fsu.edu | The Application Process

Overview of Application Process
Application Deadlines
Entrance Requirements
Checklist of Application Procedures

Overview of Application Process

Application for graduate study at FSU is a two-step process. You will need to apply to both the economics department and the University's graduate school.

Application to Department

To apply to the department you must arrange for three letters of recommendation from instructors familiar with your academic work to be sent to the Department, along with a photocopy of your transcripts. Finally, you should send the Department your statement of purpose and photocopies of scores on any standardized tests (such as GRE or TOEFL) you have taken. (The University will require official score notifications before you can be formally accepted.) To the extent that they qualify, all applications for admission will be considered for fellowships or assistantships.

Application to Graduate Admissions

Applications for admission to the graduate program of the University should be made to the Graduate Admissions Office, which will forward the necessary forms and additional material. Among other requirements, you will need to provide two official copies of your transcripts covering all of your collegiate studies, arrange for ETS to send your official test scores, and pay an application fee of $30. To get more information about applying to graduate programs at Florida State University, consult the Graduate Bulletin.

Application Deadlines

The application deadline for US applicants is, generally, a month before the term you are applying for begins. Earlier deadlines for international students are contained in material sent by the Graduate Admissions Office (the beginning of March for the Fall term, beginning of July for the Spring term, and the beginning of November for Summer term). Applications for graduate study are considered at any time, but it is very difficult to develop a useful study program beginning in any semester except the Fall.

Initial decisions on assistantships will be made shortly after February 15th of each year. Sometimes an assistantship is available beyond this deadline. Students with a high undergraduate GPA (over 3.8), excellent letters of recommendation, and high GRE scores (over 1500) may be considered for the highly competitive University Fellowships.

Entrance Requirements

The requirements for admission to the graduate program in Economics are discussed below. These are minimum standards; they are not representative of our student population and their satisfaction does not guarantee admission. The standards for those wishing to be considered for a university fellowship or departmental teaching assistantship are substantially higher, and are discussed in the section on Financial Assistance.

Grades

You must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for your last two years of coursework. You must also have a minimum GPA of 3.4 on a 4.0 scale for any graduate coursework.

Courses

It is advisable for students beginning the graduate program to have completed undergraduate courses in intermediate microeconomics, intermediate macroeconomics, calculus, and statistics. Skill in the first two of these areas is basic to many of the courses in both the Master's and Ph.D. programs. Moreover, calculus and econometrics are mandatory in both. For the M.S. program, the entry requirement is one semester each of college calculus and statistics. Students entering the Ph.D. program should normally have at least the equivalent of two semesters of calculus. A semester of linear algebra is also recommended. Since the core courses in economics are offered only once a year, time spent in remedial courses will result in substantial delays, thereby postponing the completion of a degree. It is recommended that the student either eliminate deficiencies before arriving, or commence work at the University prior to the fall term.

Standardized Exams

All applicants must provide the department with GRE scores. The GMAT is not acceptable as a substitute for the GRE. In order to be considered for admission, the applicant must have a combined score of at least 1000 on the verbal and quantitative sections. If English is not your native language, you must score at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). This corresponds to a 213 on the computer based test. The TOEFL is not required for an international student that has received a college degree from an accredited institution in the United States.