Message from the Director of Graduate Studies
Basic Requirements
for Admission
Department of Economics
Graduate Program
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Our basic standards for admission are:
- A grade-point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale or an academic rank in the top 5% of your class.
- A minimum score of 750 on the quantitative portion of the GRE.
- For students who are not native speakers of English, a minimum score of 100 on the TOEFL iBT (600 on the paper test) or 7.0 on the IELTS**. Students who have at least four years of funding from a third party may be admitted with a TOEFL score of 79 on the ibT (550 on the paper test) or an IELTS score of 6.5.
- Coursework in multivariate calculus and linear algebra.
Every year we receive many more applications from students who meet these standards than we can admit, so we use additional criteria to evaluate the applications. These criteria include courses taken and texts studied, letters of recommendation, research papers and other professional activities and academic honors. The admissions committee will also look for evidence that the applicant has been exposed to economic theory beyond the intermediate undergraduate level. This introduction may come through a course called advanced economic theory, mathematical economics, game theory or mathematics for economists.
Also please note that the mathematical prerequisites for the program are barely enough to survive the first year theory courses. Courses in real analysis, differential equations, optimization, topology, probability or measurement theory are all particularly helpful in preparing for graduate study.
**TOEFL WaiversThe TOEFL may be waived if the applicant has completed at least 16 credits of college-level work at a U.S., Canadian, British or Australian or New Zealand university within 24 months of the desired date of admission. Please contact the Economics Graduate Studies Office at econdgs@econ.umn.edu if you have questions about the waiver.
