diff --git a/dev-requirements.txt b/dev-requirements.txt
index f6dec1675..0abe53c1d 100644
--- a/dev-requirements.txt
+++ b/dev-requirements.txt
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ torch>=2.7.0
 torchmetrics==1.6.3
 torchserve>=0.10.0
 torchtext==0.18.0
-torchvision==0.22.0
+torchvision==0.23.0
 typing-extensions
 ts==0.5.1
 ray[default]
diff --git a/torchx/specs/api.py b/torchx/specs/api.py
index e3e954a5b..44d21cbff 100644
--- a/torchx/specs/api.py
+++ b/torchx/specs/api.py
@@ -264,12 +264,32 @@ class RetryPolicy(str, Enum):
     APPLICATION = "APPLICATION"
     ROLE = "ROLE"
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def from_str(s: str) -> "RetryPolicy":
+        """
+        Returns the retry policy for the given string.
+        """
+        try:
+            return RetryPolicy[s]
+        except KeyError as e:
+            raise ValueError(f"Invalid retry policy: {s}") from e
+
 
 class MountType(str, Enum):
     BIND = "bind"
     VOLUME = "volume"
     DEVICE = "device"
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def from_str(s: str) -> "MountType":
+        """
+        Returns the mount type for the given string.
+        """
+        try:
+            return MountType[s]
+        except KeyError as e:
+            raise ValueError(f"Invalid mount type: {s}") from e
+
 
 @dataclass
 class BindMount:
@@ -481,6 +501,16 @@ def __str__(self) -> str:
     def __repr__(self) -> str:
         return f"{self.name} ({self.value})"
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def from_str(s: str) -> "AppState":
+        """
+        Returns the app state for the given string.
+        """
+        try:
+            return AppState[s]
+        except KeyError as e:
+            raise ValueError(f"Invalid app state: {s}") from e
+
 
 _TERMINAL_STATES: List[AppState] = [
     AppState.SUCCEEDED,
diff --git a/torchx/specs/test/api_test.py b/torchx/specs/test/api_test.py
index 2490e89b2..cb48652d6 100644
--- a/torchx/specs/test/api_test.py
+++ b/torchx/specs/test/api_test.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
     macros,
     MalformedAppHandleException,
     MISSING,
+    MountType,
     NULL_RESOURCE,
     parse_app_handle,
     ReplicaStatus,
@@ -55,6 +56,20 @@ def test_repr(self) -> None:
 
 
 class AppDefStatusTest(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def test_app_state_from_str(self) -> None:
+        self.assertEqual(AppState.UNSUBMITTED, AppState.from_str("UNSUBMITTED"))
+        self.assertEqual(AppState.SUBMITTED, AppState.from_str("SUBMITTED"))
+        self.assertEqual(AppState.PENDING, AppState.from_str("PENDING"))
+        self.assertEqual(AppState.RUNNING, AppState.from_str("RUNNING"))
+        self.assertEqual(AppState.SUCCEEDED, AppState.from_str("SUCCEEDED"))
+        self.assertEqual(AppState.FAILED, AppState.from_str("FAILED"))
+        self.assertEqual(AppState.CANCELLED, AppState.from_str("CANCELLED"))
+        self.assertEqual(AppState.UNKNOWN, AppState.from_str("UNKNOWN"))
+
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            AppState.from_str("INVALID_STATE")
+
     def test_is_terminal(self) -> None:
         for s in AppState:
             is_terminal = AppStatus(state=s).is_terminal()
@@ -315,6 +330,26 @@ def test_retry_policies(self) -> None:
             },
         )
 
+    def test_retry_policy_from_str(self) -> None:
+        # Test valid retry policy strings
+        self.assertEqual(RetryPolicy.APPLICATION, RetryPolicy.from_str("APPLICATION"))
+        self.assertEqual(RetryPolicy.REPLICA, RetryPolicy.from_str("REPLICA"))
+        self.assertEqual(RetryPolicy.ROLE, RetryPolicy.from_str("ROLE"))
+
+        # Test invalid retry policy string
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            RetryPolicy.from_str("INVALID_POLICY")
+
+    def test_mount_type_from_str(self) -> None:
+        # Test valid mount type strings
+        self.assertEqual(MountType.BIND, MountType.from_str("BIND"))
+        self.assertEqual(MountType.VOLUME, MountType.from_str("VOLUME"))
+        self.assertEqual(MountType.DEVICE, MountType.from_str("DEVICE"))
+
+        # Test invalid mount type string
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            MountType.from_str("INVALID_MOUNT_TYPE")
+
     def test_override_role(self) -> None:
         default = Role(
             "foobar",