Admissions and Financial Aid
Department of Economics
Graduate Program
Is the Minnesota Ph.D. Program for Me?
Chances of Admission and First Year Financial Assistance
Financial Aid in Subsequent Years
What is Satisfactory Progress?
Is the Minnesota Ph.D. Program for Me?
Ph.D. programs have different signatures. The Minnesota Program's signature is maintaining a balance between theoretical and applied work, but insisting on rigorous theoretical underpinnings for applications. The reason for this is to make sure that assumptions are clearly specified, so that others can judge their appropriateness, and to ensure that results really do follow from assumptions rather than relying on "intuition" to assert the linkage. A student whose primary interest is in pressing social problems may become impatient with such insistence on what may appear to be theoretical discussion unrelated to the problem at hand. Such a student should not choose the Minnesota Program. For those students who take pleasure in careful logical analysis and in the application of mathematical and statistical tools to important social issues will find that the training opens up exciting avenues for productive theoretical and applied research.
Two current Minnesota students have written a paper which can be found here.
Basic Requirements for Admission
Here are some of the basic guidelines for the decisions we make on admission and financial aid:
GRE
Normally we consider applicants only with Graduate Record Examination (GRE) - quantitative scores above 750, though particularly strong credentials of other kinds (e. g., research papers, strong letters of evaluation from professors familiar with top-rated U.S. graduate programs, grades) can offset a lower score. The GRE subject exam in economics has been discontinued, but if you have taken it in the past, we are naturally interested to hear about high scores.
Grade-Point Average
Normally we consider only applicants whose undergraduate grade point average (GPA) exceeds 3.5 on a 4 point scale (A=4.0, A-=3.67, B=3.00, and so forth.) For both this and other grading systems, we are looking for students who are in the top 5% or so of their class. The same caveat as above applies here: in unusual cases, we will admit a student who does not meet this standard.
Note: we receive many more applications from students who meet these standards than we can admit, so decisions depend in large part on additional credentials such as research papers and other professional activities, courses taken and texts studied, letters of reference, and academic honors awarded.
TOEFL Exam
Applicants who have not done their undergraduate work in an English-speaking country are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The minimum score for a financial aid applicant is 250 on the computer-based exam, 100 on the internet-based TOEFL and 600 on the paper test. Furthermore, an applicant who ahs taken the internet-based TOEFL must have a minimum score of 19 in the reading section and 21 in the writing section.
An applicant with at least four years of financial support from some source external to the University of Minnesota needs a TOEFL score of 213 on the computer-based TOEFL, 79 on the internet-based exam and 550 on the paper test. Applicants who have completed 16 credits of coursework at a college or university in an English speaking country in the 24 months prior to the desired date of admission are exempt from the TOEFL.
The University of Minnesota also accepts the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in place of the TOEFL. The minimum score for financial aid is 7.0 on the IELTS. Students who have at least four years of funding from an external source need to score at least 6.5.
Decisions on admission or financial aid will await GRE and, when applicable, TOEFL scores. Since some of these decisions are made in early January, and the rest early February, you should take the examinations early. December is the latest scheduled examination date for which we normally obtain results before we extend offers for the following September.
Other Considerations
The University of Minnesota program builds on rigorous mathematical foundations. The minimum mathematical prerequisites, multivariable calculus and linear algebra, are barely enough to survive first year theory courses. In fact, no student has been admitted in the past several years with training limited to this level of mathematics. Real analysis, or any course in abstract mathematics which teaches the skills needed to construct a careful proof, is particularly helpful. Courses in differential equations, optimization, topology, probability, or measurement theory can all be applied to economic work. All help develop the mathematical sophistication that helps prepare the student to understand new mathematical concepts that they will meet in graduate work. A course in mathematical statistics is not required for admission, but satisfies an important prerequisite for the econometrics course sequence. Previous course work in statistics may enable you to take econometrics sooner than you otherwise could.
Given that there is a great gap between the level of mathematics used in a typical intermediate theory course at a U.S. college or university and the mathematics used in the first year graduate theory course, we normally look for confirmation that the applicant has been exposed to modern economic theory at a level beyond intermediate theory. This introduction might come through a course called advanced economic theory, mathematical economics, game theory, or mathematics for economists. Our departmental application asks for a list of textbooks or readings used in mathematics and economics courses to provide information about this preparation in economic theory.
Chances of Admission and First-Year Financial Assistance
Last year there were approximately 373 applicants to our program and 52 were accepted to fill 24 positions. We offered financial support--departmental assistantships and Graduate School or department fellowships--to about 43 applicants. Other students admitted are generally those whom we believe to be worthy of support, regardless of whether they apply for it. Therefore, the table below describing our aid offers over the past few years also tells something about the likelihood of admission.
Although there are eligibility restrictions on some fellowships, we generally award assistantships and fellowships competitively to those we predict will perform best. We do not have a rigid formula for the award of aid. Offers of support depend on the admissions committee's evaluation of an applicant's grades, courses taken, letters of recommendation, research papers, other professional activities, honors received, and quality of undergraduate schools and quantitative GRE scores. We look at the other scores on the GRE general test, but we place special emphasis on the quantitative section.
Even though we have no precise formula for the award of aid, the following table suggests the nature of the competition faced by American and Canadian students if they apply here. From 2005-2007 we offered fellowships or assistantships to 46 applicants from American and Canadian colleges or universities whose grading systems can be placed on a four-point scale. The table below shows the distribution of these students by undergraduate grade point average and GRE quantitative aptitude test score. This table applies only to American and Canadian applicants. It is impossible to give comparable information for applicants from other countries. In evaluating applications from places other than the U.S. and Canada , we try to take into account that grading practices vary considerably from country to country. Also, for students whose native language is not English, GRE's are in part a test of facility with English, in addition to a test of basic aptitude.
Financial Aid offers to Graduates of U.S. and Canadian Universities (2005-2007)
| GPA |
Quantitative GRE Scores |
|||
| 750-800 | 700-740 | Below 700 | Total | |
| 3.8 - 4.0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 3.6 - 3.79 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 3.4 - 3.59 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Below 3.4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 46 | 0 | 0 | 46 |
Any student except the most supremely self-confident will wonder, "If admitted, what do I need to do to stay in the program?"
Most students do stay in the program. Of 73 students who entered the Ph.D. program between September 1998 and September 2001, 51 have received their degrees. An additional 11 students are working on their theses. Four others left the program with M.A.'s. Six left with no degree. Some of these students transferred to another school or to another field. No students were terminated by the program.
The reason that not 1 of 66 entrants was terminated from the program is that the faculty believes that entrants to the program are talented and well-trained. We do not impose short-term requirements designed to “weed out” students over the course of the program. Entering students come from a wide variety of backgrounds, from an undergraduate liberal arts degree to professional training in demanding master's or doctoral programs in economics or mathematics. Students with stronger preparation are likely to have greater success in the first year. The faculty recognize that students from a less technical background may start more slowly, and do not make long-term decisions about a student's potential success based on course grades.
The only criteria for dropping a student from the program are failure in preliminary or final doctoral examinations, or failure to complete the dissertation within a reasonable amount of time. Those few students who leave the program because of inability to do the work generally founder on the written preliminary examinations and leave with an M.A. This happens once or twice each year. Failure of the preliminary oral examination would mean that the committee thought the student's thesis design was ill-conceived and would indicate a severe failure of communication between the faculty and the student. Our records do not show any student leaving the program for this reason. Failure of the final oral examination is theoretically possible, but unheard of in practice.
A student whose eventual success appears uncertain based on grades and preliminary examinations will be counseled to complete a master's degree or transfer to an alternative doctoral program. We do permit students to keep trying until he has reached the time limit to pass the exams. A student must pass both the microeconomics and macroeconomics preliminary exams and on field exam by the end of the second year and pass the second field exam by the end of the third year. There are formal criteria to determine whether a student is in good academic standing to received continuing financial support through the department. Please see Financial Aid in Subsequent Years for more detail.
It is expected that students will be able to complete all the requirements for the PhD, including a successful defense of the dissertation within five or at most six years, although exceptions may be made in situations with extenuating circumstances. Students who appear to be in danger of exceeding that limit will be asked to submit a plan with both short-term and long-term goals for approval by their advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. The student is then expected to make regular progress reports to both the advisor and DGS. If it appears that these goals cannot be met, the student will be counseled to withdraw from the program and re-enter at a time when he can successfully complete the dissertation. These requests for readmittance are routinely granted if they are accompanied by a reasonable schedule for completion and the approval of the thesis advisor.
The strongest applicants who have completed applications by December 31 for the following Fall are nominated for Graduate School Fellowships. Successful nominees are provided a stipend that exceeds the graduate assistant stipend for the first year and assuming satisfactory progress in the program, are guaranteed a 50% graduate assistantship from the Economics Department for at least the next three years. In recent years an average of ten applicants has been offered these fellowships. A limited number of departmental fellowships are also offered. As with graduate school fellowships, the departmental fellowships are generally for one year to be followed by graduate assistantships. The teaching assistantship (TA) is the most common job for the rest of our students. Many advanced students are offered a 50% or half-time TA appointment. Departmental fellowship funds allow us to reduce the amount of work required for some first-year students while maintaining the same financial support as a half-time TA.
The typical assignment for a first-year TA is to conduct discussion sections for an introductory undergraduate course or to grade papers for undergraduate courses. More advanced graduate students teach undergraduate courses or serve as TAs in graduate courses. A 9-month half-time appointment requires approximately 20 hours of work per week. During 2007-2008, half-time TA appointments paid about $13,400 to $14,300, the higher pay going to advanced students with more demanding jobs. These appointments also carry a full tuition scholarship for up to 14 credits per term and health insurance. A modest level of summer support may also be available from the department.
Jobs as research assistants (RAs) on faculty projects are available. These jobs usually go to students already enrolled in the program. The department has a close working relationship with the research division of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank. During a typical year, up to ten of our graduate students work at the Bank as research assistants.
Competitively awarded thesis fellowship support is available for advanced students.
Financial Aid in Subsequent Years
Students who fulfill criteria for satisfactory progress and who did not enter with multi-year external funding are offered part-time assistantships or comparable support by the department for the following year, at least through their fourth year of graduate study in economics and generally through their fifth year. In order to obtain a continuing appointment the student must also perform assistantship duties diligently. If the student is not a native English speaker, the student must pass the SPEAK test of spoken English by the end of their first year in the program.
What is Satisfactory Progress?
Please note, the last day of a year is the day before classes start in September of the next academic year. Therefore, the last day of the first year is the day before classes start for the second year.
Second Year
During the first year of the program, the student must have completed at least five full-semester, adviser-approved, courses and have earned a grade point average of 3.20 (a low B+) in the economics component of these courses.
Third Year
The student must pass the both of the written preliminary examinations in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory and one field preliminary examination by the end of the second year.
Fourth Year
The student must pass the second field exam by the end of the third year.
Fifth Year
The student must pass the preliminary oral exam and complete at least 10 thesis credits by the end of the fourth year, however, fourth year students are strongly encouraged to seek fellowship support from outside sources.
Sixth Year and Beyond
Teaching positions are not normally available for students in their sixth or later years. If there are sufficient funds, the decision as to which student gets one of a limited number of positions depends on the needs of the department, on the student's teaching record, and on the student's progress toward the degree. Sixth-year students without assistantship or fellowship funds often obtain other jobs on or off campus, teaching at a local college or serving as a research or administrative assistant elsewhere in the university. Students must complete their thesis credits by the end of their fifth year in order to be eligible for a teaching appointment.
