Advanced Certificate and Non-Degree Application Checklist

Please follow these steps to complete your application. If you have any questions, contact wagner.admissions@nyu.edu. 

Fill out your online application

Application Deadline

Online applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on the day of the deadline. Any mailed application material must be postmarked by the deadline date.

We recommend submitting your application earlier in the cycle as admission becomes more competitive throughout the year.

You may complete and submit your online application at any time before the deadline. Save your work before moving to the next page and print a copy for your own records.

NYU Wagner essay questions give you the opportunity to present yourself more fully to the Admissions Committee.

  • Essays must be typed and double-spaced, in 12-point font.
  • Label the top of each essay with the following: Name, Date of Birth (month, day, year), Essay Number, and Page Number.
  • Your essays should be written entirely by you. An offer of admission will be revoked if we find you did not write your essays.

 

Advanced Certificate Essay

Describe how pursuing an Advanced Certificate will help you achieve your professional development goals. (500 words)

 

Non-Degree Essay

Describe how completing one or more NYU Wagner courses will help you achieve your professional development goals. (500 words)

Please provide us with an up-to-date resume that includes your education and employment history. Your resume should include your employment and professional history in reverse chronological order and should indicate the dates of attendance and degree(s) earned. 

Post-college work experience is not required to apply for NYU Wagner programs, with the exception of the Executive Master of Public Administration, which requires a minimum of eight years of work experience, with increasingly progressive management and leadership responsibilities.

If you do not have post-college work experience, please include information on any internships and part-time employment in your resume. If your employment status changes after you apply, you must provide an updated resume.

We encourage you to include information about the following additional activities:

  • Volunteer, public service, political, and/or civic work you have done;
  • Academic and professional honors, honorary societies, leadership and service awards;
  • Other professional activities;
  • Relevant publications; and/or
  • Extracurricular activities.

Students entering an NYU Wagner master's program are required to hold a four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in the U.S. or an equivalent degree from a foreign country.

If you submit your application prior to the conferral of your bachelor's degree or equivalent, we will accept and evaluate your application with the understanding that your degree completion is in progress. If an offer of admission is made, it will be contingent upon receiving your degree conferral prior to enrollment.

Transcripts submitted through the online application must meet the following criteria:

  • Unofficial transcripts are required from all colleges or universities attended in which you earned grades and/or academic credits at the college-level, including undergraduate, study abroad, transfer credits, continuing education, etc.
  • Uploaded files must be scanned copies of transcript(s) received from the college/university registrar OR electronic transcripts (such as those available through eSCRIP-SAFE, Parchment, and National Student Clearinghouse).
  • Transcripts must show all courses taken, all credits earned, and all grades received.
  • Transcripts must include your full legal name and the name of the college or university attended.
  • Transcripts must be written in English.
  • Word documents and HTML documents are not acceptable.

Transcripts for institutions located outside of the United States

If you received a graduate or undergraduate degree from an institution located outside of the United States, we require that you use a third-party international credential evaluation service to assess U.S. bachelor’s equivalency and obtain a course-by-course evaluation of your grade point average. 

At this time, NYU Wagner will only accept international evaluation reports from NACES-approved agencies. You can find the full list here.

Students with degrees from institutions based in the United States that operate degree-granting branch campuses in another country are exempt from this requirement. We also do not require an evaluation for a study abroad semester. Please contact wagner.admissions@nyu.edu for questions or clarification.

Applications should include both unofficial transcript(s) from the degree-granting institution(s) and a copy of your international credential evaluation report from an approved evaluation service.

Fee waivers are also available to applicants that submit their international transcripts to an international credential evaluation service.

An $85 application fee is required to process your application for admission.

Pay by credit card

When you arrive at the Application Status page after you submit your application, you will see the option to submit a credit card payment. Follow the instructions to complete your payment.

Pay by check or money order 

Mail a check or money order in the amount of $85—payable to "New York University"—to NYU Wagner Admissions, 295 Lafayette Street 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10012.

Fee waiver eligibility

Please review the items below and indicate if any of the following apply to you.

Fee waivers are granted for the following:

  1. Current NYU Undergrad
  2. AmeriCorps Members
  3. Bonner Foundation Members
  4. City Year Members
  5. McNair Scholar Participants
  6. Peace Corps Volunteers
  7. Rangel Graduate Fellows
  8. Teach For America (TFA) Participants
  9. Truman Scholar Participants
  10. Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellows
  11. Pickering Fellow Recipients
  12. New York Police Department
  13. ICE Requirement
  14. Financial Hardship
  15. Military Affiliation
  16. HBCU or HSI
  17. NYU Employee
  18. NYU Alumni

Due to constraints relevant to US immigration regulations, applicants who will need an F-1 or J-1 student visa are not eligible to apply to certificate programs or pursue non-degree coursework.