To request applications materials or apply online, please go to the Graduate School Admissions web site. Please read Frequently Asked Questions. Any additional questions can be addressed to the Graduate Director.

INTRODUCTION

The Master's and Ph.D. programs have different objectives. The MS program is designed to provide the training necessary for careers in government and business where original research is generally not the primary concern. The PhD program is designed to train economists capable of adding to the knowledge of economics, doing independent research, and teaching at college or university levels.

ADMISSION POLICIES

Applicants for graduate studies in Economics must meet the requirements for admission to the Graduate School and be accepted by the Department of Economics. In general, the minimum requirements are:

1. A bachelor's degree from an accredited college with at least a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or a 3.0 G.P.A. for the last 60 hours of study.
2. A score of at least 1,000 on the aptitude portion (verbal plus quantitative) of the Graduate Record Examination or equivalent GMAT.
3. Satisfactory academic standing at the last institution attended. The above requirements are flexible. Applicants who have higher G.P.A.'s and lower G.R.E. scores or lower G.P.A.'s and higher G.R.E. scores will be considered for admission.
4. Foreign students whose native language is not English must take TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). TOEFL scores must exceed 575 on the paper-based version or 232 on the computer-based version for admission into the Economics program.

In addition to the above requirements, we would like students to have completed undergraduate courses in calculus, statistics, and intermediate microeconomics and macroeconomics before entering the MS program. It would be preferable for students interested in pursuing the Ph.D. degree to take at least a year of calculus, a linear algebra course, and probability and statistics.

Non-economics majors with strong academic records are encouraged to apply. It is likely that students who have not had many undergraduate courses in economics or have not had the courses indicated above can make them up in one semester, before taking the core program courses.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE 

The department does not provide graduate assistantships to Masters students. 

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MS DEGREE

A student receives the MS degree in economics when the following requirements are fulfilled:

1. Required Core Courses:
   • Mathematics for Economists* (Economics 7610)
   • Price Theory I (Economics 7700)
   • Macroeconomics I (Economics 7710)
   • Econometrics I (Economics 7630)
   • Econometrics II (Economics 7631)

     * Students may satisfy this requirement by satisfactory performance on a written exam or by approval of the graduate advisor.

2. Completion of 36 hours:

   In addition to the 15 hours of required courses a student must complete 21 hours of electives (at least 12 hours of the electives must be in 7000 level courses). A minor of 6 to 9 hours may be chosen outside economics with the permission of the graduate director. Only 6 hours of 4000 level courses in economics may be counted toward the degree.

3. Comprehensive Examination for the MS Degree:

   The MS program requires satisfactory performance on a comprehensive written exam covering the required core courses. Students take this exam on a pass or fail basis. Those failing will be able to take the exam a second time. The student must take this exam for the first time at the start of the fourth semester. If the student fails, he or she may take the exam a second time in June. In some cases, if performance is superior on one or two portions of the exam, but one portion is failed, the second exam may consist of only the portion failed, at the discretion of the Graduate Advisor.

4. Transfer Credit

   Students who have completed part of the required courses at other programs can select a larger number of electives in order to meet the 36 hour requirement.

5. Time Limit for the MS

   The student has a maximum of five calendar years in which to complete the MS. If the student exceeds this limit, he or she must retake Comprehensive Exams, and this can be allowed only under the discretion of the Economics Graduate Committee. Furthermore, the Department of Economics allows revalidation of not more than 50% of the Economics courses taken before the expiration of the 5-year time limit for completion of the MS in Economics. Revalidation is determined by an examination given and graded by the current instructor of the course over material currently covered in the course. The student must score at least a solid B on the examination to have the course revalidated.