Typically, between 20 and 25 new students enter our Ph.D. program each fall. The scale of our program enables us to offer a broad range of field courses on a regular basis but still maintain a relatively low student-faculty ratio. The entering class is quite diverse. In most recent years, 48 percent of our entering students have been women, and over half have been international students.

The Department of Economics is committed to supporting students and ensuring a fear-free, inclusive space where all students can thrive. The department recognizes non-binary gender identifications, as well as the difference between assigned biological sex and gender expression. It encourages students, faculty and staff to share and honor preferred pronouns and names.

Our department is an Institutional Member of the American Society of Hispanic Economists. The ASHE works to elevate the standing of Hispanics and Latinos in the profession; it publishes a newsletter and alerts members to job postings as well as scholarship and grant opportunities. Faculty and graduate students affiliated with the department can join the ASHE for free.

The department receives over 600 applications to the Ph.D. program every year, and admission standards are therefore quite high. Successful applicants must have a strong mathematics background; almost all of our entering students have completed three semesters of calculus and one semester in linear algebra at the time of application, and most successful applicants have additional math courses, such as differential equations and real analysis.

Submitting GRE scores is optional for Fall 2025 admission.

All applicants, regardless of citizenship, must demonstrate English language proficiency.  Applicants are automaticaly deemed to have met this requirement if they hold a degree from a university in the United States or in an English-speaking country included on the UMD Graduate School’s list, which can be found at the bottom of this page:  https://gradschool.umd.edu/admissions/english-language-proficiency-requirements.   Note that such exemptions are based solely on the country in which you were educated, and not on your citizenship.  

All students who do not meet the conditions described above must meet an English language test score threshold to be fully enrolled, and another, more stringent threshold to receive assistantship funding.  The first set of thresholds, for full enrollment, are determined by the Graduate School and not the Department of Economics.  They are described here: https://gradschool.umd.edu/admissions/english-language-proficiency-requirements.  

The second set of thresholds, for assistantship funding, are set and subject to change by the Maryland English Institute and the Graduate School, and are described here:  https://marylandenglishinstitute.com/english-programs/international-teaching-as….    A score below the threshold on any section precludes a student from receiving a teaching assistantship (TA) position and necessitates taking an English course that would interfere with enrolling in the standard first year course sequence in Economics.  Therefore, we require applicants to meet these more stringent thresholds at the time of application in order to be considered for assistantship funding.  Unfortunately, we are unable to make conditional offers.

Applicants who meet the requirements for full enrollment but not for receiving a TA position and who have secured external funding for their studies may be offered admission, but will not be offered funding by the Department, do not automatically become eligible for TA positions in future years, and are not guaranteed Department funding in subsequent years.  

The Graduate School at the University of Maryland requires a minimum grade point average of B for entering students, but the Department's standard is well above this threshold.

Our department offers admission only to students interested in earning a Ph.D. Our program is not designed for students who are interested only in a Master's degree. However, our Ph.D. students may obtain an M.A. degree during their program, either as a terminal degree for students leaving the Ph.D. program or as an intermediate sign of achievement for students who are continuing in the Ph.D. program.

For students who are interested in applied economics, but are not pursuing a Ph.D., the University of Maryland offers a Master of Science in Applied Economics. This program is designed for working professionals; it is not appropriate preparation for a Ph.D. in economics. Contact masters-econ [at] umd [dot] edu or visit the M.S. in Applied Economics website for more information.