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Admissions Requirements
M.A. Program

All applicants to the MA program must submit GRE scores from within the past five years. We do not accept the GMAT. We have a strong preference for applicants whose GRE Q scores meet or exceed the 55th percentile. International applicants whose native language is not English and who have not earned a college degree in the United States must also satisfy the university’s English language proficiency requirement. This may be done by meeting any one of the following:

a minimum score of 79 on the internet-based TOEFL or a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL; scores must be from within the past two years
a minimum score of 6.5 on the IELTS; scores must be from within the past two years
a minimum score of 53 on the PTE-A; scores must be from within the past two years
a minimum score of 110 on the Duolingo; scores must be from within the past two years

The English proficiency requirement may be waived if the applicant has:

a score of at least 153 on the GRE verbal test
earned a college degree at a regionally accredited U.S. institution of higher learning

A GPA of 3.0 (“B”) or better in the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework as well as in any graduate coursework.

A grade of “B” or better in each of the following four prerequisite courses: Calculus (at least one semester), Statistics (at least one semester), Intermediate Microeconomics and Intermediate Macroeconomics.

Ph.D. Program

All applicants to the PhD program must submit GRE scores from within the past five years. We do not accept the GMAT. We have a strong preference for applicants whose GRE Q scores meet or exceed the 65th percentile. International applicants whose native language is not English and who have not earned a college degree in the United States must also satisfy the university’s English language proficiency requirement. This may be done by meeting any one of the following:

a minimum score of 79 on the internet-based TOEFL or a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL; scores must be from within the past two years
a minimum score of 6.5 on the IELTS; scores must be from within the past two years
a minimum score of 53 on the PTE-A; scores must be from within the past two years
a minimum score of 110 on the Duolingo; scores must be from within the past two years

The English proficiency requirement may be waived if the applicant has:

a score of at least 153 on the GRE verbal test
earned a college degree at a regionally accredited U.S. institution of higher learning

A GPA of 3.0 (“B”) or better in the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework as well as in any graduate coursework.

A grade of “B” or better in each of the following prerequisite courses: Calculus (at least two semesters), Statistics (at least one semester), Intermediate Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics

Master's Degree Application Procedure
The M.A. program admits students each fall and spring. For domestic and international applicants to receive full consideration for admission and financial aid, the deadline to apply for fall admission is March 1 and for spring admission is September 15. For domestic applicants only, we will accept applications as late as July 15 for fall admission and December 1 for spring admission, but without eligibility for financial aid and only on a space availability basis. We strongly urge applicants interested in applying for financial aid to apply well in advance of these deadlines. The department does not offer a summer admissions cycle.

Applicants must complete the online Office of Admissions application and pay the required application fee. No letters of recommendation or personal statement are needed. Copies of unofficial transcripts must be uploaded into the university's application system. Should admission be granted, then official copies of all transcripts must be sent to the Office of Admissions by standard mail.

Official copies of GRE scores, and for international students, TOEFL/IELTS/PTE-A must be sent by ETS directly to the Office of Admissions. For the GRE and TOEFL, USF's Institution Code is 5828. To expedite the admissions process, it is recommended that applicants upload unofficial copies of their test scores into the university's application system.

Ph.D. Degree Application Procedure
The Ph.D. program admits students each fall. The deadline for applying for admission is January 31. This deadline applies to both domestic and international applicants and to applicants who are interested in applying for financial aid as well as to those who are not.

Applicants must complete the online Office of Admissions application and pay the required application fee. As part of this application, the names and contact information for three letter writers must be included. In addition, applicants must submit the department's online application by completing the following form. The required personal statement can be attached to the department's application. Applicants interested in applying for financial aid should mark the appropriate box on the department's application.

Copies of unofficial transcripts must be uploaded into the university’s application system. Should admission be granted, then official copies of all transcripts must be sent to the Office of Admissions by standard mail.

Students from countries that are not predominately English speaking and who receive funding from the department should be aware that they must demonstrate proficiency in speaking English by their third year in the program. The Office of Graduate Studies has determined that speaking proficiency is met by either a minimum score of 26 on the spoken portion of the internet-based TOEFL or of 160 on the spoken portion of the TOEIC. These scores are valid for up to 5 years after admission. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a loss of funding.

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