing the 2025 Ford School of

Public Policy BA Admissions application.

Please review the information on the previous pages to ensure everything is correct before clicking Submit.

Prerequisites: Please fill in the additional information requested, including the term you took the course, grade received, or institution, in the following format: "Fall 2024, B+"). Also, please follow LS&A guidelines for transfer credit, course equivalences, and language requirements.