Application Instructions
The Graduate School provides detailed application instructions and you will want to read them carefully.  In brief, the materials sent directly to the Graduate School are:  

• the application, which is done on-line
• the non-refundable application fee
• the GRE scores for all applicants and the TOEFL score for international applicants.  (NOTE:  The Department of Economics accepts MCAT scores for the dual MD-PhD program but does not accept  GMAT scores.)  The Graduate School website includes a very detailed description of the TOEFL requirements.  The Graduate School does not grant exceptions to these requirements.
• transcripts (i) for all colleges and universities listed on the application and (ii) for colleges and universities from which transfer credits were accepted.  Check your transcripts very carefully.  If you submit a transcript showing transfer credits but no grades for the transferred courses, then you must submit a transcript from the college or university where you took the transfer courses.  If a grade appears for the transferred credits, then the transcript from the college/university offering the courses is not necessary.  Without all of the required transcripts, your application is incomplete.

The materials sent directly to the Department of Economics are listed below.  If you send these items to the Graduate School rather than the Department Economics, we will receive the materials, but the review of your file will be delayed.  Please note that we cannot accept e-mail versions of these documents.

three letters of recommendation (required), preferably from faculty rather than co-workers and employers.  Instructions and forms for the letters of recommendation are available from the Graduate School application website. (PLEASE NOTE: WE CANNOT ACCEPT RECOMMENDATION LETTERS ONLINE OR VIA EMAIL. LETTERS MUST BE SENT DIRECTLY FROM YOUR RECOMMENDERS OR INCLUDED IN THE PACKET OF APPLICATION MATERIALS THAT YOU SEND TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AT THE ADDRESS LISTED BELOW.)

a statement of purpose describing your interests (recommended)

a resume (recommended)

a copy of the sheet with your GRE and TOEFL scores (recommended)

the Financial Certificate (required for international applicants; U.S. citizens and permanent residents are exempt.)  The financial certificate is available from the Graduate School application website.  International applicants are required to submit a Financial Certificate even if they have no financial resources.  Without the financial certificate, your application is incomplete.

any other information that you think would help us evaluate your qualifications and potential

Our address is

Graduate Admissions Committee
Department of Economics CB# 3305
UNC-CH
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3305

Admission Criteria
The Admissions Committee reviews the entire file including:

Preparation and performance in previous academic work, particularly in economics, statistics and mathematics

GRE scores

TOEFL scores (for international applicants)

Letters of recommendation

Statement of purpose

Professional experience

The Committee seeks to identify students who can master the quantitative material that is emphasized in the first-year courses and who can do independent research for the Ph.D. dissertation.  We do not have a minimum GRE score or GPA for admission.  Nor do we set a cut-off score above which we guarantee admission.  A student's academic background and potential for achievement are both considered.   Keeping in mind that we do not have GRE cut-off scores, some information about the typical scores may still be informative.  For the last several years, the average Verbal and Quantitative GRE scores of entering students have been 550 and 780 respectively.   In general, the Quantitative GRE score must be 720 or above in order for an application to be competitive, but applicants with considerable strengths in other areas may be admitted and funded. The Department of Economics does NOT accept GMAT scores.

We also try to maintain a diverse student group.  Recent classes include students from the United States, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, India, Korea, China, and Taiwan.

Financial Aid
All applicants are considered for financial aid with the most common first-year assignments being departmental teaching and research assistantships, which are funded by the Graduate School or the Department of Economics.

There are typically 17 to 20 students in the entering class, most of whom have financial aid from the Graduate School or the Department.  U.S. and international students are eligible for support from these two sources.  U.S. students may also contact the University's Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid about federal loan and grant programs.

Mathematics Background
A strong math background is required in order to do well in a serious economics graduate program. A great many 4.0 undergraduates wish they had known that earlier, but it's still a fact. So, if you are early in your undergraduate career, take calculus, linear algebra, and as many additional math classes as possible.  We recommend that students have multivariate calculus and linear algebra before beginning our graduate program but consider students with less math and considerable strengths in other areas.

Deadlines
Our recommended deadline is January 1. Although we will continue to accept applications past this date, applications that are complete by January 1 are assured of review for all University and departmental funding. Most likely, applications received a few days after that will also be considered for all funding sources. Applications arriving in mid January are reviewed for departmental funding, but there may not be time to review such applications for some attractive University fellowships. Applications that arrive after mid February are reviewed for admission but are not necessarily reviewed for funding. Keep in mind that your application must be complete in order for us to recommend admission and funding.

As a practical matter, it is not necessary for U.S. applicants to use overnight delivery services in late December but you cannot dally. Be sure to give your recommenders and your educational institutions adequate notice in order for the letters of recommendation and the transcripts to be here on time. International applicants must allow time for translation of the transcripts. Similarly, you cannot delay on taking the GRE and, for most international applicants, the TOEFL. Even with the computer versions of the test, the University may not receive the score until three or four weeks after you take the exam. We recommend enclosing a copy of your GRE and TOEFL score sheets with the materials that you send to the department. This is particularly important for international applicants since the translations of names on the application and exams are not always the same. Having a copy of the exam score sheet allows us to match your application and official scores more quickly. In addition, ETS has recently experienced problems with their new computerized system for reporting official scores of U.S. and international students.

If you are an active member of the U.S. Armed Forces and think that you have missed a deadline, please contact us.  The Graduate School will work with you to accommodate your schedule whenever possible.

Incomplete Applications
In January and February, we assemble the files and let students know whether or not their applications are complete.  During this time we are not able to respond to individual requests about whether or not a file is complete. The process goes much more quickly if we notify students systematically rather than responding individually.  The most common reasons for incomplete files are (a) using different spellings of your name for the application and GRE/TOEFL exams and (b) allowing insufficient time for your recommenders to send their letters and for your educational institutions to send official transcripts.   Application materials are very, very seldom, if ever, lost in the mail. We notify all applications about incomplete files and we do not review files until the application is complete.  Thus, an "incomplete file notification" cannot be regarded as a "nearly sure" admission notification.

Recognizing that official GRE/TOEFL reports and transcripts cost money, some applicants propose the following idea: "I will pay for an official report or transcript as soon as I am admitted or am notified that my file is incomplete."  The plain fact is that without an official GRE report (and, for most foreign students, an official TOEFL report) and official transcripts from all universities/colleges attended, you do not have a complete application. There is absolutely no chance that the Graduate School will admit you without a complete application, and the Department cannot offer funding to a student who cannot be admitted.

Notification of Financial Aid
We usually send the first-round of financial aid offers in mid-March.  The deadline for responding to financial aid offers is April 15.  If the response rate to the first-round offers is low, then we may make additional offers.  We will not know about the possibility of second-round offers until we hear from the first-round students, some of whom do not notify us until shortly before the April 15 deadline.  If you have not received an offer for financial aid by April 16, then you can assume that we are unable to offer funding.

You may want to read the Council of Graduate Schools resolution regarding deadlines for financial aid offers to incoming graduate students.  In brief, the resolution states that applicants should not be expected to reply to financial aid offers prior to April 15.  Most U.S. Graduate Schools have endorsed the resolution.  A very few departments now send financial aid letters with earlier deadlines but requests for extensions until April 15 are generally granted.   Students who have not received financial aid offers by early April become understandably concerned.  Those who hold multiple offers can help their fellow applicants by declining any offers that they have decided against prior to the April 15 deadline.

The UNC International Center has advised us that international students who wait until the April 15 deadline to begin applying for a U.S. visa may encounter delays. 

Notification of Admission to the University
Although we do not send financial aid offers until mid-March, we usually begin making recommendations for admission to the University several weeks earlier.  Thus, some students may receive letters of admission from the Graduate School in February or early March before receiving financial aid letters from the department.

Masters Applications
Students who are interested in a Ph.D. are admitted directly to the Ph.D. program.  We offer a Masters degree but almost all of the students in the Masters program (>95%) were previously admitted to a Ph.D. or professional program at UNC.  Masters students take the same courses as Ph.D. students and must have the background required to do well in these courses.  We admit very, very few students who are interested in only a Masters degree.

Transfers
We do not accept transfer credits, and most students take the standard first year courses. Students who have taken Ph.D. level courses from other institutions may be ready to take advanced courses during the first year and proceed to the dissertation stage more quickly.

Spring Semester Admissions
Ph.D. students are admitted only for the Fall Semester since all first year courses are two semester sequences starting in the Fall Semester.

Environment
Chapel Hill is a great place to live. We have the atmosphere of a fairly small university community with the cultural amenities (and employment opportunities) of the Research Triangle. The corners of the Triangle are UNC, Duke University, and North Carolina State University and the middle area is the Research Triangle Park, home to IBM, GlaxoSmithKline, and dozens of high-tech businesses.  Duke University is about 10 miles from here, and many of our workshops are run jointly with Duke.  Students may take courses that we do not offer at Duke or North Carolina State University.

Visiting UNC
We welcome applicants who visit Chapel Hill.  Please let us know in advance and we will set-up appointments with faculty and students who share your interests.  Contact  Ms. Shirlene Garner, Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies (garner@email.unc.edu,  919-966-2384) or Professor Helen Tauchen, Director of Graduate Studies (econdgs@unc.edu,  919-966-2384).
 

Graduate Program Home Page

Last edited 11/12/2007