September 2011
 
Dear Applicant:
 
Thank you for your interest in our graduate program in Economics at Indiana University.  In this letter we would like to give you information about our graduate program and answer some commonly asked questions.
 
We encourage you to apply for our PhD program online at the Department of Economics website, www.indiana.edu/~econweb, where you will pay the application fee with a credit card.  Information about our graduate program and faculty biographies may also be found at our website.  Our course sequence is structured for fall admission only. 
 
All applicants must fill out the information about their Mathematics and Economics courses at www.iub.edu/~econweb/gradprep.html.
 
All applicants must also fill out the Departmental Questions form which you will find within the online application.
 
Please note we are not currently accepting applications for the MA and MAT programs.
 
The application deadline for international applicants is December 1.  International students who are currently in the US on a visa are also subject to this deadline.  The application deadline for US citizens and permanent residents is January 15.
 
International applicants should visit this link for an Application Checklist and detailed application information:  http://ois.indiana.edu/admissions/apply/graduate/apply.php
 
Estimated expenses for international graduate students applying to the Economics PhD program may be found at this link:  http://ois.indiana.edu/admissions/apply/graduate/expenses.php
 
International applicants should mail their official academic records directly to International Admissions, Leo R. Dowling International Center, 111 S. Jordan Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.  The items required in addition to the online application, application fee,  and official academic records are TOEFL and GRE scores (should be sent by ETS, see school and department codes below), three letters of recommendation (may be uploaded online by recommenders or a hard copy may be mailed to International Admissions or the Department of Economics), a statement of purpose which is usually 1-2 standard printed pages (may be uploaded in the online application or mailed to the Department of Economics), a résumé (may be uploaded in the online application or mailed to the Department of Economics), and evidence of financial support (you may mail this information to the address above, e-mail it to newtoiu@indiana.edu, or fax it to (812) 856-5378).  The link for the international student financial documentation form is http://admit.indiana.edu/doc/IntlFinDocForm.pdf.  Your evidence of financial support will not be part of your academic admission decision.  Applications received without any evidence of financial support can be processed for an admission decision.  Writing samples are not required.  We do welcome them, however, and they will be considered as part of your application materials.  They may be uploaded in the online application or hard copies may be mailed to the Department of Economics.
 
Please note December 1 is the priority date given by International Admissions as the application deadline for international applicants.  They would like to receive your online application, the application fee and your official academic records by this deadline.  You should be aware that we cannot guarantee there will be enough time for processing applications received after the priority deadline date for financial aid consideration.  If you decide to apply to our program, it would be best if you submit your application materials as soon as possible.

U.S. citizens and permanent residents should mail their application materials directly to Graduate Admissions, Department of Economics, Indiana University, Wylie Hall 105, 100 S. Woodlawn, Bloomington, IN 47405-7104.  The items to submit in addition to the online application form and application fee are official transcripts, GRE scores (should be sent by ETS, see school and department codes below), three letters of recommendation (may be uploaded online by recommenders or hard copies may be mailed to the Department of Economics) and a statement of purpose which is usually 1-2 standard printed pages (may be uploaded in the online application or mailed to the Department of Economics).  While a résumé is not required, you are welcome to submit one (may be uploaded in the online application or mailed to the Department of Economics).  Writing samples are not required.  We do welcome them, however, and they will be considered as part of your application materials.  They may be uploaded in the online application or hard copies may be mailed to the Department of Economics.
 
We do not have a separate financial aid application form.  On the online Departmental Questions form you fill out as part of the online application, there will be several questions about financial aid.  If you answer “yes” to the questions asking if you wish to be considered for an Indiana University Fellowship and/or an Indiana University Assistantship, we will do so whether you are US citizen, permanent resident, or international applicant. 
 
Keep in mind that while the required application materials must be submitted by the official application deadline, you can still send additional information, such as updated transcripts, directly to the Department of Economics, to the attention of the Graduate Admissions Committee.  However, the Committee will only be able to consider such additional materials arriving no later than January 31.
 
Here are the codes to use when you ask ETS to submit your scores. For the GRE, the school code for Indiana University is 1324 and the department code for economics is 1801. For the TOEFL, the school code is 1324 and the department code is 84.
 
Our Graduate Admissions Committee expects to see a TOEFL score report in international applicant files.  If you are an international student who is currently studying in the United States or you have a degree from a US college or university, please submit a photocopy of the results of the TOEFL exam which you took for the US institution you entered.  It will not be necessary for you to retake the TOEFL unless you wish to do so.  Please note that if you are admitted, you will need to submit official TOEFL scores which are less than two years old in order to be considered for possible exemption from the Indiana English Proficiency Exam.
 
If your GRE and/or TOEFL scores are not available until after the application deadline, please submit all of the application materials which you have ready before the deadline.  You can then submit your GRE and/or TOEFL scores as soon as they become available.  We can work with photocopies of your exam scores but request that you have ETS send us your official scores as soon as possible.
 
Here is some general information which may be useful to you.  All applicants must submit GRE scores.  International applicants must also submit a TOEFL score.  We will, however, accept IELTS scores.  Please note that we do not accept GMAT scores.
 
A recent incoming class of PhD students who received aid had the following average GRE scores: verbal 540 and quantitative 750.  For international applicants, TOEFL scores of aid recipients are usually above 600 on the paper-based TOEFL or 250 or above on the computer-based TOEFL or 100 or above on the internet-based TOEFL.  If you submit IELTS scores, our Admissions Committee expects to see a minimum score of 6.5.
 
While the GRE scores are important, we wish to emphasize that decisions on who will receive financial aid are based on evidence of scholarly ability beyond the GRE scores, such as letters of recommendation and previous academic transcripts, the quality of the candidates in any given year, and the budget that we have at our disposal.
 
When applying to the PhD program, it is not necessary to earn an MA degree first.  Applicants may apply directly to the PhD program upon completion of a US Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
 
An undergraduate major in Economics is not required.  However, applicants should have taken at least a course in intermediate macroeconomic theory and intermediate microeconomic theory and have a strong preparation in calculus and linear algebra.  Applicants are advised to take differential, integral and multivariate calculus plus linear algebra and some probability theory before entering our PhD program.  Our Graduate Admissions Committee usually looks for a grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.
 
The PhD degree requires 90 hours of graduate course work (30 of which may be used for writing the dissertation) with additional course work for the research tool skill. The degree also requires you to write and defend a dissertation. For success at the graduate level you will need good command of the English language as well as a strong mathematics background.  Students whose English is deficient will be required to take language work until proficiency is achieved.  In some cases this may cause a delay in the completion of the regular degree studies and may require the student to pay tuition for English language coursework. 
 
Please visit the Department of Economics website and read the Graduate Study Guide for admission requirements information and the outline of studies for the PhD degree.  Please give special attention to the coursework requirements, including those in mathematics, listed on the website.
 
The Indiana University Graduate School Bulletin lists general rules for entrance and degree requirements.  The website for the Bulletin is http://www.indiana.edu/~bulletin/iu/gradschool/2010-2012/index.shtml.
 
Information about recent PhD job placements can be obtained at http://www.iub.edu/~econweb/job_placement_info.html.
 
Each year we receive several hundred applications.  We usually admit about 10-12 students with financial aid.  We also admit some additional students without financial aid.
 
Although at this point we do not know the exact amount of aid that we will be able to offer, we anticipate that an aid package would include an assistantship stipend of at least $16,096 and a tuition remission with a current value of approximately $24,600 per year for a non-resident student.  Based on our students’ experience, the stipends we offer are sufficient to cover their living expenses in Bloomington.
 
Because of the large number of applications, receiving aid is a highly competitive process.  Given that our aid depends on a student's ability to assist in the classroom, it is crucial that all students' files reflect their English language skills, both written and oral.  Along with building your strengths in economics, math and statistics, it is extremely important that if English is not your native language, you continue to enhance your English language skills.
 
We will notify you of your admission status as soon as possible.  We plan to begin making decisions on financial aid for the 2012-13 academic year in March of 2012.  Materials that you can provide in your application file which address the areas I have described above will help in making your application more competitive.
 
Please write or call our Department of Economics Graduate Studies office at (812) 855-8453 if you have further questions about graduate study in Economics at Indiana University.  If you would like, you may also email our Department of Economics Graduate Studies Office at rcunning@indiana.edu.
 
Sincerely,
 
Michael Alexeev
Professor of Economics
Director of Graduate Studies