Notre Dame Keough Global Affairs 2027 — Funded Master's

Notre Dame's Keough School admits a small cohort each year to a two-year professional master's in global affairs, and it funds that cohort through the same application you use for admission. For applicants who want a policy degree in the United States without a separate funding round, that structure is the appeal.

What the award actually pays

The school describes its support as a range of merit-based scholarships, from partial tuition funding through to full-tuition scholarships with a stipend for living expenses. In other words, funding is real and common, but it is not automatic for every admitted student, and the size of the award is decided with the admission decision rather than in a later competition.

One element is unusually specific: practicum and internship costs are fully funded. The MGA requires an applied placement, and the school pays for it, which removes a cost that similar programmes often leave to the student. Housing is not included, and the application itself carries a USD 75 fee.

Who can apply

The programme is open to applicants from around the world, and the admissions process is described as need-blind — your financial circumstances do not affect whether you are admitted, only what the funding committee can offer once you are.

The academic requirements are a bachelor's degree or its equivalent, transcripts with a certified English translation where necessary, three letters of recommendation, a 300-word short essay tied to your chosen concentration, and an English proficiency test for non-native speakers. The test can be waived if you spent at least two academic years at an institution where English was the language of instruction, supported by a letter from the registrar.

Test yourself against the real bar: Is my degree completed, or will it be completed before the autumn 2027 start? Can three people write specifically about my professional or academic work? Do I know which concentration I want, and can I explain that choice in 300 words without generalities? If I need funding to attend, is my record strong enough to compete for it, given that not every admit receives a full package?

Deadline and what the calendar really means

Applications for a autumn 2027 start are open now and close on 15 December 2026. Unlike many American graduate programmes, there is no earlier priority round listed, and no separate funding deadline to track — one submission covers both admission and scholarship consideration.

December is early for a September start, and that is deliberate: the school builds a cohort and then allocates funding across it. Applying in the final week narrows the time available to fix a missing reference or an unverified transcript, and those are the two things that most often derail otherwise complete files.

How to apply, step by step

Apply through the Keough School's online application. You will select a concentration and write the 300-word essay for it, upload transcripts and your CV, name three referees, and pay the application fee. If you are a non-native English speaker, arrange the test early — score reporting takes longer than applicants expect, and a file without a score is not reviewed.

There is nothing else to submit for funding. That is the point of the design: the admissions committee reads your file once, and the funding decision follows from it.

Documents to have ready

Transcripts and degree certificates with translations, three references who have agreed in advance, a CV that shows what you have actually done rather than what you intend to do, the concentration essay, and English test scores. If you have work experience in policy, development, humanitarian response or community organising, make it visible: a professional master's programme is reading for evidence of impact, not only for grades.

Common mistakes that sink applications

The most common is writing the concentration essay as a personal statement about wanting to help people. The prompt asks why this concentration, and the strongest answers name a problem, a place and a reason the curriculum fits. The second is choosing referees by title rather than by knowledge — a dean who has never read your work writes a weaker letter than a supervisor who has. The third is assuming that admission equals full funding, which it does not; plan for the possibility of a partial award. The fourth is submitting a transcript without the certified translation, which stalls the file.

Tips to win

Be concrete about the problem you want to work on and where you have already worked on it. The Keough School is a policy school with a strong peace and development identity, and files that show field experience, a language, or a community connection read differently from files that show only coursework. Use the essay to connect your past work to one of the concentrations rather than to describe your ambitions in general. And apply well before 15 December: a complete file in November is read in a calmer week than a complete file on the deadline.

https://keough.nd.edu/master-of-global-affairs/

https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=106

https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=57

https://www.oeacnetwork.com/index.php?page=post&id=3

If you would like help framing your concentration essay or checking whether your degree meets US graduate admission requirements, an OEAC advisor can review it with you.

Photo: Eccekevin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (the Golden Dome, University of Notre Dame).

Last updated: 4 November 2026