Program Description

Application Requirements

Program-Specific Instructions

Additional Information

In addition to holding an undergraduate degree, not necessarily in economics, it is encouraged that applicants should have satisfactorily completed the following before enrolling in graduate courses:

• Intermediate microeconomics
• Intermediate macroeconomics
• One year of calculus
• One year of statistics
• One semester each of matrix algebra and econometrics

The department considers all applications, considers them as a whole, and there is no minimum GPA or GRE required. To provide a baseline, the average incoming PhD student has a GPA of 3.60 and GRE percentile scores of 80% verbal and 80% quantitative.

The submitted GRE scores must be (general exam required) no older than 5 years. The GMAT or LSAT is not accepted in lieu of the GRE.

Students receiving funding generally score higher in all areas than our average students. We offer funding to about 25% of our incoming PhD students each year (5-10 students). Funding is awarded in the form of graduate assistantships, with stipends ranging from $8,000-18,000 and tuition waivers for 18 credit hours per academic year.

No applicant will be disadvantaged because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak or their school’s decisions about transcripts. Our admissions review will assess applicants in the context of their curriculum and academic achievements before and after the pandemic outbreak.

There are no formal requirements for content or length for the goals statement; applicants commonly discuss their choice for economics study, interest in George Mason economics, and future or career goals, but may include any information they would like the admissions review committee to consider.

A writing sample is optional but will be reviewed if included with the application.

English Proficiency Requirements

All Mason students must have a full command of academic English to be successful in their studies. For this reason, Mason requires applicants to demonstrate English proficiency for admission consideration, regardless of citizenship. Click here to view the requirements.

International Transcript Requirements

All transcripts from colleges or universities outside the United States must be translated into English, if applicable, and submitted for evaluation to the Mason Office of Admissions. Mason will provide evaluation service free of charge for all international transcripts, however, some programs may request an outside evaluation be completed. Because of volume, more time may be needed to process applications requiring a Mason evaluation. You should submit your application 6 weeks prior to the deadline if you plan to utilize Mason’s free evaluation service. For expedited service, students may submit their documents to any NACES member organization at their own expense. If you decide to use an external evaluation service or if your program requires an outside evaluation, GPA and Degree equivalences must be included with your course-by-course evaluation. Mason evaluations are used for internal purposes and are not released to applicants. For information on international transcript requirements, go here.