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Ph.D. Application & Admission

The application deadline for those seeking full consideration for financial aid is January 10.

For more information or questions regarding the PhD program – e-mail us

DO NOT E-MAIL FACULTY MEMBERS DIRECTLY. THEY WILL NOT RESPOND TO YOUR REQUESTS. Please submit ALL your inquiries to the e-mail link above.

STEM Designation
Our PhD program has recently been reclassified as STEM (CIP Code 45.0603: Econometrics and Quantitative Economics). Students in STEM degree programs can apply for a 24 month STEM extension of F1 Optional Practical Training (OPT).

Overview of Ph.D. Admissions at Texas A&M

Our admissions decisions are based on a combination of prior preparation in economics, mathematics, statistics, and other technical courses, grade point averages in these topics, overall grade point average, perceived quality of undergraduate and, if applicable, masters training, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and so on. We do not have minimum thresholds for GPA, GRE scores, or courses taken. Admission is only granted for students entering in the fall semester; we do not admit students entering in the spring semester.

An undergraduate major in economics is not a requirement, but students are expected to have taken some economics courses, including at least intermediate theory courses. Students should also have a solid background in mathematics. The recommended math courses are calculus, linear algebra, and mathematical statistics, but more math is generally considered an advantage. A master’s degree is not required for admission to the Ph.D. program, nor for completing the Ph.D. degree.

Each year we receive around 200 applications to the PhD program. We admit 10 to 15 percent of those applicants. Of the admitted applicants, an average of 15 begin our PhD program each year. The average GRE scores of those students is 156 in verbal, 164 in quantitative, and 4.0 in analytical writing.

The Department awards an average of 10 assistantships to each first-year PhD class. These assistantships include a monthly stipend, a tuition waiver, and a health insurance package. Assistantships are renewable each year for five years so long as students remain in good standing in the department.

How to Apply to the PhD Program

  1. Submit an application and upload documents online at Texas A&M Grad CAS

Required Application Materials

  • Program Application

Apply on-line at Texas A&M Grad CAS

  • Personal Statement/Essay

The Economics Department does not have any specific requirements for the essay. This essay is simply a way for applicants to share information about themselves that the admission committee might not otherwise see when looking at other application materials. This essay is uploaded via the Grad CAS website.

  • All transcripts from prior institutions/colleges (International applicants: one transcript in your native language and one translation in English)

Scanned copies of your transcripts should be uploaded to the Grad CAS website. These scanned copies are sufficient for the department to review your application and make admission and funding decisions.  While it is also possible for you to instead submit paper copies to the address below, we strongly discourage submission of paper copies as part of your application since it will slow down the processing time for your application significantly and may cause you to miss out on funding opportunities. Instead, please upload scanned copies to the Grad CAS website.  However, in order for you to ultimately enroll at Texas A&M University, you must submit official copies of the transcripts. The preferred way is to submit “official” versions of electronic transcripts via the one of the university-approved vendors which includes AVOW, SPEEDE, eScrip-SAFE or National Student Clearinghouse. Electronic transcripts from other vendors will not be accepted by the university (similarly, the university does not consider copies you scan of your “official transcripts” to be official). The less-preferred (but still acceptable) way of submitting official transcripts is to mail them directly to the registrar at:

Graduate Admissions Processing
Office of Admissions
Texas A&M University
P.O. Box 40001
College Station, TX 77842-4001

To summarize, while you will eventually need to submit either official paper copies or university-sanctioned electronic copies of your transcripts to the Office of Admissions before enrolling at Texas A&M University, to avoid lengthy delays in the processing of your application you should upload electronic copies to Grad CAS when applying. If you would like to additionally submit official transcripts to the address above, you are welcome to do so, even though it is not necessary unless you are accepted and enroll.

  • Official degree statements or diplomas for any degrees awarded (International applicants: one in your Native language and one English translation)

These statements should be submitted in the same manner as your transcripts. That is, scanned copies should be uploaded to the Grad CAS website in order for your application to be reviewed.  If you decide to enroll at Texas A&M, you will need to submit official copies of degree statements, just as you do for transcripts. Directions for doing so are the same as for transcripts, as described above.

  • GRE scores

These scores should be sent directly from Educational Testing Service. The scores must be from a test date within five years of the date of your application. For information on test dates and locations, please visit www.gre.org. The institution code for Texas A&M University is 6003.

  • TOEFL scores

This test is required only if your GRE verbal score is below 146, and if you come from a country where English is not the native language. These scores should be sent directly from the testing service, and must be from a test date within two years of the date of your application.

  • Three Letters of Recommendation

Letters should be from people who are familiar with your academic background (i.e., professors or advisors), and should preferably be written on letterhead. Professional references (i.e., employers) are acceptable if academic references are unavailable.  The names and email addresses of your letter writers should be entered into the Grad CAS website. Once you enter the names and email addresses of your professors into the Grad CAS website and complete that part of the application, the system will email them asking for them to upload their letters for you.

Optional Application Materials

  • Optional Writing Sample

Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to submit an original writing sample. It should be sole-authored and written in English. For example, applicants may choose to submit a research paper written for a prior course. Submission of a writing sample is recommended but not required for consideration for admission and funding. If you would like to submit a writing sample, you should upload it as a “supporting document” to the to the Grad CAS website.

Tuition

For information on current tuition rates, please visit http://sbs.tamu.edu/accounts-billing/tuition-fees/cost-attendance/.

Financial Aid

Qualified applicants will be considered for financial aid in the form of assistantships and fellowships. The application for admission also serves as the application for financial aid. There is no separate application form for financial aid.

To be considered for funding, applications and the supporting materials should be submitted no later than January 10. The department will continue to accept applications until March 1, though applications received after January 10 are not guaranteed full consideration for financial aid. That means while we will attempt to consider applications received after December 15 for financial aid (the sooner we receive the materials the better your chances), we do not guarantee full consideration.

  • Assistantships

The department primarily funds PhD students via research or teaching assistantships. In general, research and teaching assistants devote up to 20 hours per week helping faculty members with their research projects or teaching. Most assistantships also include tuition waivers. The Department has also been able to fund additional assistantships from external research grants and awards. All applicants, including those who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, are eligible for assistantships.