The 2023-24 cycle (for Fall 2024 matriculation) is closed, the 2024-2025 cycle (for Fall 2025 matriculation) will open in September, exact date TBA.
IMPORTANT: The Economics Ph.D. program is residential, there is no remote enrollment option. Please also make sure to check the admissions timeline, all decisions will be communicated no later than early-to-mid-March.
Recognizing the challenges to teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Economics adopted the following principle and policy for our graduate program.
The Department of Economics evaluates applicants for admission to our graduate program holistically, meaning that we consider an applicant’s combination of personal accomplishments, letters of recommendation, personal statements, academic record, and test scores in making our admissions decisions. Such a review will take into account the significant disruptions of COVID-19 when reviewing students’ transcripts and other admissions materials from Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021. We understand that many institutions across the country instituted P/NP grading policies during that semester (including UC Berkeley). Thus, we will not penalize students for the adoption of P/NP and other grading options during this unprecedented period, whether the choices were made by institutions or by individual students. Our admissions evaluation will focus primarily on a student’s academic performance prior to this period, and if applicable, following this period.
Application Fee Waiver
Alums of the American Economic Association Summer Training and Scholarship Program qualify, for more information please visit: https://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/apply/fee-waiver/.
Fall 2024 Application Updates
| Application Available | September 2024, TBD |
| Deadline to submit Application | December 1, 2024 at 8:59pm PT |
The Department of Economics offers a Ph.D. degree. There is no external, terminal program for the M.A. degree.
The online application is available on the Graduate Division Home Page. This direct link to the Graduate Admissions Page has information on applying to Berkeley.
The Social Sciences Graduate Diversity Office provides helpful resources, links, and tools for successfully completing the graduate application.
***All applicants must apply online and to only ONE (1) program at a time (we do not allow applications to multiple programs in the same cycle).
The online application (including the Personal History Statement and Statement of Purpose) must be submitted by December 1, 2024.
Supporting documents i.e., 3 letters of recommendation, official GRE Scores (optional), and TOEFL or IELTS scores (if applicable) MUST be received no later than December 12, 2024. Materials will not be accepted after the deadline.
***Please DO NOT send Fall/Winter 2024 grades.
Late application submissions will not be considered after the December 1, 2024, 8:59pm (Pacific Time) deadline.
We do not offer any extensions, so we encourage any applicant to finalize their submission by the deadline.
Incomplete applications will not be considered after December 31, 2024.
Due to the volume of applications we have received, we will not be able to verify we have received individual application materials, please make sure to check your applications status via the application portal. Thank you.