APPLICATION AND ADMISSIONS QUESTIONS:
APPLICATION AND ADMISSIONS QUESTIONS
What is the application deadline?
To facilitate the processing of applications, the Graduate
School requests that you submit the Online Graduate Application by the Graduate
School's Priority Processing date for Fall 2009 admissions, which is December 1,
2008. The official online application deadline for the Ph.D. program in
Economics is midnight (Eastern Standard Time) on January 7, 2009. This is the
final deadline for international and domestic applicants. All completed
applications received by the January 7, 2009 deadline will be reviewed, and
admissions decisions will be made without regard to the date of submission of
the application. Late and incomplete applications will not be considered.
Can you send me information on the Ph.D. program in
Economics?
The Economics Department no longer mails brochures.
Information on our Ph.D. program is available on our website. Please see http://www.bsos.umd.edu/econ/grad/overview/phd.html
and the links therein.
Do you offer a masters program in Economics? If so, how
do I apply?
The graduate program in the Department of Economics is
designed for Ph.D. students. We do not offer a terminal Masters program and we
will not accept or enroll students for the single purpose of acquiring a Masters
degree. Doctoral students may obtain a Master of Arts Degree during their
course of doctoral study, requirements of which (30 hours, including Economics
623-624, a written examination in economic theory, and a research paper) are
met automatically in the course of the Ph.D. program in economics.
Do you offer a part-time program?
Our Ph.D. program in Economics is strictly a full-time
program.
Do you offer spring or summer admission?
Applicants are considered for admission to the fall term
only. There is no spring or summer admission.
Where can I find an application for the Ph.D. program in
Economics?
The University of Maryland no longer prints paper
applications. The Graduate School strongly encourages prospective students to apply
online at:
http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/admission.html
Where do I send my application materials?
General instructions for applying to graduate school at the University of
Maryland can be found at:
http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/admission.html
When and how will I be notified of the
admissions decision?
Admissions decisions are usually made in early March. We
will send an offer letter of admission by email to be followed up by an
official offer letter by first class mail. If you are not offered admission,
you will receive a formal rejection letter directly from the Graduate School.
How can I pay the application fee?
Most students elect to pay the non-refundable $60
application fee with a credit card, during the electronic application process.
If you’d like to pay by credit card, but are hesitant to submit your
credit card payment online, please go to http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/forms/cccardnew.pdf,
print and mail the completed form to:
University of Maryland College Park
Enrollment Services Operations
Application for Graduate Admission
Room 0130 Mitchell Building
College Park, Maryland 20742
OR
Fax the form to: 301-314-9305.
Payments by check or money order should include the
applicant’s full name and University/Student Identification Number, have
encoded routing and transit numbers, and be drawn on a U.S. bank.
How much is the application fee? Can it be waived? Can I
pay the fee after I find out if I have been admitted?
The non-refundable application fee for both international
and domestic students is $60. There is a cost associated with processing
applications. That cost is met through the payment of the application fee. We
do not provide fee waivers under any circumstances. We will not begin our
evaluation of an application until we have confirmation from the Graduate
Admissions Office that the fee has been paid. As a result, you may not pay the
application fee at a later time, nor can you wait to pay the fee until after
you find out if you have been admitted. We understand that currency
restrictions often present payments problems for international applicants. In
these cases, international students may have their fee paid by a third party
(someone who is currently in the United States and has access to USD).
Should you choose to do this, please make sure that payments clearly identify
the applicant by name and date of birth.
I am interested in an assistantship or fellowship. Do I
submit a separate application for funding?
It is not necessary to submit a separate application for
funding. All applicants will be considered for assistantships and fellowships
through the regular application review process. Funding from the department is
merit-based.
I am currently in a Ph.D. program. How can I
transfer to your program?
You will need to apply through our regular admissions
process, and your application will be evaluated along with the other
applications that we receive from students seeking admission to the program.
In general, credits do not transfer. A student can petition
the Graduate School to allow coursework from another institution to count
toward coursework requirements in the department, but permission is not
automatically granted. Students who have completed coursework at another Ph.D.
program can opt to try to pass our first-year comprehensive exams upon entering
the program rather than take our first-year coursework, but virtually all
transfer students end up taking our first year courses upon arrival.
How can I check the status of my application?
To check the status of your application to the University of
Maryland, please go to
http://www.testudo.umd.edu/apps/graddoctrack,
Maryland’s online records and registration site.
You will login with your University ID (probably your Social
Security number) and the PIN will be your birthdate (MMDDYY). By clicking on
“Admission Status Check,” you will find out whether you have been admitted,
rejected, or if your application is pending. By clicking on “Graduate School
Application Document Status Check,” you can find out which documents
(transcripts, letters, etc.) have not been received and processed by the
University.
We are checking off as “received” your admission documents
(letters of recommendation, transcripts etc.), as soon as possible. As the
admissions deadline approaches, there is sometimes up to a two week delay from
when your materials are received and when we are able to check them off on your
online application.
I am having technical problems with my University Online
Application or the Application Supplemental Form. What should I do?
Please email gradschool@umd.edu
with technical issues concerning the Online Application or Application
Supplemental Form. Please be clear in your email as to which application you
are having problems with.
How many applications do you receive? How many
students will you admit? And how many of these will receive an offer of
funding?
We expect to receive about 700 applications. We anticipate
sending acceptance letters to approximately 120 applicants and we expect to
have an entering class of 30 to 35 students. Approximately 2/3 of our entering
class will receive funding of some kind (assistantship or fellowship) in the
first year of our Ph.D. program. The ultimate number of acceptance letters we
send and the ultimate number of students who receive funding is subject to
budgetary considerations.
What kind of mathematics preparation do I need in order
to be admitted?
It is extremely rare for us to admit a student who has not
completed the equivalent of three semesters of calculus, a semester course in linear algebra, and
a course in differential equations at the time of application. The
overwhelming majority of admitted students also have completed work in real
analysis or other upper-level mathematics.
If I send an email to you with information on my GPA, my
GRE scores, the courses that I have taken, and my work experience, can you
assess the probability that I will be admitted to the Ph.D. program?
Because of the large number of inquires we receive
concerning admission to our Ph.D. program, and the large number of completed
applications we receive, we cannot assess an individual’s probability of
admission without evaluating that individual’s completed application and the
completed applications of all other applicants.
In general, our admitted students have GPA’s well above a
“B” average, particularly in economics and mathematics; very high GRE’s
(particularly quantitative); math preparation that includes at a minimum three
semesters of calculus, a semester of linear algebra, and a semester of
differential equations; and three excellent letters of reference that speak to
an applicant’s potential to successfully complete a Ph.D. in economics.
Can you provide some summary statistics on this year’s
incoming first-year class?
The median GRE test scores of our admitted students were:
Quantitative=800; Verbal=600; Analytical Writing=5.0 Not surprisingly,
there is a considerable variation among students in the Verbal and Analytical
Writing sections due to differences in English language proficiency. Our
first year class for 2006 is 36% female and 53% international. 80% of the class
has received funding (in the form of a fellowship or an assistantship) from the
department. We do not publish average GPA scores of incoming students since not
all students come from systems with comparable grading scales, and since the
quality of the undergraduate (or graduate) institution can measurably affect
how the GPA is evaluated.
Can I reapply if I am denied admission? How do I reapply?
Yes. We maintain application materials for one year. If you
wish to reapply you must submit a new application and application fee. If you
would like to update any other supporting materials, please do so. You can also
request that supporting materials in a prior application be used for your new
application.
Are there graduate level non-degree options at the
University of Maryland? If so, how can I apply?
Non-degree seeking students wishing to take graduate classes
at the University should apply as Advanced Special Students. For more
information on Advanced Special Student status, see http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/non_degree_admission.htm
The Advanced Special Student status is not available to students in F-1 or J-1
status. These students should consult with the Office of International
Education Services at (301)314-7740 if they have questions about exceptions in
this category.
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