Chapter 2. Application Requirements

2.1. Admission to the Master in Public Administration program shall be on a competitive basis.

2.2. In order to be eligible for inclusion in the selection process for admission to the Program, all applicants must meet the provisions of these Rules, as formalized by the Order of Provost after approval by the Academic Council of the University and final endorsement by the Managing Council.

2.3. Applicants applying to the Master in Public Administration program are expected to have:

- an undergraduate degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in a relevant discipline, to be determined by the Admissions Committee;

- the required level of English proficiency indicated in sub-clause 1 of Clause 2.5 of these Rules;

- standardized test reports (IELTS/TOEFL must be submitted except the cases indicated in sub-clause 2 of Clause 2.5 of these Rules), GMAT/GRE (may be submitted);

- 2 letters of recommendation;

- 3 years of work experience. Based on GSPP’s Admissions Committee discretion, applicants with work experience less than 3 years may also be considered if the applicant can demonstrate high academic performance of CGPA 4 out of 5, or 2.67 out of 4 or its equivalent.

2.4. The relevance of the academic and experiential background, and the equivalency and appropriateness of earlier degrees, will be determined by the Admissions Committee.

2.5. The absolute minimum requirement for English language proficiency test reports for admission to the Master in Public Administration program is:

1) Overall IELTS test score of 6.5 (with subscore requirements no less than 6.0), or the equivalent TOEFL score as posted on the ETS website;

2) Applicants to the Master in Public Administration program, at the discretion of the Admissions Committee, can be exempted from submitting the language proficiency test report if:

a) one of their earlier academic degrees was earned in a country with English as the language of official communication, academic instruction and daily life;

b) an undergraduate degree was earned in a program which was officially taught in English;

c) the applicant is a graduate of Nazarbayev University.

2.6. Applicants to the Master in Public Administration program are required to complete and submit online the application form available at the University website (www.nu.edu.kz), as well as a complete package of admission documents, before the deadline. Admissions documents are submitted electronically. Shortlisted applicants must provide original copies of all documents. The checklist for the application package for this program is defined by the School and attached as an Appendix to these Rules.

Submission of the complete application package does not guarantee admission to the Master in Public Administration program.

2.7. All deadlines related to admission to the Master in Public Administration program are set by the Dean of the School upon consultation with the Graduate Admissions Department and are published on the website of the University.

2.8. All submitted documents shall be in English or with notarized English translation. Only official copies of academic degree documents (degree diploma and transcripts) shall be accepted.

Applicants who obtained their degree diplomas/certificates from foreign educational institutions must request their official transcripts be sent directly to the University.

2.9. Standardized test reports shall be sent by the official test administrator directly to the University.