Application Information

APPLICATION INFORMATION

ť Application Procedures
ť Required Examinations
ť Programs of Study
ť Earning the Degree
ť Tuition and Living Costs
ť Financial Assistance

We welcome your interest in applying to the Ph.D. Program in Economics at Yale University. The Economics Department offers a challenging and rigorous academic program, a distinguished faculty, and a supportive environment for study. You will find general information on the Department, admission procedures, requirements for the Ph.D., course information, faculty biographies and newsworthy notes on this Department web site.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Prospective applicants can apply to the Ph.D. Program in Economics using the following options that can be found on the following web site www.yale.edu/graduateschool/admissions. Please be aware the application deadline for the Economics Department Ph.D. program is December 15, 2008.

1. On-line applications are accepted by the Yale Graduate School
2. Paper copy of the application is no longer available.

All information regarding the Graduate Program in Economics is available on this web site. Hard copy of materials will not be mailed.

Note: Do not request materials from this email site. Please see www.yale.edu/graduateschool/admissions

REQUIRED EXAMINATIONS

Official score reports must be submitted for all required examinations. Ask the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to report your scores to the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, code 3987.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The General Test is required of all applicants. Applicants should take the GRE no later than November. Applicants are strongly encouraged to register early to schedule test dates and times. For registration forms, test dates, test centers and general information contact www.gre.org. The minimum quantitative GRE score required for admission is 730. There are no minima for other sections of the test.

Test of English as a Foreign Language. International applicants whose native language is not English and who have not studied for at least two years at a university where English is the primary language of instruction are required to present evidence of proficiency in English by satisfactorily completing the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Applicants should take the test no later than November, and no earlier than eighteen months prior to application. Applicants are strongly encouraged to register early to schedule test dates and times. For information regarding registration, dates, and test centers, contact: www.toefl.org. The minimum TOEFL score necessary for admission is 600 or 250 depending on whether you take the computerized or written test. In addition, a minimum of 60 or 25 is required on the oral comprehensive section. For those taking the new TOEFL ibt, the minimum total score is 100 and for other sections 26 on each, except for writing which is 22.

Test of Spoken English (TSE). All international applicants who accept offers of admission to the Ph.D. program and whose native language is not English are strongly encouraged to present scores on the Test of Spoken English by the time of enrollment in the fall. The TSE is administered in the United States and abroad. For further information check the www.toefl.org web site. Students who do not demonstrate sufficient proficiency in English may be retested and/or asked to take courses in English for speakers of other languages. A high level of proficiency is required for students to serve as teaching fellows.

PROGRAMS OF STUDY

Doctoral and master’s degrees. Students may enter the Graduate Economics Program after earning a bachelors degree (or the equivalent) or a master’s degree. The Master of Art Degree may be earned by students in the course of their doctoral studies, enroute to the Ph.D. The Master of Philosophy is awarded to students who complete all requirements for the Ph.D. except the dissertation. The Doctor of Philosophy is awarded upon acceptance of the doctoral dissertation. The Economics Department does not accept students into a terminal master’s program. The Economic Growth Center offers a one-year MA program in International and Development Economics. For more information on this program see www.econ.yale/~egcenter/special.htm.

Full-time and Part-time Study. Doctoral students are expected to devote their full energies to course work and preparation for the qualifying examinations in the first years, and dissertation research and writing in the final years of graduate study. There is no part-time study available to applicants to the Department of Economics.

Nondegree Study. Qualified individuals who wish to study at the graduate level but not pursue a degree may be admitted to the Division of Special Registration (DSR) as "special students." Admission to this program is for one term or one year only and carries with it no commitment for further study. These students are not eligible for financial aid or loans. Applicants interested should apply in the same fashion as for full-time study.

Interdisciplinary Study. Students may apply for admission to only one department or program within the Graduate School. Students may take one or more courses in a related department, and are often advised by faculty members from more than one department during their dissertation research. Students in the Graduate School, may, with permission, take advantage of course or research opportunities in Yale College and in the professional schools.

Joint-degree Programs. The Department of Economics offers a joint J.D./Ph.D. degree with the Yale Law School. Students must apply to and be admitted to the Yale Law School independently of the Graduate School. Applicants may apply to both schools at the same time or they may enter one school and apply to the second during their first year of study. A separate application is required for each school, and each makes its own admission decision. Students who apply simultaneously to two schools should indicate that they are doing so on both applications. For information on the Yale Law School see the following web site: www.law.yale.edu/yls/admis-jdindex.htm.

Transfer Students. The Yale Graduae School does not admit transfer students. The presumption is that students who receive a Yale doctoral degree do their studies at Yale. Students currently enrolled in a doctoral program elsewhere who wish to apply to a Yale doctoral program may do so through the normal admissions procedure. They must meet all the application requirements, including the deadline for submission. Some very successful students have entered the Yale program in this way. Such students may, after one year of course work at Yale, petition the Economics Department and Graduate School to waive up to one year of course work at Yale in view of prior graduate-level course work completed elsewhere. All other requirements, including the comprehensive examination, the economic history requirement, the oral examination, and the econometrics paper, must be completed at Yale. Students who enter the program from another doctoral program receive the full, five-year financial aid package.

Those interested in transferring to Yale might consider the Exchange Scholars Program as an alternative. At participating institutions, students may petition their own schools to enroll full-time at Yale for a term or for an academic year as exchange scholars. Participating universities include Berkeley, Brown, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, MIT, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Stanford.

Further Graduate School Information. A comprehensive description of academic rules and regulations of the Yale Graduate School will be made available to students when they are registered. The Programs and Policies booklet may be found on the Internet at the Graduate School Web site: http://www.yale.edu/graduateschool/

EARNING THE DEGREE

Length of Study. Students are expected to complete the requirements for the degree in six years of registration. The first two years are generally spent taking courses full time; the third is spent preparing a dissertation prospectus within workshops and completing all requirements except the dissertation; the remaining years are spent pursuing and writing up a work of original research. The average length of time required to complete the program is five years. A small percentage finish in four years, although students are guaranteed registration for 6 years in which to finish their degree.

Residency Requirement. Doctoral students in this program are required to be in residence in New Haven for at least three years.

Disssertation. The doctoral dissertation is the climax of the graduate school experience. Every dissertation makes an original contribution to a student’s field of study by discovering significant new information, achieving a new synthesis of ideas, developing new methods or hypotheses, or applying established methods to new materials. A dissertation also demonstrates the student’s mastery of relevant resources and methods. Students work with two advisers throughout this process.

TUITION AND LIVING COSTS

In the academic year 2008-09 tuition for full-time study is $31,500. This rate is expected to increase in subsequent years. Ph.D. candidates are charged four years of full tuition. Thereafter students are charged a modest continuing registration fee each term until the dissertation is submitted or the terminal date is passed. The CRF fee for 2008-09 is $325 per semester. We estimate that in 2008-09 a single student will need $23,520 (twelve months), exclusive of tuition to meet academic-year living costs. Students with dependents should plan on proportionately higher costs.

FINANTIAL ASSISTANCE

To help students meet educational and living costs, the Graduate School provides substantial financial assistance to the majority of those enrolled in the Ph.D. program. All applicants to the program are automatically considered for financial aid unless they indicate that they have available resources that will be sufficient to pay for tuition and maintenance for the duration of their educational program (normally four to six years). In practice, all Ph.D. students receive financial aid that provides full tuition and a stipend for four years. In some instances, a portion of this financial aid comes from outside fellowships. The nature of financial assistance varies. Financial support will, in most cases, be derived from a combination of sources.

Yale University Fellowships are awarded by the Graduate School which cover full tuition plus minimum stipend in most cases. University Stipend Fellowships are awarded upon admission to entering students and are based primarily on merit.

Teaching Fellowships are combined with other fellowships in years three and four to establish a pattern of support. The Graduate School attempts to provide teaching opportunities sufficient to enhance graduate education but not so numerous as to prevent completion of the Ph.D. within six years.

Research Assistantships are available within the Department. These assistantships offer an opportunity for students and faculty to work closely on related research projects.

Fellowships for Minority Americans. Successful minority applicants are eligible for a fellowship program initiated for underrepresented minority Americans. No separate application is necessary.

University Dissertation Fellowship. The Graduate School offers University Dissertation Fellowships to all eligible students.

National Fellowships. All applicants for admission are strongly urged to compete for outside fellowships which can be used at Yale. These fellowships are sponsored by both public and private agencies and are often more generous than those awarded by the University. In addition to their financial advantages, distinction is conferred on a student who wins an award in a national competition. The Graduate School permits students to hold outside awards in conjunction with Yale University Fellowships up to combined levels that are higher than the normal stipend maximum. The McDougal Center maintains a library of fellowship information; incoming students seeking external aid are advised to consult it on arrival in New Haven.

Federal and Non-Federal Student Loans. Loans administered by the University are available to citizens and permanent residents of the U.S. The types of loans and amounts a student is eligible to borrow are based entirely on financial need as determined by federal formula.