Applying: Minor in Public Policy and Leadership

Application Information

The Minor in Public Policy and Leadership is available to current UVA undergraduate students from any major outside of Batten. Enrollment in the minor is dependent on class capacity and admission is based on a preliminary review of academic qualifications and performance in prerequisite courses to ensure readiness for the rigorous curriculum. Students typically apply in the spring semester of their second year; third year application is permitted provided students can complete remaining coursework in their final undergraduate year.  Please contact the Admissions Team for more information. All application materials for admission must be submitted by the corresponding deadline by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

In this moment, ethical, resilient, solutions-oriented policy leaders are needed more than ever.  Batten is committed to fostering an intellectual community that is innovative, inclusive, and equitable.  In this spirit, there is no application fee to apply to the Batten Minor in Public Policy and Leadership.

Students applying for the Public Policy and Leadership Minor who also want to be considered for the Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and Leadership should submit one application for the Bachelor of ArtsA separate Minor application is not required. See more information below.

A walkthrough of the Minor application can be found here.

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

Current UVA undergraduate students from any major outside of Batten who will have earned 60 credit hours by the time of matriculation.

Admissions contact

Estrella Burks-Parra
Admissions Coordinator
scg5zk@virginia.edu

DATES AND DEADLINES

Application Opens: September 1, 2024
Application Deadline: March 7, 2025
Decisions Released: March 17, 2025
Decision Deadline: March 21, 2025

Prerequisites & Application Materials

Please note, you can indicate your interest in also being considered for the Public Policy and Leadership Minor in the BA application. You do not have to submit a separate Minor application.

To be considered for both programs, within the Bachelor of Arts application, answer “yes” to the question “Are you interested in also being considered for the Batten Minor in Public Policy & Leadership?”

  • ECON 2010 or equivalent (earning a C or higher)
  • LPPL 2600 OR PSYC 2600 or equivalent (earning a C or higher) 

Your application may be completed online and submitted electronically once you have answered all the required questions. You do not have to complete the online application in one sitting – you may access your application and change your answers as many times as you like. To do that, use the Username and Password that you created when you first made an appointment with a member of our team and/or started your application. 

You will be prompted to describe three meaningful activities that highlight your potential contributions to the Batten community. Please provide the title, organization, and dates of service for any relevant job, volunteer, and extracurricular activities. If you do not remember the exact dates, please provide an estimate, and if it is a current role, leave the end date blank. 

A Personal Essay of 250 words: “ Describe your motivation for pursuing the Batten Public Policy & Leadership Minor. How will it complement your academic journey and career pursuits?” 

An application addendum is not required. However, some applicants may have additional information that would be useful for the admissions committee. Feel free to amplify positive dimensions of your background not covered elsewhere or give insight into seemingly negative information in your application (e.g. course withdrawals, light course loads, gaps in your academic record or unique grading scales, etc.).