Admissions Requirements

Apply Now: Applications due December 3, 2012, 5:00pm est

Completed Application

Your application is complete when the following materials are submitted:

On-line Application
Official ETS GRE General Test Score Report
Scanned and uploaded copy of transcripts - please ensure they are legible
Official Transcripts - sent directly to Admissions Office
Three Letters of Recommendation: NOTE – we require online submission of all letters of recommendation - paper letters will not be accepted.
Scanned and uploaded CV (.pdf preferred)
Statement of Purpose
Scanned and uploaded certificates, or any other items you deem pertinent (.pdf preferred)
Application Fee
Official ETS TOEFL (if required) Test Score Report
Please note, we do not require a writing sample

Tips for Filling out the Application

GRE

All applicants are required to take the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).Test scores must not be older than five years, and must be from a test taken between December 3, 2007 and December 3, 2012 for Fall 2013 enrollment. Applicants are, however, advised to take the exam no later than mid-November. There is no minimum test score requirement. The GRE code for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is 3451.

Official Transcripts

In addition to mailing the transcripts, please also scan and upload a copy with your application. All transcripts should be sent to:
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Harvard University
Office of Admissions
Holyoke Center, 3rd Floor
1350 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are a critical component to a successful application. In general, when reviewing letters of recommendation, the admissions committee is looking for information on how applicants are likely to perform in graduate school and on their research potential. For that reason, it is typically better to get references from economists; specifically economists who are respected in the profession for research as opposed to employers in non-research jobs.

It is extremely helpful when recommenders provide comparative information on the applicant and the people they have recommended in the past. Specifically, if your recommender has written letters for students in the past, please ask them to rank you again those students, both in terms of research skills and mathematical preparation. This is clearly a more detailed letter for a recommender to write, but is vital to the application process.

Academic Information

Make sure and list previous college/university information in the proper order:

Degree granting Undergrad Institution
Degree granting Graduate Institution
Other Institution

Employment Experience

Be sure to include the job title under the job description.

Abstract of Courses

Complete this form carefully to help ensure full consideration of your application. List in order, all math courses taken, all statistic courses taken, all economic courses taken, lastly list all other relevant courses. Be sure to list the institution and grade received.

International Applicants

Adequate command of spoken and written English is required for admission. Applicants whose native language is other than English and who do not hold a Bachelor degree or its equivalent from an institution at which English is the language of instruction must submit TOEFL scores. Submitted scores must not be older than two years, and must be from a test taken between December 1, 2010 and December 1, 2012 for Fall 2013 enrollment. The committee prefers scores of at least 100 on the internet-based test. The Institution Code for TOEFL score report is 3451.

Reapplicants

Applicants who applied last year are considered reapplicants. Reapplicants must file a new application, pay the full application fee, submit at least one new letter of recommendation from someone who has not previously submitted letters on your behalf, and submit transcripts covering any academic work undertaken since the time of last application. Applicants who filed more than one year ago should follow regular application instructions. Please note, the Economics department will not accept more than three applications from any individual during the course of his or her academic career.

Applying to more than one Program

Harvard has several PhD programs that may also be of interest to students considering applying to the PhD program in economics. These include Business Economics, Political Economy and Government, Public Policy, and Health Policy. Many students in these programs have considerable overlap in their coursework with courses offered to PhD students in economics. Many also have dissertation committees that include faculty members of the economics department. Please refer to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for applicable program deadlines. (Deadlines have already passed for some programs this year but not for others.)

We encourage those with interest in any of those programs to also apply to those programs. The economics department will make admissions decisions independently, so application to or admission to other programs will not adversely affect admissions decisions within the Economics department. If you opt to apply, please note, the Graduate School will not accept more than three applications from any individual during the course of his or her academic career. Thus, if you apply to three different programs during the same year, you would not be allowed to apply again. Likewise, if you apply three different times to the same program, you would be ineligible to apply to the same or any other program within GSAS.