stanford economics phd acceptance rate

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Applying to economics PhD programs

June 13, 2020

Topics: education research

Last year I applied to several economics PhD programs at elite universities and business schools. I applied to twelve programs (nine in economics and three in business), was accepted by three, and chose to study at Stanford . This post describes my experience with the application process and offers some advice to future applicants.

Earning a degree

Gaining research experience, completing the gre, choosing where to apply, transcripts, gre score reports, recommendation letters, statements of purpose, writing samples, diversity statements, waiting for responses, admissions decisions, further reading, before applying.

The programs I applied to accepted applications between late September and early December. However, these applications depended on tasks completed earlier: earning a degree , gaining research experience , completing the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) , and choosing where to apply .

Every program required that I held the equivalent of a four-year bachelor’s degree or higher. Most stated explicitly that a master’s was not necessary. Some stated explicitly that applicants need not have a major in economics, but some prior coursework (e.g., intermediate microeconomics) helps to signal interest and familiarity. Most stated explicitly that applicants should be comfortable with undergraduate-level calculus, linear algebra, and probability and statistics.

While not required explicitly, my impression is that most successful applicants to top programs have some research experience. Such experience helps demonstrate that you know what research is and can conduct it successfully. Moreover, everyone applying to top programs has stellar grades, so having research experience helps you stand out.

Thankfully, there are many ways to gain research experience. I have four recommendations.

First, write an honours or master’s thesis. Doing so provides early evidence that you’re interested in research and can work independently.

Second, work with professors while studying. The University of Canterbury (UC), where I completed my bachelor’s degree, offers scholarships to work with professors during summer breaks. I won one to work with Richard Watt on a theoretical project related to insurance pricing. Completing the project gave me experience to discuss in my statement of purpose and gave Richard something to discuss in his recommendation letter .

Third, work at a research-oriented organisation after finishing your bachelor’s or master’s. In New Zealand, the best place is Motu or the Reserve Bank , depending on whether you’re more interested in microeconomics or macroeconomics. Working at Motu has improved my technical and research skills, and given me experience working with respected economists on substantive research projects. It has also helped clarify what a “research career” looks like and whether it’s something I want to pursue.

Finally, consider completing a pre-doctoral fellowship at an elite university. These fellowships typically last one or two years, and involve assisting professors with their research. Pre-doctoral fellowships deliver similar benefits to working at places like Motu. However, some fellowships (e.g., those offered by Opportunity Insights at Harvard and SIEPR at Stanford) allow you to take graduate courses while working, further strengthening your profile. Moreover, working with well-known economists at elite universities (and impressing them) helps you gain strong recommendation letters.

All programs required official scores from the (general) GRE , a standardised test comprising three sections: quantitative reasoning, verbal reasoning, and analytical writing. The test can be attempted multiple times. Programs consider only your highest score on each section.

I sat the GRE once, in 2018. The test took about four hours. The quantitative and verbal reasoning sections each comprised two sets of 20 multi-choice questions. The quantitative section was mostly high school-level mathematics. (New Zealanders: think NCEA Level 1 or 2.) The verbal section tested reading comprehension and vocabulary. The analytical writing section comprised two short, typed essay responses to prompts given during the test. I think anyone who recently earned a bachelor’s degree in economics could do well on the test with 2–4 weeks of study.

Jones et al. (2020) survey graduate admissions coordinators, who report placing more emphasis on quantitative reasoning scores than verbal reasoning scores when evaluating applicants. Both scores are less important at higher ranked programs because applicants to such programs tend to have higher scores, leaving less variation for identifying applicants’ relative abilities. For example, Harvard’s economics department states that admitted candidates’ quantitative scores range “in the 97th percentile.” I scored in the 94th percentile and would have resat the test if I had scored any lower.

I applied to most programs in the “top 10,” and a few more specialised programs that matched my interests and geographic preferences. I figured that if I was going to move overseas, away from my family and friends, then I better go somewhere excellent. If I had a weaker technical background or less research experience then I might have aimed lower.

Beyond this “aim high” strategy, I have two recommendations.

First, apply to as many programs as you can afford and would attend. The marginal effort cost of applying to each program falls quickly after preparing your first set of application materials. Moreover, although the application fees can sting, they are small compared to the expected gain in life satisfaction from being admitted.

Second, apply to programs at business schools as well as economic departments. Chicago, Harvard, Northwestern, NYU, and Stanford’s business schools all offer excellent economics-focused PhD programs. They provide similar technical training and faculty access to “traditional” programs. However, business schools tend to offer larger stipends and require less teaching than economics departments. Business schools tend to make fewer offers, but they also tend to receive fewer applications.

Application materials

All of the programs I applied to required the following materials:

• An application form, submitted online;
• Copies of my academic transcripts ;
• Official GRE score reports ;
• Recommendation letters ;
• A statement of purpose .

Most programs required a writing sample . Some required a (short) diversity statement . All required payment of a 75–125 USD application fee.

Overall, it took about a month to prepare my application materials and about a day to tailor them to each program. To track my progress and help manage my time, I maintained a checklist of form sections to complete and materials to upload.

Stanford asked for official copies of my academic transcripts. All other programs accepted “unofficial” copies. I ordered a digital copy from UC, which set up a My eQuals account with my transcript uploaded as a PDF and certified by the UC registrar. I shared this certified version with Stanford, saving me about 190 USD worth of third-party certification fees. I downloaded the PDF version from My eQuals and used it as the unofficial copy for my other applications.

In addition to transcripts, some schools asked for more information about my prior coursework. Harvard and MIT asked for comprehensive lists of course codes and titles, dates completed, grades obtained, and textbooks used. Other programs asked for similar information but only for the handful of “most advanced” courses I’d taken in economics, mathematics, and statistics. Stanford asked me to match the courses I’d taken with courses offered at Stanford. The matching took a while because the courses I took at UC often matched Stanford courses in different subject areas and at different degree levels.

New Zealand universities use a nine-point GPA system, whereas the universities I applied to use a four-point system. Some programs asked me to report my GPA on its original scale, some asked me to convert it to the four-point scale, and some asked me to leave the GPA field blank. Overall, the difference in systems didn’t seem to be problematic.

All programs asked for official GRE score reports. The testing fee (205 USD) covers the cost of sending scores to up to four institutions, nominated on test day. Sending scores to additional institutions costs 27 USD per institution. I didn’t nominate any schools on test day because I wasn’t sure whether I would need to resit the test, or whether sending low scores would hurt my admissions chances even if I resat the test and performed better. Once I sent my score reports, most programs confirmed receipt after about a week.

All programs asked me to nominate three recommendation letter writers. I arranged my recommenders about two months in advance. I gave each a list of programs I was applying to, a description of each program, and the due date for their letters. I also provided copies of my CV, transcript, and draft statements of purpose.

Whenever I nominated a recommender, I was asked whether I wanted to waive my FERPA right to view their letter upon admission. I always waived. I wasn’t concerned that my recommenders would change what they wrote if they knew I could read their letters. Instead, I was concerned that admissions committees would observe that I chose not to waive access, assume that my recommenders responded by providing stronger-than-truthful recommendations, and subsequently discount the quality of those recommendations.

All programs asked for a statement describing my preparation for graduate study, my research experience and interests, and my career goals. The statement I submitted to Stanford contained

• a brief introduction,
• a paragraph describing my educational background,
• five paragraphs describing my research experience,
• a paragraph stating my research interests, and
• a paragraph stating my career goals.

I focused on my research experience because I felt that it was my comparative advantage over other applicants, whom I assumed were well-trained technically and had more prestigious alma maters.

Most programs asked for a writing sample. Some programs required at least 15 pages; some required at most 10 pages. In both cases, I used an excerpt from my most recent journal submission. For long samples, I excluded figures and tables, which happened to leave 15 pages. For short samples, I included only the first eight pages, which contained the introduction, literature review, method, and data sections. I always included a cover page describing the excerpt and stating the full paper’s abstract.

I could have submitted my honours thesis, which analysed a theoretical model of insurance and saving. However, I felt that my academic transcript signalled my technical skills adequately. Instead, I wanted my writing sample to demonstrate skills not demonstrated by other application materials: identifying interesting and important research questions, and synthesising literature.

Stanford and Yale asked me to explain how I would contribute to diversity on campus. My response to Stanford read as follows:

I grew up in Wakefield, a small rural town in New Zealand. I have been fortunate to attend university, to discover my passion for research, and to collaborate on research projects with economists from Europe and North America. These projects have benefited from the diverse ideas and experiences of my collaborators, which have increased the quality of our work. I am excited to continue engaging with ideas in an inclusive research environment as a graduate student at Stanford. I am also excited to share my cultural experiences in New Zealand with my Stanford classmates, and to learn about their experiences in other countries. Doing so will increase our understanding of how different cultural values shape economic and social outcomes. This understanding will enhance our ability to conduct globally relevant economic research that considers a range of perspectives.

After applying

Clicking “submit” on the online application forms began the long—about three month— wait for responses . In two cases, those responses were invitations for interviews ; in most cases, they were admissions decisions .

On waiting for responses, I offer three pieces of advice.

First, take a break . Applying to PhD programs takes many years of effort earning a degree, gaining research experience, building relationships with recommendation letter writers, completing the GRE, and preparing your applications. Make time to acknowledge and celebrate that effort.

Second, realise that there is nothing you can do (except, if invited, prepare for interviews) to change your admissions decisions. Worrying is futile. Instead, try to find fun and engaging ways to spend your time that take your mind off your applications. I ran a lot and worked on some blog posts.

Third, try to stay off Urch and TheGradCafe . In late January, people will start using those fora to share their anxiety and admissions results. You will, after months of waiting, be hungry for news. However, if you’re going to get good news then you will receive it from the program first. Programs generally send all acceptances at the same time (or, at least, on the same day). Thus, online fora can only deliver bad news: others received acceptance notifications but you did not.

As far as I know, only business schools conduct interviews. I interviewed for the business programs at Harvard and MIT, in late January and early February. Both interviews comprised discussing my research experience and interests, and why those interests are best pursued at a business school. The interviews lasted about fifteen minutes each and took place over Zoom.

Most programs sent admissions decisions in late February or early March. They were either acceptances, rejections, or being placed on a wait list. The program for which I was wait-listed was weaker than my best offer at the time, so I declined them promptly to help the market clear.

See here for more resources on economics PhD admissions. I found Susan Athey’s professional advice , Chris Blattman’s FAQs on PhD applications , and Abhishek Nagaraj’s guide to business PhD applications particularly helpful.

Welcome to our returning majors and potential majors!

Economic Majors have diverse interests. To provide guidance, we have grouped courses into  Focus Areas:  Behavioral & Experimental, Finance, International & Development, Government Policy Analysis, Quantitative Methods, Business Strategy and Regulation. Students can focus on a specific area or take a range of courses to meet the following requirements for a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (80 units).

The Department encourages students to complete the core courses before undertaking the upper division courses, and if possible by the end of the sophomore year.

• Econ 1 (5 units). This is the only Econ core course that may be double-counted .  
• Econ 102A (5 units): it is recommended that students satisfy this basic statistics requirement before proceeding with the rest of the program. Prerequisite: Math 20 or equivalent. Please note: results from the Math Department placement diagnostic exam cannot serve as a substitute for completion of the math prerequisite.**  
• Econ 50 (5 units): basic price theory. Prerequisite: Econ 1 and Math 51 (or CME 100 or CME100A)**.  Students planning to take ECON 50 in Fall 2024 or later should review the updated prerequisites.    
• Econ 51 (5 units): intermediate micro. Prerequisites: Econ 50.  
• Econ 52 (5 units): intermediate macro. Prerequisites: Econ 50.  
• Econ 102B (5 units): econometrics. Prerequisites: Economics 102A.

The material in Econ 102B is used in a number of field courses. Students are advised to take Econ 102B early in their program.

**Students interested in receiving transfer credit or AP score waivers for Math prerequisites should submit the Econ Math Requirements Waiver Petition. 

* Students may only count units from one of the following towards their major as the courses are too similar in content: Econ 141, Econ 140, or Econ 135.

**Students may count toward the econ field course requirement Econ 160, Econ 167G, or 180. The others may count as electives.

***Students enrolled in the Econ BAH may take up to 10 units of 199D. The successful completion of an honors thesis and at least five units of credit in Econ 199D may replace the requirement for Economics 101 (WIM). The remaining units of ECON 199D may be used to meet the minimum field requirements for the major, as long as the number of units for the BAH is at least 85.

Choose from any Econ courses taken for a letter grade.  Up to 10 units of this requirement may be fulfilled by upper division math, statistics and computer science courses. Approved courses include: MATH 113, 114, 115, 118, 120, 136, 151, 161, 171, 172, 175 and STATS 200, 202, 206, 207, 208, 209, 209A, 217, 218, 219, 221, 222, 237, 240, 315B and CS 161, 221, 224M, 227B, 228, 229, ACCT 152, GSBGEN 336 and PoliSci 110C. Click here for a full list of Approved Course Petitions

• A maximum of 10 elective units may be made up of some combination of the following: transfer credit, Econ 139D: Directed Reading, approved non-econ courses, or approved BOSP/SIW/SINY courses.
• Suitable transfer credit must be approved in writing by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
• Students may only count Econ 135 or 140 toward major requirements because they are very similar.
• Students may only count Econ 143 or 148 toward major requirements because they are very similar.
• Students may count only Econ 160 or 180 toward field requirements, the other may be counted toward elective requirements.
• Advanced undergraduate majors with strong quantitative preparation may enroll in graduate (200-level) courses with the permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies and the course instructor.
• The department does not give credit for internships. Thus Econ 139D: Directed Reading, cannot be used to obtain credit for internships.

Econ 101 (5 units). This course fulfills the Writing in the Major requirement. Any WIM course for Economics may be taken only after completing Econ 51, 52, 102B and at least two field courses.

The Economics Capstone is comprised of two parts: 

1. During their junior year, declared Econ students will be required to complete an ePortfolio of their work in the major. They will then need to meet with their advisor to discuss their ePortfolio and receive a grade for their work. More information about this requirement is available in the ePortfolio Student Guide.

2. Graduating seniors are required to enroll in ECON 101 as their final capstone course. This class fulfills the WIM requirement, as well as completing the Capstone project. Enrollment in ECON 101 is by permission only. Students who anticipate that they will be graduating in the following year will be asked to submit their preferences for the ECON 101 sections in late Spring-Early Summer of the year before. Preference forms will be available on the Economics Department Website, and students will be notified by email when they are available. 

More information and form links can be found under the Capstone Page of the Economics Department Website.

The  Economics Common Syllabus  explains econ course management policies.

• At least 55 of the 80 units required for the major must be taken at Stanford in California.  
• No courses receiving Department of Economics credit under the preceding requirements may be taken CR/NC.
• Math 51 (or CME 100 or CME100A) is a prerequisite for an Economics degree. It may be taken for credit to meet the Econ 50 prerequisite.
• Students scoring a 5 on both the advanced placement (AP) microeconomics and macroeconomics tests or a score of 7 on International Baccalaureate (IB) higher level economics test may petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies to have the ECON 1 course requirement waived.  Students do not receive units credit for placing out of ECON 1.  
• A grade point average (GPA) of C= (2.0) or better must be received for all units applied toward the Major.  
• To use transfer credit in partial satisfaction of the requirements, the student must obtain written consent from the department's Director of Undergraduate Study, who will establish the amount of credit to be granted toward the department requirements.  
• The maximum time limit for satisfactory completion of a course is one year from the date a grade of incomplete ("I") is given. Instructors may require that a course is completed anytime up to the one-year time limit. Students are responsible for seeing that all grades of incomplete are cleared within the time limit. The university's rule is that a grade of incomplete that is not cleared within the time limit becomes a grade of NP.  
• Students must complete their declaration of the major no later than the last day of the quarter, one quarter before anticipated degree conferral.

You are encouraged to read the  Information Book for Econ Majors for detailed information about the program.

Frequently Asked Questions for PhD Applicants

If you have questions about the application process, please consult the Application FAQ

Program FAQ

• When is the application deadline?  December 7, 2024 11:59 PM PST is the application deadline for Autumn 2025-2026.
• I will have just earned my bachelor’s degree before starting graduate study at Stanford. Should I apply to the MS or the PhD program?  You should apply to the degree program that can fulfill your ultimate degree goal. For example, if obtaining a PhD is your ultimate goal, you should apply directly to the PhD program.
• Do I need to have a master’s degree before applying to the PhD program?  No; the minimum degree requirement is a bachelor’s degree. Students who enter the PhD program may opt to pursue the master’s degree along the way to earning the PhD.
• If I apply to the PhD program but do not get admitted, will I be considered for the MS program?  The Electrical Engineering Department does not consider PhD applicants not admitted into the PhD program for the MS program. 
• If I am admitted and enrolled in the MS program, may I enter the PhD program later?  Admission to the PhD program is possible only through the  annual general admissions process . Current MS students must reapply through this process to be considered for the PhD program.
• May I apply for a start term other than autumn? No; applications are reviewed on an annual basis for autumn quarter start only.
• How long does it take to complete the PhD?  Typical completion time for the PhD program is 5-7 years.
• How important is it to contact faculty before I apply?  Contact with faculty members is not a required part of the application process nor does it guarantee admission to our graduate program. Admissions decisions are made by the Admissions Committee, not by individual faculty members.
• Is financial assistance available for PhD students?  Yes; all PhD students who maintain satisfactory academic progress receive full financial support for the duration of the doctoral program. For more information, please see  Financial Assistance for PhD Students .
• What are the minimum GPA requirements for admission?  Applicants do not need to meet any minimum grade point average (GPA) to secure admission, and we do not release information about average GPAs of admitted students. As a guideline, successful applicants typically earn undergraduate cumulative GPAs among the top of their class. However, please keep in mind that admission to our graduate programs depends on a combination of factors, and all areas of a student’s application are weighed when applications are reviewed.
• Am I eligible to apply if my undergraduate major is not Electrical Engineering?  Yes; students who meet the minimum degree requirements with a strong technical background in engineering, physical sciences, or mathematics are welcome to apply. A bachelor's degree in electrical engineering is not strictly required.
• Are specific prerequisite courses required for admission?  No; we advise prospective applicants to review the  EE Graduate Handbook  and the  Stanford Course Catalog  to evaluate what prerequisites are needed for graduate-level courses in your area(s) of interest.
• What is the minimum level of study required of international applicants from an academic institution outside of the U.S.?  Please refer to  Stanford Graduate Admissions | International Applicants  for eligibility guidelines related to study outside of the U.S.
• What is the process for transferring to the PhD program from another institution?  Students who wish to transfer to our PhD program from another institution must complete the same application procedure as new applicants. If you are admitted and enrolled, you may request to transfer up to 45 units of coursework from your previous institution toward the PhD degree requirements at Stanford, by following the procedures for  Graduate Residency Credit . Students must complete one quarter at Stanford before requesting to transfer units, and all transferred units are subject to approval by the Registrar’s Office.
• If I am admitted to a EE graduate program, can my admission be deferred?  The Department greatly discourages deferral of matriculation dates.  Deferrals are granted only to PhD applicants, and only in exceptional circumstances such as for US military service or visa issues for students arriving from designated countries.  Admitted students wishing to defer admission must send a written request (along with documentation if possible) to  [email protected] . Requests will be reviewed by the Admissions Committee. MS and Coterm applicants cannot defer admission dates.

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How to Get Into Stanford (by an Accepted Student)

Many students want to get into Stanford , one of the most prestigious undergraduate institutions in the United States. While getting into Stanford is very tough, there are definite rules to Stanford admissions. Using these rules to your advantage will greatly increase your chances of getting in.

Note: The following advice also works for admission to UC Berkeley and Cornell University. Though Cornell and Berkeley are not the same as Stanford, they are both very highly ranked colleges with a slight engineering tilt.

Stanford University is one of the most difficult colleges to get into , with an acceptance rate of only 3.68%. It is consistently ranked in US News ' top 10—often top five—universities. Stanford is the top choice of many students whose focuses coincide with what Stanford offers (e.g., a West Coast life or a large research institution with a slight engineering lean). Stanford is also by far the top US News -ranked school west of the Mississippi (the second is Caltech, which attracts a very different crowd).

Stanford follows certain rules when it comes to admissions. And, no, these rules are not as simple as "focus all your time on academics" or "be as well rounded as possible." (In fact, those phrases are the two biggest myths about admissions here!) Knowing the rules won't guarantee you admission, but you'll have a heck of a better chance than if you were applying in the dark.

I'll go over everything you need to know to get into Stanford , whether you're a humanities or STEM major. I'll also explain which admissions strategies are false and could seriously impact your chances of getting accepted if you follow them.

Getting Into Stanford: Why Listen to Me?

There are lots of writers out there giving admissions advice without any personal experience. Most journalists writing articles on Stanford admissions just spend a few hours doing research on the school (or a few days at most) in order to meet their article quota.

However, I've personally spent weeks, if not months , thinking about Stanford admissions. I must have spent more than 100 hours explicitly on Stanford admissions—and I ultimately got in :

A letter from my admissions officer to me after I was accepted to Stanford discussing the admitted-student weekend details. This letter has been modified to summarize meaning and protect privacy.

More than just getting accepted, I actually spent a substantial amount of time thinking about what Stanford was looking for and crafting an application specifically for Stanford. To me, Stanford was one of the top two schools I was interested in, so I took the application very seriously. I visited the campus twice before even applying, attended admissions sessions where I asked dozens of questions about what they were looking for, searched online and in bookstores, wrote an entirely separate essay for the Stanford application , and used a separate admissions strategy for Stanford alone .

I'm not saying this to brag; I'm just letting you know that I have some unique qualifications that allow me to help you the most. That I was accepted, and that I spent tremendous energy thinking about Stanford, means my advice can (hopefully!) help you substantially as you prep for the SAT or ACT and apply to Stanford.

The 3 Truths and 2 Myths About Stanford Acceptance

In this section, I'm going to tell you the critical three truths and two myths you absolutely need to know in order to get into Stanford . The first ones are relatively well known, but the final ones are less common knowledge and will help you get that extra boost in your application!

Note: If you've read our article on Harvard admissions , note that I will be covering similar material here. You might want to skim this section, but do pay attention to the differences between the application processes at Harvard and Stanford. Also, make sure to keep reading after this section as I'll be talking about Stanford-specific aspects.

Truth 1: You Need Strong Academics

The first truth is that Stanford is, first and foremost, an academic institution, so you need to have spectacular academics to get in . Although Stanford is currently test optional, high SAT or ACT scores remain a great way to show off your skills!

But keep in mind that you do need very high scores. The 25th percentile SAT/ACT score of admitted students is as high as 1500 on the SAT or 33 on the ACT . This means that the vast majority (75%) of Stanford students get above these scores, and those attending with scores lower than these are superstars who make up for their scores in other (highly impressive!) ways.

If your scores are below these numbers, the most effective step you can take to raise your chances of admission is to study more for the SAT/ACT since the primary reason Stanford will reject you is based on scores alone. The 75th percentile for Stanford is currently 1570 on the SAT and 35 on the ACT. If you're above these, you can assume your test scores are sufficient.

Myth 1: All You Need Are Good Grades

The first and most naive myth is that Stanford only cares about grades. Like most myths, this one results from taking the truth too far. Many people think that since Stanford is an academic institution, it must care only about academics. After all, if you were trying out for the football team, the coaches wouldn't measure your skills in baseball, right?

The truth, however, is that while Stanford of course cares deeply about academics, it also cares about qualities beyond academics . Stanford isn't just admitting students with the highest GPAs and the highest SAT/ACT scores—they want a lot more than that!

Truth 2: You Should Excel in Multiple Areas

So why isn't Stanford just looking for students with the highest test scores?

The first reason is basic numbers: there are simply too many students with stellar academics . The average ACT score for a Stanford student is 33; thus, Stanford considers this score (or higher) stellar.

Yet a 33 still puts about 1% of the high school population above you. With 3.7 million high school seniors a year , this is about 37,000 students—many times larger than the roughly 2,000 students Stanford accepts each year. Consequently, top colleges such as Stanford need to look beyond academic scores to distinguish between these equally high-achieving students .

The second reason is the understanding that many top colleges, including Stanford, are looking for students who can have a significant and positive impact on the world . Stanford believes that non-academic factors, in addition to top academics, help predict who will have a positive impact in the future . These non-academic factors (often known under the umbrella term "extracurriculars") include participation in clubs or sports and a dedication to helping others.

As a result, we can replace the first myth with our second truth: top colleges care about far more than just academics and want to see strengths in many areas , including GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and community service.

In reality, the above truth of multi-area admissions is actually well known to people who have done even a minimal amount of college admissions research. The myth of pure academics is more of a non-myth: it's a myth that lots of people love to bash, but not many people actually believe. In fact, over-bashing this first myth leads to the second myth below, which is even more insidious than the first.

Myth 2: You Should Be Well Rounded

This second myth—and by far the biggest and most harmful myth—is that Stanford cares about students being well rounded in the sense that they should be equally excellent in all areas. This myth is the most pernicious because so many people blindly believe it.

From many personal surveys, I have found that even well-researched students and parents fall prey to this myth. In fact, I myself during my early years of high school believed in this horrible assumption, even though I'd already done hundreds of hours of research at that point.

Because so many educated people believe it, and because it has the potential to steer you wrong, I personally think that this myth is the most damaging of any.

The "well-rounded" myth goes like this: Stanford wants you to be well rounded, so it's best to perform excellently in all areas. In other words, aim for that high seat in your school orchestra. Be number one or number two on your school debate team. Run for student council and become the treasurer. Get a score in the 95th percentile or higher on your SAT or ACT. Earn at least an A- in all your classes.

The mythical implication here is that the "Stanford scorecard" grades you based on your weakest area, so you want to eliminate all weaknesses. Under this myth, you should focus all your time on your weakest area to eliminate it and become as well rounded as possible. Then, at the end of the day, you end up with a mythical optimal application that proves you're (nearly) equally great at everything.

Unfortunately, college admissions are much more like an unstable boat: being too well rounded will ultimately sink you .

The truth is that Stanford sees being very well rounded as too boring. Everyone who is well rounded looks the same: they're very good (but not earth-shattering) at everything. There's nothing to set you apart. Not to mention that dilly-dallying in a big number of areas will make you look like a dilettante.

Truth 3: You Should Have a "Spike" in One Area

The third and final truth is that Stanford would much rather see a candidate who is OK at most things but really great in one specific area . That area is your "spike," and it can be in almost anything: conducting microbiology research, publishing short stories, starting a small business, etc.

Your spike makes you a strong candidate because it's unlikely that many other students will have the exact same spike as you. In short, it helps set you apart and makes you unique . Admitting lots of students with different spikes allows Stanford to create the diverse student body it desires.

Furthermore, Stanford is looking for students who will succeed in the future. In our modern world, specialization is the key to success . Think about it: if you break a bone, you want to see a doctor who's great at resetting bones, right? Not a doctor who's pretty good at setting bones and also pretty good at diagnosing the type of flu you have and pretty good at recommending a diet to keep you healthy.

It's OK to be lopsided—in fact, it's even desirable! The point is that you should aim to develop one area in which you're super strong . In this area, or spike, you should try your best to be nationally or state-ranked, or accomplish a goal that's rare for a high school student. Think top-100 football player in California, or top-1,000 math competition student in the United States. Think getting a pilot's license at age 12.

In all other areas, it suffices to be in the 99th or even 90th percentile. A moderately good score in your English class will do. A few dozen hours of volunteering is fine. But in your spike, you want to be the best of the best.

Recap: Truths and Myths About Stanford Admissions

The most naive and prevalent myth is that getting into Stanford is all about academics. In reality, admitting applicants based only on academics leads to an uninteresting community. Stanford cares about extracurriculars, too, and doing well in just one area of school (or even all of school) isn't enough.

Unfortunately, an overly reactionary response to the above generates the worst myth. Myth 2 is that you should be well rounded and great (but not necessarily excellent) in every field. But the truth is that being too well rounded makes you look the same as others who are just as well rounded as you; it also makes you look like someone without any direction.

Ultimately, you want to be OK in every field but especially accomplished in one particular field.

What These Stanford Truths and Myths Mean for You

Based on the above information, your first goal should be to ensure you have strong academics . Get good grades in high school, and make sure you're in at least the 50th percentile (for Stanford or whatever school you're applying to) on the SAT/ACT.

Even if you're above the 50th percentile, if you haven't prepped at least a few dozen hours yet, you should aim for the 75th percentile to strengthen your application . SAT/ACT prep is one of the most time-efficient ways to raise your score and thus your chances of admission.

After you're above the 50th percentile, get to work on overcoming the first myth (which claims that grades are everything). Stanford cares about far more than just academics, so try to squeeze in some good extracurriculars and volunteer experience .

Once you have a sufficient set of baseline activities, it's time to overcome the second myth by understanding that Stanford is not all about being diversified and well rounded. You want one area to stand out above and beyond all the others; this spike will be one of the most important parts of your application.

Now that we've gone over the biggest myths and facts about Stanford admissions, let's take a look at another part of the highly prestigious university: its emphasis on STEM and what this means for you, whether you're into STEM or not.

How Stanford's Tilt Toward STEM Affects Admissions Chances

One difference between Stanford (and Cornell and UC Berkeley) and some of the other top-10 colleges is that Stanford is not a pure liberal arts college; instead, Stanford is a liberal arts college with a significant STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) tilt.

This means that—all else being equal— if your interests learn more toward engineering, you'll get a slight boost in your admission chances . For your base diversity of extracurriculars, it helps to focus more on engineering and/or math; it also helps if your spike is in engineering or math. So if one student were a top-100 young writer and another were a top-100 math competitor, it's likely that the latter would have a slightly better chance of getting into Stanford.

Don't just take my word for it, though—you can Google it yourself. You'll see that Stanford is in the US News ' top-ranked engineering schools, while Harvard and Yale are nowhere near the top 10. Part of this, however, is a self-fulfilling prophecy: because good engineering-type undergrads come here, it becomes an ideal place for similarly minded students.

Despite this clear STEM tilt, Stanford is certainly not a STEM-only school (which other top-ranked schools such as MIT, Caltech, and Carnegie Mellon essentially are). As a result, math-related classes and extracurriculars are not the only things that matter when applying to Stanford.

The next two sections will give you advice based on which subjects you plan to study in college. If you're less into STEM, read the next section. But if you're already focusing on a STEM area and plan on continuing to do so, skip on ahead to the section after for my most helpful tips.

Do you plan on majoring in a humanities or similar subject? Then this section is for you!

How to Get Into Stanford If You're Less Interested in STEM

Just because Stanford leans more toward engineering, that doesn't mean that the only way to get in is to be an engineer. You don't even need to be interested in STEM in general; Stanford is not MIT or Caltech! While the school has a fantastic engineering program, it's also incredibly strong in non-STEM fields, such as economics and literature.

Your application can be completely bereft of engineering aspirations, and you can still do well. In fact, I am quite sure that any humanities-heavy application that would do well at Harvard , Yale, or Princeton would do equally well, if not better, at Stanford.

Nevertheless, don't forget the fact that Stanford likes baseline diversity. Your spike doesn't need to be related to STEM, but you should still be strong in quantitative subjects as a whole . Even if your subject of interest is Prussian history, you should be cautious about getting a B in AP Calculus AB, taking the easiest math classes, or getting as "low" as a 650 on the SAT Math section.

Because Stanford has a large number of applicants, they have enough humanities-spike applicants who can at least get the basic A or A- in the hardest math and science classes. You should take care to put enough effort into these subjects so you don't drop down to the middle of the pack . Stanford doesn't take the excuse "I'm just not a math person" (and, in fact, they're probably against the culture that makes such a phrase commonly acceptable in the first place).

So what's a good enough baseline in SAT or ACT Math? I'd say something in the 720-800 range on the SAT Math section or 32-36 on ACT Math will do . The SAT/ACT is not competitive math—doing well on this section doesn't mean you're nationally ranked in math. In fact, the SAT/ACT Math sections are designed to test only the most basic common-denominator areas covered in high school math classes across the United States.

As such, scoring substantially below a perfect score on the SAT / ACT does actually signal to Stanford a lack of understanding of some rather standard areas of math. Once you get below a 700 on SAT Math or a 30 on ACT Math, Stanford will know you don't have a full command of standard concepts in math, such as factorizing variables or applying the Pythagorean theorem.

The good news is that you can improve quickly and consistently to the 700+ level on the SAT . All it requires is mastering baseline content of math and understanding the highest-gain SAT Math strategies. You can study on your own by reviewing and mastering math content first while focusing lightly on math strategy. If you're studying with PrepScholar , we will automatically detect your situation and give you the right study material for this improvement.

Students whose forte isn't engineering should know that Stanford is welcoming of interdisciplinary study. Indeed, the school would love to see you talk not just about the humanities, but also how your expertise in the humanities uses areas such as computer science or math to help refine your analysis.

Assuming you are truly interested, it will help your application if you mention an aspiration to use some amount of engineering in your future studies. For example, if you're into religious studies with a focus on the Old Testament, you might talk about how you'd like to use statistical analysis to refine the documentary hypothesis.

As for your spike, since your natural strength is outside STEM, I wouldn't go for a STEM-type spike. Usually, spikes are much easier if done in a field with natural talent and that you thoroughly enjoy. A STEM spike would make much less sense for you, not to mention that it'd be a lot less pleasant to accomplish.

Consider competitions for speech, debate, writing, essays, and so forth. For example, for enthusiasts of debate-type activities, there's Model UN , Junior State of America , governor's school , mock-trial , and nationwide debate .

Competitions provide a direct way for admissions officers to see how good you are , but you can also do other tasks that qualitatively seem similarly accomplished. For example, if you started a theater club that has an impressive number of audience members or consistently do journal-quality academic research on Victorian English literature, you'd be well positioned for your spike.

To learn more about working on your spike for college, check out our guide on how to get into the Ivy League (search for "Part 2" and scroll down to #4).

How to Get Into Stanford If You're Strong in STEM: 4 Tips

If your strong point is quantitative, then that's a great advantage. After all, Stanford is engineering tilted! Even more to your advantage, I personally got into Stanford following this path , so I will have much more refined strategies for you here, including naming specific programs to try.

Below are my top four tips for getting into Stanford if you're strong in STEM.

#1: Make Sure You Have Academic Excellence in STEM Fields

Since you consider yourself a strong STEM candidate, it's important to be absolutely amazing in STEM as a whole . That means earning an A or A+ in every one of your STEM courses, with only the very occasional A-.

You should also be taking the most difficult STEM courses offered at your school. In other words, take APs when they are available and, within APs, try to choose the harder option ( Calculus BC instead of AB , for example). For the AP exams, aim for a 5 in each of these fields.

If you're naturally talented at STEM and are taking the hardest courses, there's a high probability you'll get great grades; however, you want to turn that high probability into a certainty.

The biggest reason that naturally talented STEM students perform at just a mediocre level in STEM courses is a lack of diligence. Many students who are strong in STEM want to focus on only what they're interested in at that moment. It's important to see the benefits to your STEM education that are possible if you get into Stanford, and to convince yourself it's worthwhile to put in the grind that's often necessary to get good grades in school.

To illustrate this point more clearly, let me tell you the real story of my high school classmate. Let's call him Kevin. Kevin was intensely bright, would score at the top of intelligence tests, and was into battle bots. He would literally put all his time into building these robots, often skipping English classes, physics classes, and even sleep to spend time on this intense passion he had.

In the end, he earned Ds in English and Cs in Physics (which he was otherwise great in). Sadly, when it came to admissions time, Kevin wasn't able to get into any college ranked within the top 50. With his intelligence, he could have easily swept the US News top 50 if he'd put even a modicum of diligence into his schoolwork.

The takeaway? Don't be like Kevin.

#2: Develop a Good Academic Baseline Outside of STEM

The next step is to ensure your academics outside of STEM meet at least some baseline of quality. This doesn't mean you have to be great in the humanities, but it does mean you'll want to keep the Bs in the humanities to a minimum . While you don't need to take any AP classes in the humanities (I didn't!), taking them and getting a 4 or 5 on the AP tests and an A/A- in the class will definitely benefit you in the end.

Standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT are a great way to prove how well rounded you are. They're difficult enough that getting a sufficiently high score signals you're in the 95th percentile or above in all the US—certainly enough to qualify as well rounded. That being said, the ACT/SAT isn't specialized enough to be your spike.

If you're a little weaker on the humanities side, shoring up your SAT/ACT score is the fastest and most effective way to improve. You should aim for an SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score of at least 650 or ACT Reading and English scores of at least 28 each. I firmly believe that being great quantitatively correlates with being smart in general.

You can definitely get these scores if you put your mind to it. (The only caveat is that you'll need to be reasonably fluent in English. If you're not a native speaker and aren't fluent, I suggest you make this a priority, probably through immersion in an English-speaking country.)

Your test-prep strategy will center around the fact that the SAT/ACT is an analytical test . The same skills you used to become good in quantitative subjects will be useful in mastering these standardized tests. Since you're only targeting a 650 (or 28) or above on these sections, you don't need to stress as much about the last few problems and being careless.

You do , however, need to memorize all the most common SAT grammar rules and learn how many questions you can afford to get wrong without sacrificing your score goals. You can do this yourself or take advantage of our online SAT / ACT prep program , which will automatically identify these weaknesses for you.

#3: Include Some Well-Rounded Extracurriculars

Round out your Stanford application with some lower-hanging fruit if possible. Assume a leadership position in some club that requires public speaking, whether that's debate, Model UN, or something else. Many areas in politics and law are surprisingly close to the logical systems you're used to in STEM.

You might also consider playing a sport . Many JV teams are not incredibly competitive. Also, be sure to play to your strengths: if you're more dexterous than strong, you might want to choose squash, for example. If you're fast and have good hand-eye coordination, consider baseball.

Sports teams will take up a ton of time, though , so check that you're well positioned and able to handle the time commitment before making any decisions.

Our guide lists hundreds of extracurriculars , which you can use to brainstorm how you can build a diversified base. Note that for your activities, you don't need to be especially great at them—participation is what ultimately matters here.

#4: Focus On Your Spike

Now that you've achieved good SAT/ACT scores and have a well-rounded base of activities, it's time to build up that final factor that will get you in: your spike ! This is where you really get to show off your STEM skills.

When it comes to spikes, the name of the game is to be highly ranked in recognized fields .

One of the most natural environments to be ranked in is a competition. Now, obviously, the more recognized the competition, the better. As you might imagine, the most well-known, difficult, and participant-heavy competitions are the most prestigious.

For your Stanford application, it's better to rank in the top 1,000 of one of the most prestigious competitions than it is to rank in the top 100 of a competition of middling prestige. This means you should try to aim for the most prestigious competition you can actually do well in . You should consider competitions from highest prestige down in that order whenever possible.

When it comes to prestigious STEM competitions, two of them take the cake: the US Math Olympiad (which I'll refer to as the "USAMO series") and the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF) . These are two competitions everyone applying to Stanford should consider entering.

The USAMO series is all about pure math and solving problems fairly quickly (think a few minutes to an hour in a timed environment). If you want to get a taste of what an easy problem looks like in the USAMO series, just look at the hardest problems on SAT Math or the hardest problems on the (now discontinued) Math Level 2 SAT Subject Test (the hardest problems usually appear last).

By contrast, the ISEF is more about tinkering around, spending days and months doing research similar to what you'd do in college, and then presenting your results. Compared to the USAMO series, the ISEF is much more like working on a hobby or personal project for an extended period of time .

Now then, let's take a look at each of these two STEM competitions in more detail.

USAMO Series

Here's a sample AMC 12 Problem. If you can solve this without any issues, then you'd be a strong candidate for a math competition:

Three real numbers in the interval [0, 1] are chosen independently and at random. What is the probability that the chosen numbers are the side lengths of a triangle with positive area?

You can see the answer and a full explanation at AoPS Online .

If you're very good at math, then you should seriously consider the USAMO series (more unofficial information here )—it can really be your spike. The USAMO series is so prestigious that I've known Stanford students whose main spike was placing within the top 1,000 or 2,000 in this competition.

But why is the USAMO so prestigious? For one, it's the oldest of the high school subject Olympiads, and it was the subject of Cold War tensions between the US and USSR. Most importantly, though, hundreds of thousands of the most mathematically strong students participate in it , making a top ranking really impressive.

The best way to sign up is to ask your high school math teacher. If your high school doesn't do this competition, you should either aggressively petition them to do it or search for a neighboring high school that will accept you as a guest.

This spike will be good for you if your SAT Math score is 760 or above (or your ACT Math score is 35 or above) . If you don't meet these basic thresholds, I would think very hard before making the USAMO series your spike—the series is, after all, just a much harder version of these standardized tests in nearly the exact same format.

Furthermore, a college applicant who has competitive USAMO series scores but questionable SAT or ACT Math scores will send mixed signals that'll diminish their USAMO series accomplishments.

Conversely, if you're above the SAT/ACT Math threshold, you definitely will benefit from taking the USAMO series, even if it isn't your spike. Why? Because if you're above these thresholds, your test score won't reveal your true math skills , which are likely off the SAT/ACT charts; you need to upgrade to the USAMO series to show off all your math skills, even if you don't perform amazingly.

To recap, do the USAMO series if you do really well on math tests such as SAT/ACT Math . The USAMO series will be a definite spike for you if you manage to make it into the top 1,000 or 2,000 spots. The best resource to train for the USAMO series is Art of Problem Solving .

Now, what if you're good at tests and competitions—but not math? If this sounds like you, read on to learn how the Regeneron ISEF could be a great choice for your STEM spike.

Regeneron ISEF

Many students are strong in STEM but aren't exceptional when it comes to solving timed problems. Some get anxious from the pressure, whereas others just don't do well on tests, even if they're brilliant at STEM. These students might instead be found writing their own computer programs for months at a time or working on a science experiment for weeks.

If this sounds like you, then the prestigious competition you should consider for your spike on your Stanford application is the Regeneron ISEF (formerly Intel ISEF).

Like most science fairs, the ISEF requires you to do research and present your findings. What's unique about the ISEF, though, is that it's the premier science fair in the United States . Think of it like this: whereas winning your high school's local science fair is like winning a 100-meter dash in your town, winning the ISEF is like winning the 100-meter dash in the Olympics.

You can't apply directly to the ISEF. Instead, you have to start out first in a regional science fair. If you do well in that, you can advance to the next ISEF rounds. You can read about the competition's judging criteria and a real winner's experiences on the official website.

Some of the key factors to winning include being innovative and original. You have to be rigorous, but not nearly to the degree of professional science research. Being interesting is the name of the ISEF game.

What does a winning ISEF project look like? Here's an excerpt from the profile of the 2020 1st place winner :

" In her research project, recently featured in  Bloomberg , Lillian built a simple tool to investigate how well harvests would do in the next season. Studying satellite images and data from the  Descartes Labs , Lillian successfully forecasted 2020 crop yields for every country within Africa. Besides highlighting how remote sensing is an effective way to fill the gaps in the agriculture industry during COVID-19, especially when farmers and scouts cannot be on the ground to measure local crop environments, Lillian’s project also stands to reassure the next generation of young scientists that research doesn’t always have to be done in a lab, but can be done from home. “Today’s availability of open-source tutorials, software and datasets opens the doors for anyone to learn at their own pace.” Lilian worked on her project at her own desk and says others can do the same. Let’s hear more from Lillian below. "

To show originality for the ISEF, you must tackle a problem that's interesting to the scientific community . Since few high school students have a good overview of the academic science literature, it's important for any student to have a professional academic scientist or engineer as their mentor . This will ensure that you work on a problem the field considers important.

Also, good mentors with previous experience will know which problems can be done by students and which would be too complicated or time-consuming. After you choose your field and mentor, having the tenacity and focus to put your creative thinking toward the problem is key. Students who have historically had a lot of trouble staying focused or finishing projects should be wary.

With the USAMO, doing well on SAT/ACT Math is a good predictor of performance; being fast and being good on tests is important. But with the ISEF, tenacity and the ability to stick to a project for hundreds or even thousands of hours from start to finish is absolutely crucial. Ranking in the top 100 for the ISEF would definitely qualify as a spike for you.

Other Options for STEM Spikes

There are many more STEM competitions besides the two above. In the sciences, you have the Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Informatics (Computer Science) Olympiads . These competitions require you to work with logic very intelligently, and all require memorizing and being familiar with some facts. I personally participated in each one of these while in high school. Here's a quick overview of how they work.

The Math Olympiad is special because it's the most competitive, with the highest number of people doing the first round. Because so many people prep for the Math Olympiad, the field has changed so that a good part of doing well on it is having tons of practice so you'll know immediately which equations you need to pull out when you see a particular mathematical expression.

Biology requires the most memorization. In fact, most early rounds are about recalling the text of Campbell Biology in a timed fashion.

Chemistry is a happy mixture of using logic to solve problems and memorizing a moderate list of information to help solve those problems. The hands-on portions of both Chemistry and Biology require you to be good at following memorized procedures.

On the other hand, Physics and Informatics have a lot of hands-on sections that require a ton of resourcefulness and novel problem solving.

In these other competitions, I'd say that qualifying for the top 20-40 will make the competition a spike for you in the eyes of Stanford .

But not all spikes need to be in explicitly ranked STEM fields. You could discover a new protein with significance to medical research; there wouldn't necessarily be a competition for the discovery, but if the discovery is qualitatively stunning enough, it can count.

For your Stanford spike, you could brainstorm an amazing discovery, such as a biological process, an electrical engineering discovery, or something else entirely. Or you could build something new, such as a computer program, a cool robot, or a fun electronics project. Whatever the case, make sure that your project is impressive .

Qualitatively, the project should be as good as or better than a ranking within the top 1,000 on the Math Olympiad. Stanford is all about engineering, and they would love to see you build something of your own!

As you can see here, there are tons of competitions and ways through which you could show off your special STEM skills. Beyond the top few listed above, you can also brainstorm your own fields. Once you have a competition or field in mind, it's useful to evaluate how prestigious it is.

Remember that the less prestigious a competition or field is, the higher you have to rank in it to be afforded the same credit. To estimate prestige, first look at how many people participate—the more people who participate, the more impressive it'll be on your Stanford application. Next, look at the skills of the average participant: the more skilled the people coming in are, the better.

Using this method, you can find ways to show off your spike outside the set ones above.

Conclusion: The Best Tips for Getting Into Stanford

Stanford is one of the most difficult universities to get into, as are UC Berkeley and Cornell. But all these schools follow the same pattern of being highly ranked and having a slight engineering tilt—and all have a common admissions pattern .

Because these three universities are so prestigious, it's critical to keep in mind the three truths :

• You need high baseline academics, with SAT scores above 600 (ideally 750 in each section)
• You need to have a diverse set of extracurriculars at which you're good (but not necessarily a pro)
• You need to have a "spike" for which you're (ideally) ranked in the top 100-1,000 compared to other students

At the same time, be sure to dispel these two myths about Stanford admissions :

• Stanford admissions is all about academics
• Stanford wants you to be as evenly well rounded as possible

Keep in mind that Stanford has a slight STEM (engineering) emphasis . So if your focus is outside STEM, you should be the best you can be in that area and, if possible, try to tie that work into some potential interdisciplinary work with STEM.

If you're already in STEM, you'll want to strongly consider entering a prestigious math or science competition to show off the high degree of your skills.

In the end, make sure that you're putting forward your absolute best Stanford application possible!

What's Next?

If you're applying to Stanford, it's important to know everything there is to know about the school. Get started with our complete guide to Stanford University and then read our best tips on how to write great Stanford essays , including a stand-out roommate essay .

As you know, strong test scores are an important part of your Stanford application. If you're looking for test-prep tips, take a look at our expert guides to SAT prep and ACT prep . Aiming for a top score? Learn how to nab a perfect 1600 on the SAT or a perfect 36 on the ACT .

Already got some great extracurriculars? Then check out our college admissions and test-prep guide designed specially for students like you!

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

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Gre prep online guides and tips, graduate school acceptance rates: can you get in.

Even the most qualified and confident applicants worry about getting into grad school. But don’t panic! Graduate school acceptance rates, which give the percentage of applicants that were admitted to a particular school or program in an academic year, can help you determine how likely you are to get into a given program.  But where can you find grad school admissions statistics?

In this article, we’ll first investigate the trends and factors associated with graduate school acceptance rates. Then, we’ll take a look at some of the current acceptance rates and give you expert tips on how to find acceptance rates for your programs. Finally, we’ll show you how to determine your odds of getting into grad school.

Graduate School Acceptance Rates: Factors and Trends

Grad school acceptance rates are the same as any other acceptance rate: the lower the acceptance rate, the more selective the school or program is. Similarly, the higher the acceptance rate, the less selective the school or program is. As with undergrad acceptance rates, grad school acceptance rates vary widely, from extraordinarily selective (less than 5 percent) to incredibly lenient (nearly 100 percent).

Unlike undergrad rates, though, grad school acceptance rates are usually calculated for specific programs or departments and  not for entire universities. This is because with grad school, you are essentially applying to an individual program rather than an overall institution (as you did for undergrad).

Now that we’ve covered all of the basics, let’s look at a few key trends. Our research indicates there are three major factors that help determine grad school acceptance rates:

• School or program prestige
• Degree type
• Amount of funding

Let’s look at how each of these factors influences grad school acceptance rates.

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#1: School or Program Prestige

How prestigious a particular grad school or program is can affect its overall competitiveness and selectivity. In general, the more prestigious a program is, the more competitive it’ll be and thus the lower acceptance rate it’ll have.

An easy way to determine school or program prestige is to consult official rankings, such as those listed on  U.S. News . (Grad schools are typically ranked by field or program and   not by overall institution.)

For example, a 2017  U.S. News  list of the best political science grad programs  ranked Duke’s political science program at #7 and Northwestern’s at #23. Because both of the programs have fairly high rankings, it’s safe to assume they’re probably quite selective.

And this is true: in 2016,  Duke  reported a mere 10 percent acceptance rate to its political science doctoral program, while  Northwestern  reported a 12 percent acceptance rate.

#2: Degree Type

Another major factor is degree type. Generally,  doctoral programs tend to be more selective than master’s programs (though this isn’t always the case as I’ll explain in a moment). This trend is likely due to the fact that doctoral programs often look for higher-quality applicants with proven academic track records and more relevant experience in their fields.

For example, in 2016  University of Michigan’s math doctoral program  had a 17.2 percent acceptance rate, whereas its master’s program  had a much higher 31.8 percent rate. In this case, the doctoral program is clearly tougher to get into than the master’s program.

Still,   master’s programs can have lower acceptance rates than doctoral programs. If we were to take the University of Michigan’s grad programs in computer science and engineering, we’d find that the doctoral program has  a 15 percent acceptance rate  and the master’s  an even lower 8 percent acceptance rate .

Additionally, M.F.A. programs are particularly cutthroat. In 2015, the creative writing M.F.A. program at UT Austin’s James A. Michener Center for Writers only admitted 12 out of 678 applicants — that’s a mere 1.8 percent acceptance rate !

#3: Amount of Funding

Funding, too, plays a big role in how selective a grad program is.

Well-funded  programs typically receive more applications than those offering little to no aid, thereby raising their selectivity. Competition is especially fierce for fully funded programs — possibly because fewer people are willing to go into debt for grad school.

Compared to fully funded doctoral programs, fully funded master’s programs are somewhat rare and thus pretty competitive. UT Austin’s Creative Writing M.F.A. program, for instance, is not only a prestigious program but also one of the most well-funded Creative Writing M.F.A. programs in the country: it  offers full tuition remission and a $27,500 stipend per academic year . It’s no wonder, then, that its acceptance rate is below 2 percent!

What Are the Current Graduate School Acceptance Rates?

For this section, we’ve scoured the internet to bring you a robust assortment of acceptance rates for popular U.S. grad schools.

Before we dive in, note that not all institutions calculate grad school acceptance rates using the same methodologies. Some offer only a single acceptance rate for all of their grad schools put together, while others offer individual rates by school, field, or program.

Now, let’s see how selective these schools really are!

*Statistics for NYU are based on the number of enrolled students and not the number of admitted students. Therefore, expect actual acceptance rates to be slightly higher.

How to Find Graduate School Acceptance Rates: 4 Methods

Unfortunately, grad school admissions statistics tend to be more difficult to find than undergrad acceptance rates.  But there are ways to search for them — you just have to do a lot of digging and possibly a little reaching out.

Below are our top four methods for finding grad school acceptance rates for the programs you’re applying to.

#1: Consult School Websites

By far the most reliable resources for grad school admissions statistics are  school websites.

Start your search by consulting program and departmental pages, particularly admissions and FAQ pages. Look out for any statistics-related keywords or phrases, such as “admission(s) rates,” “acceptance rates,” “enrollment,” “facts and figures,” etc. Use ctrl+F to move swiftly through large chunks of text.

Not all schools publish grad admissions information online, and those that do don’t always report it in the same way as others. For example, Princeton offers a handy PDF  containing acceptance rates for all academic fields of study. On the other hand,  Notre Dame  gives separate admissions charts for each of its grad programs (which you can access by selecting a program and then clicking “Admissions Statistics”).

Additionally, many schools release admissions statistics without explicitly publishing acceptance rates.  In this case, it’s your job to take the statistics provided and use them to calculate an acceptance rate. To find the acceptance rate of a school or program, you’ll need the following information:

• The total number of applicants in a year
• The total number of applicants granted admission  that year

The acceptance rate equals the total number of applicants offered admission divided by the total number of applicants and then multiplied by 100, or:

$$\acceptance \rate = {\number \of \applicants \offered \admission}/{\total \number \of \applicants}100$$

Be sure to  avoid conflating the number of students who were  offered admission   with the number of students who accepted their offers of admission. These two concepts sound alike but are actually different. What you’re looking for is the first statistic — that is, the number of admitted students (regardless of whether they decided to enroll).

If you’re having trouble finding admissions statistics by browsing school websites, search on Google for “[Your School] graduate acceptance rate” and see if any relevant school pages appear. While searching for acceptance rates to use in the table above, I consistently swapped “acceptance rate” with similar phrases, such as “admission(s) rate,” “facts and figures,” “student statistics,” “admittance rates,” and “admission(s) statistics.”

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Don’t be afraid to get creative! You can also use phrases like “Ph.D. admissions statistics” or “master’s admissions statistics” to narrow your search even further. Try to think outside the box as you do your research. What are other ways people talk about acceptance rates?

#2: Check  U.S. News

If your school or program doesn’t offer any admissions statistics on its website, go to  U.S. News . This website offers official rankings of grad programs as well as lists of the most (and least) selective programs in various fields.

For example, I found a 2016 list of the most competitive online M.B.A. programs  and a 2015 list of the most competitive online graduate engineering programs .

If U.S. News doesn’t offer any relevant lists for you to use, try skimming the current grad school rankings to gauge how competitive your program is compared with others in the same field.

#3: Search Other Websites

One less reliable method for looking up grad school admissions statistics is to  look for (unofficial) websites discussing acceptance rates for your school or program.

The Grad Cafe’s  admissions results  section is a solid place to start. Here, applicants post whether they’ve been accepted, rejected, or waitlisted for grad programs.

Search for your program to get a rough feel for how many acceptances and rejections go out each year. You might notice that certain types of applicants are more active than others. Creative Writing M.F.A. applicants, for example, are prolific posters in winter and spring (during admissions season).

Occasionally, Google itself will provide you with grad school acceptance rates, but this only appears to work consistently for well-known law schools, medical schools, and business schools.

Additionally, while using Google, don’t assume that any acceptance rates that pop up are directly connected to your search terms. For example, when I searched “stanford graduate acceptance rate,” Google gave me this result:

This 4.8 percent acceptance rate is  not  the acceptance rate for Stanford’s grad programs (what I searched for) but rather the acceptance rate for undergrads. So always cross-check any statistics Google gives you.

You can also consult grad school data websites such as  Peterson’s and StartClass . Take their grad school acceptance rates with a grain of salt, though — their data isn’t always verifiable online. If possible, try to compare any data you find on these types of websites with the school websites themselves or U.S. News .

#4: Contact Schools

If the internet isn’t giving you the help you need, call or email your schools. Be polite but upfront: ask whether the school calculates acceptance rates for grad programs and where you can find this information online (if available).

If a school refuses to divulge admissions statistics or simply doesn’t report acceptance rates, see if they can give you estimates for how many applications they receive each year, or for how many acceptances they usually extend to applicants in your program.

Graduate School Acceptance: What Are Your Odds?

By this point, you might be wondering how likely it is you’ll actually get into the grad program you wish to attend. After all, acceptance rates are pretty broad — they tell you what everyone’s odds are but not your odds specifically.

Below are three easy steps for determining your odds of getting into grad school, including advice on when it’s better to go for it or choose another program.

Step 1: Check Program Requirements

First, go to your program’s website and pinpoint the admissions requirements page. Now, ask yourself:  do you meet all of the program’s basic requirements? If not, you’ll likely wind up with a rejection (and might not even be able to apply).

However, if you’re still interested in applying, contact the program and ask if they’ll make an exception for you. Your chance of getting accepted is still low, but you’ll at least have your application considered.

If your program strongly recommends qualities you lack, don’t interpret this as an automatic rejection. Sometimes, applicants can make up for deficiencies in other ways. For example, if your undergrad GPA is 3.1 and your program recommends applicants have a minimum 3.2, don’t write off the program — you might still have a shot at getting in as long as the rest of your application is solid.

On the other hand, even if you meet all of a program’s requirements, you’re not necessarily a shoo-in. Remember, all other applicants have met these requirements, too, so you’ll need to find a unique way to make your application stand out.

Step 2: Find Average GRE Scores and GPAs

Your next step is to look up your program’s average GRE scores and GPA  to see how your own scores and GPA compare with those of previously admitted applicants.

You can usually find GRE score information on admissions requirements or FAQ pages. You can also search on Google for “[Your School] [Your Program] average GRE scores.” For step-by-step instructions on how to find average GRE scores, check out  my article on average GRE scores by school .

For GPAs, you can use the same basic methodology. Check admissions requirements and FAQ pages and use ctrl+F to search for “GPA.” If GPA information is available, you’ll most likely come across minimum GPAs or average GPAs (or both). For more tips on how to find GPA information for your grad schools, read our guide .

Now, compare your own GRE scores and GPA with the averages you’ve found. Below are all possible scenarios and what they mean for you and your odds of getting into the program:

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• Your GRE scores and GPA are both  higher than your program’s averages:  Congratulations! You have an excellent chance of getting accepted, especially if the rest of your application is equally impressive. Keep up the great work!
• Your GRE scores and GPA are both  about the same as your program’s averages:  You’re doing pretty well! You are just the type of applicant your program is looking for. The only drawback is that you probably won’t stand out as much from other applicants who have similar GRE scores and GPAs. So take time to make your application sparkle (I’m looking at you, statement of purpose).
• Your GRE scores and GPA are both lower than your program’s averages (or just one of the two is lower):  It ain’t over ’til it’s over! You can still make up for your deficiencies in other ways. While you can’t change your GPA, you can retake the GRE . If your GPA is low, a great strategy for combating this is to discuss it in your statement of purpose, taking care to highlight any external factors that contributed to the low GPA as well as any attributes of yours that prove you’re indeed ready for grad school.

Step 3: Decide Whether to Apply

Now, we get to the final question: do you apply to the program or not?  This is a vague question that’s difficult to answer as is. The real questions you should be asking yourself are as follows:

• Do I meet all of the program’s basic requirements?
• Do I meet most or all of the program’s expectations of applicants (in terms of GRE scores, GPA, etc.)?
• Is the program’s acceptance rate extremely low?
• Do I really like this program?

Although acceptance rates and GRE/GPA comparisons are helpful, don’t base your decision to apply solely on how difficult the program is to get into. We can’t know for sure what kind of applicant a grad program is looking for or who they’re willing to make an exception for.

Take a moment to think deeply about how interested you are in this particular program. Be realistic about your chances of getting in — but don’t cross the line into pessimism. If you don’t meet most or all of a program’s expectations and you’re not super invested in it, consider applying elsewhere.

But if you meet some, most, or all of a program’s expectations and you’re extremely interested in enrolling, give the application a go. Remember, it’s totally normal (and even encouraged) to have a few reach schools. Plus, you’ll never get in if you don’t apply!

Key Takeaways: Graduate School Acceptance Rates

Grad school acceptance rates quantify for us the selectivity of grad schools and programs. More specifically, acceptance rates tell us  what percentage of applicants were offered admission to a particular grad school or program. 

With grad school, acceptance rates are often reported for individual schools or programs,  not  entire universities. Acceptance rates can vary widely depending on program prestige, the type of degree you’re seeking, and how much (or how little) funding a program offers.

Unlike undergrad acceptance rates, grad school acceptance rates are somewhat difficult to locate online. You can look for them using any of the following four methods:

• Peruse school websites
• Check grad school facts and lists on  U.S. News
• Browse other websites and forums such as The Grad Cafe
• Call or email your schools

When trying to determine your  odds of getting into a program, look at your program’s requirements as well as the average GPA and GRE scores of previously admitted applicants to your program. If your GRE scores and GPA are comparable to those of your program, you have a decent shot at getting accepted. If one or both are lower than your program’s averages, however, you can always try to  raise your GRE score  with a retake or address your GPA in your statement of purpose.

At the end of the day, what ultimately matters isn’t that you get accepted to a highly competitive grad program but that you make the right decision for you and you alone!

What’s Next?

Need help with your grad school application?  Learn about the most common grad school requirements  and get tips on how to write a grad school CV or resume !

Is your GPA good enough for grad school ?  Read our in-depth guide to learn how you can make up for a less-than-stellar GPA and ultimately raise your chances of getting into the school of your dreams.

Do you have to take the GRE for grad school ? When are grad school deadlines ?  Check out our guides for answers to these questions and more.

Ready to improve your GRE score by 7 points?

Author: Hannah Muniz

Hannah graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in English and East Asian languages and cultures. After graduation, she taught English in Japan for two years via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel. View all posts by Hannah Muniz

Doctoral Completion & Time-to-degree

This page contains information about degree conferrals, time-to-degree, and retention for doctoral research programs at Stanford. While the most common academic doctoral degree across the university is the PhD, the JSD in Law and the DMA in Musical Arts are also included here. The MD and JD are considered to be professional degrees and are not included. In all cases below, the academic years reported are "summer start years", meaning that the academic year encompasses a period from the start of the summer term through the end of the following spring term. Please see the  definitions  below the dashboard for more details about how the various metrics presented here are calculated.

More information is available about  doctoral program enrollment and demographics , as well as  doctoral program admissions . Note that local variation in policy and practice regarding admission, matriculation, and degree conferral may affect the departmental and school-level metrics below.

Methodology & Definitions

Time-to-degree.

Time-to-degree is the length of time in years from the first day of the student's first term of enrollment in their doctoral program to the day of their degree conferral. Time-to-degree measures elapsed time only, not enrolled time. It does not stop and start if a student takes a leave of absence. If a student was enrolled in a master's degree program prior to matriculating in the doctoral program the separate time in the master's program is not included even if it was in the same department as the doctoral program. For this reason, time-to-degree may be lower in some doctoral programs where it is common to require completion of a master's degree prior to matriculation in the doctoral program. If a student switches between doctoral programs, time-to-degree is restarted from the first term of enrollment in the new program. The only exceptions to this restart of the clock are when program changes are the result of departmental name changes or other restructuring, or when the new program has the same CIP code as the original program.

Graduation Rate

As with time-to-degree, the start of the 6-year period used to calculate graduation rates is the first term in which the student is enrolled in a doctoral program, regardless of any prior or concurrent enrollment in a master's program. The 6-year rate is based on elapsed time only, not enrolled time. It is not based on the concept of a cohort year or graduation year, but on the actual matriculation term and degree conferral term. For example, if a student enrolled at the start of Spring 2010 and graduated at the end of Winter 2016, they would count towards the 6-year rate; however, if they instead graduated at the end of Spring 2016, their time to degree would be more than 6 years due to the extra term of enrollment.

Degree Conferrals

Numbers of degree conferrals are reported by summer start year. For example, all degree conferred from Summer 2016 through the following Spring 2017 would be reported under the 2016-17 year.

Entering Cohort Status

An entering cohort consists of all students entering a doctoral program during autumn, winter, or spring quarter of a single academic year, as well as those entering during the preceding summer. Students are considered to be current in their program if they are still actively pursuing that degree or are on an approved temporary leave of absence. "Current students in a different PhD program" are students who were enrolled at one point in the selected program but subsequently moved to another doctoral program at Stanford and are still engaged in doctoral study. Students who are listed as "completed" have successfully conferred their degree in the selected program or, if they have completed a different doctoral program, have changed programs and been awarded a doctoral degree by another program at Stanford. Program changes resulting from department name changes, organizational restructuring, or between programs with the same CIP code are not considered "changes" in this context. Students who are shown as "discontinued" have either left the university without a degree or switched to a non-doctoral degree program (in many cases a master's degree).

Visit the  Graduate Admissions website  for more information about pursuing graduate study at Stanford.

The data are available for download in Google Drive .

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Application requirements for all doctoral programs (phd).

All of our doctoral programs are designed to develop outstanding educational researchers who have a deep understanding of the scientific, practical and policy issues they study. All require full-time study, and we promise five years of full-time financial support for every student we admit. Our doctoral programs are small, typically ranging from about 25 to 35 new students a year. The small size of our doctoral cohorts creates big educational advantages for students: the classes are almost always small, students receive individualized attention from their advisors, and they have many opportunities to develop close collegial relationships with fellow students.

It is extremely important to demonstrate in your statement of purpose that your interests converge closely with the current research of faculty who work in the program to which you are applying. Other doctoral applicants will certainly do this, and if you don't, you will forfeit an important competitive advantage to them. 

If you wish to contact faculty, please read our Which Degree Which Program article, by Professor Eamonn Callan, which outlines the appropriate process for contacting faculty with whom you share research interests. 

• Program website:  Degrees and Programs/PhD
• Length of Program:  5 years (average length)
• Tuition: fellowship/assistantship salary and tuition guaranteed for first five years of the program (autumn, winter and spring quarters) for all students, including international students. Funding includes two summers.

Application Requirements:

Application form.

Complete and submit Stanford's graduate online application .

Application Fee

The application fee is $125 , is non-refundable, and must be received by the application deadline.

Application Fee Waivers

Stanford offers three types of application fee waivers for which GSE applicants may apply and be considered:

• GRE Fee Reduction Certificate-Based Waiver
• Diversity Program Participation-Based Waiver
• School-Based Waiver

Please visit the Stanford Graduate Diversity website for instructions, deadlines, and the fee waiver application form.

Statement of Purpose

A Statement of Purpose is required. Your statement should be typed, single-spaced and should be between one to two pages . Describe succinctly your reasons for applying to the proposed program, your preparation for this field of study, and why our program is a good fit for you, your future career plans, and other aspects of your background as well as interests which may aid the admissions committee in evaluating your aptitude and motivation for graduate study. You may indicate potential faculty mentors as part of your study and research interests. Be sure to keep a copy for your records. What's a Good Statement of Purpose?

A resume or CV  is required of all applicants, depending on which document is most appropriate for your background. There is no page limit for resumes or CVs, though we typically see resumes of one page in length. Please upload your resume or CV in the online application.

Three (3) Letters of Recommendation

Applicants are required to submit three letters of recommendation . In the online application, you will be asked to identify your recommenders and their email addresses. Please notify your recommenders that they will receive an email prompt to submit their recommendation online. You can submit your request for letters of recommendation through the system without submitting the entire online application.  Stanford GSE only accepts online recommendations through the application system ; Stanford GSE cannot accept mailed, emailed or faxed recommendations.

Recommendations should be written by people who have supervised you in an academic, employment, or community service setting. We very strongly recommend that at least one of these letters be from a university professor familiar with your academic work. Your recommendations should directly address your suitability for admission to a graduate program at Stanford GSE.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all three letters of recommendation are submitted through the system by the application deadline , so please work closely with your recommenders to remind them of the deadline.

College and University Transcripts

Transcripts are required from every college and university you have attended for at least one academic year as a full-time student. When submitting your online application, transcripts should be uploaded to the application as a scanned copy or PDF ; this is sufficient for the application review process. Please refrain from sending a secured PDF/transcript with a digital signature as our system cannot upload these properly. The best way to ensure we receive an upload-able document is for you to print out the secured transcript, scan it, and upload the scanned copy (not to exceed 10MB) as a PDF. 

If you earned a degree at the institution from which you are submitting a transcript, please ensure that the degree conferral date and the degree conferred is clearly visible on the document. If you are currently enrolled in a degree program and will not have earned the respective degree by the time of submitting your GSE application, you should submit your most recent in-progress transcript from your institution.

Only if admitted will we contact you with instructions on sending two copies of your official transcripts to our office. We cannot accept mailed, emailed or faxed copies of your transcripts during the application process. Please note: the instructions for sending transcripts on the online application and on the general Stanford Graduate Admissions Office website differ from this Stanford GSE requirement.

Concerning course work completed in a study abroad program

If the coursework and grades are reflected on the transcript of your home institution, you do not need to submit original transcripts from the study abroad institution.

Concerning foreign institutions

If your institution provides a transcript in a language other than English, we require that you submit a translation of the transcript that is either provided by the institution or a certified translator. Translations must be literal and complete versions of the original records.

If your transcript does not include your degree conferral date and the degree conferred , please submit a scanned copy of your diploma, a conferral statement, or a conferral document in addition to your transcript . If you are currently enrolled in a degree program and will not have earned the respective degree by the time of submitting your GSE application, you should submit your most recent in-progress transcript from your institution.

Stanford University requires the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) from all applicants whose native language is not English. The GSE requires a minimum TOEFL score of 250 for the computer-based test, 600 for the paper-based test or 100 for the internet-based test in order to be considered for admission. The Test of Written English (TWE) portion of the TOEFL is not required. Applicants who have completed a four-year bachelor's degree or a two-year master's program (or its equivalent) in the U.S. or at an institution where English is the main language of instruction are not required to take the TOEFL. For more information on TOEFL requirements, please refer to the Required Exams  page on the main Stanford Graduate Admissions website. You may register for the TOEFL test directly at the ETS website .

TOEFL Dates and Deadlines

PhD applicants who are required to take the TOEFL should plan to take the internet-based TOEFL test and have official TOEFL scores sent electronically to Stanford at institution code 4704 (department code does not matter) no later than November 1 . This will give your official TOEFL scores time to be sent from ETS and be received by our system in time for the December 1 deadline. PhD applicants to Knight-Hennessy Scholars should plan to take the internet-based TOEFL test no later than October 16 so your scores can be received by our system in time for the November 16 KHS GSE deadline. Please note that the TOEFL may be taken no earlier than 18 months prior to the application deadline.

Does Stanford accept tests other than TOEFL?

No. We accept only TOEFL scores; we do not accept IELTS or other test scores.

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Advice Given To Me By A Stanford Economist on Admissions - And A Question Of My Own

By Rockofeller June 21, 2010 in PhD in Economics

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Rockofeller.

I was recently speaking with a professor in the Stanford econ department. I came to him for advice regarding my own admissions situation. Let me first provide (1) my profile, then my (2) question(s), then his (3) response. At the end, I'll ask you all a (4) follow-up question!

(1) Profile:

Type of Undergrad: BA History, Top 20 Private

Undergrad GPA: 3.63

Type of Grad: MSc [Research] Economic History, LSE

Grad GPA: Merit (w/ Distinction in dissertation)

Math Courses: Calc. I (B+), Calc. II (B+)

Econ Courses: Macro I (A-), Micro II (C+)

Other Courses:

Letters of Recommendation:

Research Experience: Just my graduate dissertation

Research Interests: Economic history, Growth theory, Economic geography, new institutional economics

Notes: I dropped out of college halfway due to medical issues, missed 1.5 years, and came back and finished on time by overloading.

(2) Question to the professor:

I have decided that I would like to pursue a PhD in Economics, despite my desire to be an economic historian, because the people doing the work I'm interested in doing are almost all in economics departments (as opposed to history). How best should I shore up my background, particularly math, in order to obtain admission to a good program in economics?

(3) His response:

You do not need to pursue a degree in mathematics to obtain admission. What you need to do is obtain the proper math background. That means taking the right courses wherever you might find them, e.g. multi, diff eq, linear analysis, real analysis, etc., and getting top marks in all of them.

Also, you should take graduate level economics courses in order to prove that you are capable of succeeding in a graduate program. [me]: "What about the diploma in economics at Cambridge where one takes the last year of undergrad economics at Cambridge?"

I would be very wary of any program that teaches undergraduate economics courses. There is a large divide between the level of work completed in undergrad and graduate economics courses.

Know that, even if you are taking the courses at a lower-tier university, we may know the work of the professors there. Economics departments are well-integrated - a call from a professor whose work we know that says 'take a look at this student's application' will not go unnoticed.

Edit: I just remembered one other thing that the professor told me. Regarding admissions at Stanford he said "there is no shortage of qualified applicants. This is going to sound terrible, but when looking at the shortlist of candidate files we actually look for things to disqualify students rather than promote them. It is the simply the unfortunate result of having so many strong candidates"

(4) My Follow-Up Question:

I am still very wary of the effect my undergraduate record will have on my chances for admission to a good program. It is clear that I need to take a great number of courses and develop relationships with professors with the kinds of backgrounds that will back-up a strong LoR. It is currently taking me a tremendous amount of time and effort to complete night courses at the local state school, one at a time, while working 60 hours a week. Do people here think it best that I continue on this path or might it be better for me to try for scholarships and go for a second bachelors degree in mathematics from as prestigious a university as will have me? I am looking at the BA in maths at Cambridge, for example.

Thanks for your thoughts and I hope the above information is helpful to some of you.

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Ending up at the top of the grade distribution in mathematics at Cambridge surely would boost your admission chances but,

1) Do not underestimate what this would demand from you. You would need to have more than average math affinity and probably would be in class with IMO stars. I know 2 students from my country would went to Cambridge to study maths and both students records in mathematics were stunning (Gold national math Olympiad, medals in the IMO).

2) It is sort of an overkill and you would have to immerse yourself in things which are basically irrelevant for economics (although good brain training without any doubt).

3) I suspect that it would take 3 additional years in which you will have little time to deal with economics. While adcoms will undoubtedly be impressed with your mathematical training, they may be less impressed with your revealed passion for economics.

I am not sure how high your ambitions are (where you woud like to obtain your phd). If you would like to boost your chances you can consider doing another master degree but you would need to ensure that you are at the very top of the distribution and you could only apply a year later (when your grades are available, the phrase summa cum laude on your resume and the kille lors).

I do not want to question your ability but since you have already studied at LSE and obtained merit, I think you should be able to answer yourself the following question: "Am I able to obtain the top grades in all courses in study X at LSE while enjoying my life at least a bit?"

With X I am thinking about a good degree like Msc Economics or MSc EME at LSE...

Just my 2 cents.

From what I've gathered on this forum and talking to professors:

The professor you spoke to is right that a "proper math background," rather than a degree in math is what admissions committees desire. The main reason I think a Math BA is a bad idea for you is that there are courses you'll have to take that will probably be a waste of time if your only goal is an Econ PhD; the clock is ticking. If you could just take the courses (say 2 at a time) you might be ready in about two years. Can you ask your professors at LSE for LoR's? That and maybe just one prof from a strong school...maybe you could work as an RA while you took classes as a non-degree student? Or else take a couple advanced econ courses along with math courses as a non-degree student? Taking time off from work, of course, might require financial resources you don't have, or be infeasible wherever you're located.

In addition, having economic history as a research interest might make your situation different than the typical applicant for the PhD. My limited impression has been that historians do less math, but I'll admit some naivety wrt that field.

I'm trying to impart the general impressions I've gotten from reading the forum; someone with experience from a similar situation might have much better advice :) Good luck!

Edit: re the above post, a second MSc from LSE isn't a bad idea either...

Thank you all for the advice given thus far. Let me make clear that, while I do not want to "waste" time, I am not worried about the age at which I begin or complete my degree.

@LouisBD: I am most worried about the funding situation for international students at the LSE. I cannot bear to take yet another loan - I will be indebted for the rest of my life! That said, it is something I ought to consider. I probably have a leg up on other applicants with my recommendations coming from the nearby Department of Economic History. Finally, I do think I would enjoy the time spent at Cambridge - I very nearly took up a history PhD there last year, I liked it so much. So I wonder if the 3rd year would really be wasted (assuming I got in!)

@dreck Do you really think the clock is ticking? Am I getting too old to be accepted? I'm 24. Second - do you think I need to add more than classes to my background to be competitive? E.g. published research?

@tommyg28 I'm not sure I would come to quite your conclusion about professor's opinions of non-US UG courses. While I did mention Cambridge's program to the professor, he did not indicate that he was discouraging I study at a British university - he was discouraging me from studying any course whose content - and text books - did not largely resemble that of top tier graduate courses. And from your description of the texts involved, the degree content does sound comparable with graduate course work.

Finally, I do think I would enjoy the time spent at Cambridge - I very nearly took up a history PhD there last year, I liked it so much.

Not to say that you're being fickle or impulsive - you're clearly not - but I would think very long and hard about whether an economics PhD is right for you given the circumstances. If you really want to do economic history, then a history PhD from an illustrious place like LSE/Cambridge (I'm not sure where you were thinking of going) might serve you far better than an economics PhD from a decent-but-not-great school. I say this because, looking at your current profile, it strikes me that it will take you a LOT of time, effort, and money to put together a competitive profile for the very top economics departments.

If you can get admission to a top-tier history PhD now, vs. working your pants off for two-three years before having a shot at an equally competitive econ PhD, it might be wise to go for the history PhD. I think in the long run your angle of approach (econ vs. history) will make far less of a difference than where you go for graduate school. Think of Niall Ferguson, trained as a historian but now a highly-respected financial history expert who teaches at Harvard Business School.

I'm sure you have considered both sides and have good reasons to prefer an econ PhD, but I really would encourage you to continue thinking about it. Maybe talk to your profs at LSE to see which path would get you where you want to go more quickly/easily/surely. Just my two cents.

Well I'm fighting insomnia tonight so I'll go ahead and respond. You're certainly not too old at 24, nor at 29. I meant the clock is ticking in your life, not with respect to admissions. Lengthier options would be discounted in my mind, but if you want to do it you're probably fine. Team3 wrote a really great article for older applicants (defined to be around the age of 30) a while back.

I do think research experience is important; that's why I suggested RA work, though there are other ways. Getting published is a long process, not feasible for most applicants, and not very valuable if it comes in a low-tier journal. If you feel your MSc dissertation is good enough, submit it to a good field journal in Economic History.

Regardless, research potential as represented by your previous work and as testified about by your LoR-writers, is a vital part of the application. There is a perceived degree of substitution between research and coursework, but the strongest profiles will have a significant amount of both. In your position, I guess it would be ideal for someone from LSE to rave about your Masters dissertation--which you will probably be able to submit as part of your application if you wish . If you don't feel like that thesis was very good, then you may benefit by finding other avenues to demonstrate that you've got what it takes to do research at a high level. There are a ton of previous threads on this if you do the search function.

Also, tommyg28's point about the rigor of the econ diploma at Cambridge would make me take a second look at that program. I would guess that your professor was unaware of the level of theory reached by the diploma...so actually, it appears you have a lot of options!

I see two huge problems, the first being a C+ in Intermediate Micro, the second being the lack of math. Correlated with these issues will be LORs, which of course will not be stellar for economics admissions given that you don't have Econ RA experience, amazing math, or lots of field courses taken with an econ professor. I'm sure your LORs from History profs would be better but they count for zero.

IMHO, given you have a BA already, I would guess going back to a respected US university to complete maybe minors in math and econ would be a start, while all the time working away on getting LORs and trying to take on a research project or secure an RA position.

Whatever you do, do not think about starting a full BS Math in the UK to obtain the required math. It's complete overkill, and you'll still be lacking Econ.

thehurricane

I think Elliephant has the right line of thinking. If you are interested in economic history you should seriously consider a history PhD at a program with a strength in economic history. Economic historians often come from history PhD programs and are part of both the economics department and the history department. Naomi Lamoreaux of UCLA comes to mind. She got her history PhD from John Hopkins.

Most history departments do not teach cliometrics anymore. Furthermore, despite popular misconception, the quantitative techniques in economic history far surpass anything someone without training in economics would know (e.g. a history professor).

Most schools allow students to enroll in classes outside their discipline. Generally there is nothing stopping a history PhD from enrolling in the economic history field courses taught by the economics department and there is nothing stopping a history PhD from having an economic history professor on a thesis committee. Furthermore, not every economic historian specializes in the quantitative techniques in economic history, and even if the OP would like to specialize in said economic techniques there is nothing stopping the OP from learning these techniques during the PhD program.

I'm not saying that every history department would be a match. It may only be a handful. I'm also not saying that the OP should exclude Econ PhD programs from consideration. I'm merely saying that certain history departments may be worth considering as well. Especially given that the OP's profile is stronger on the history side of things and more lacking on the econ/math side of things. Placements will likely be better in History PhD programs.

Thank you ever so much for your thoughtful responses. This discussion is sure to prove invaluable for me as I plan next steps.

Regarding the possibility of joining a history department: Perhaps the biggest problem with this option is that there are *very few* good economic historians in history departments in the U.S. I'd basically be applying to UCLA, Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard. To expect admission to one of these seems rather presumptuous.

The comments to the effect of "you can take economics courses while doing a history PhD" do help to alleviate one of my concerns - namely, that I would not be a very good economic historian without a good economics toolkit.

But there is another factor to consider: post-doctoral placement. This is the other side of the "few history departments for economic history" coin. There appears to be little place in good U.S. schools for an economic historian who is not an economist. History departments may be hard pressed what to make of me. Economics departments would probably rather fill their positions with people who are qualified to teach a range of economics courses.

Let me add this piece of information about my own profile: my dissertation required manipulation of the Dutch Disease model, which describes the effects of a resource boom on sectoral growth in a small, open economy. The quality of this paper may help to show my aptitude for economic theory.

Finally, here is a copy of an email I received this morning from a professor in economic history at the LSE. Perhaps it will add to the discussion.

Dear Zach   If I understand you correctly, your primary interest would be in economics proper (puro y duro, as they say in Spanish), with econhist being more of a side interest.   I believe you should go for it. Age does not matter so much. Here's an example, a guy named Gary Charness, now at Sta Barbara. He's older than me, but only picked up graduate studies well after the age of 40 (or so). Just look at him now, e.g. his Repec entry: Gary Charness at IDEAS , and take a view at his citation count - breathtaking.   A few suggestions. 1. why not contact the guy for advice. He might remember my name, not sure. Maybe just walk into his office during office hrs. The worst that can happen is he throws you out but I doubt it. 2. Check out what they offer at UCSD, both in economics and statistics. 3. Shop around for any one- to two-year programs in maths or stats. 4. Steer clear of the UK; it might be difficult to get away from here again. 5. Start soon, but certainly in 2011 - or wait another year and fill up your war chest. 6. Meanwhile, take classes in indermediate analysis and linear algebra at your nearest college, provided they are of decent quality - someone your caliber doesn't need the introductory stuff.   Certainly, wherever you go you will gain from talking to people in person (try to get hold of the academic admissions officers and stay away from admin people). After all you have an MSc degree from a good institution already, so no need to join the 17-year-olds again.   Have you tried a mock GRE? Just to see what your math score would be? Do not take the real one right now, as your score would be held and be visible for some time.   I hope this helps for now. Do keep me posted.   All the best, X

Again, thank you all for your advice. My decision here will likely have a major effect on the course of my working life for many years.

If that's not the calibre of school you see yourself attending, then it may be easier to get yourself into an econ PhD than the discussion thus far has indicated. Coming from LSE, I think we all assumed that was the kind of school you wanted to go to - but if you'd be happy outside the top 20, you could probably put together a good profile in just one year, especially if you don't need to start with basic maths as your prof indicated.

Frankly, if your MSc research was as serious as it sounds, I think you should apply to the likes of Harvard and JHU for history. I'd also look at Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, and Penn, though I'm certainly no expert. Particularly if you can get your MSc work on track for publication. I may be biased in that I tend to think it's a good idea to apply to multiple disciplines if your interests are cross-disciplinary (I'm look at both pure econ and health policy), but it also serves as a hedge and gives you more time to think about it... Say you were accepted to UCLA history next year, but only placed outside the top 30 for econ, what would you choose?

Ellie - it's not that I have no chance at these schools , but I don't want to stake my future on whether or not I'm accepted to one of 5 different top schools. For history departments I am fairly competitive - between my 3.8 major GPA, a top notch undergrad LoR, and my Masters degree and LSE LoR's, I'd imagine I'd make it into several top 20 programs were I to apply to all of them.

If I were accepted to UCLA history and only a top 30 for econ, I would go to UCLA (as long as they let me take econ courses).

The trade off I'm willing to make is in taking a top 20 econ program in lieu of a top 5-10 history program. Any worse than top 20 and I think I'd be making a poor trade.

I do find the idea of applying to both types of programs simultaneously intriguing, but the fact is I'm qualified for a history department today but far from qualified for an econ department, as you all have seen.

Thank you for your help!

Guest _nanashi

Ellie - it's not that I have no chance at these schools , but I don't want to stake my future on whether or not I'm accepted to one of 5 different top schools. For history departments I am fairly competitive - between my 3.8 major GPA, a top notch undergrad LoR, and my Masters degree and LSE LoR's, I'd imagine I'd make it into several top 20 programs were I to apply to all of them.   If I were accepted to UCLA history and only a top 30 for econ, I would go to UCLA (as long as they let me take econ courses). The trade off I'm willing to make is in taking a top 20 econ program in lieu of a top 5-10 history program. Any worse than top 20 and I think I'd be making a poor trade.   I do find the idea of applying to both types of programs simultaneously intriguing, but the fact is I'm qualified for a history department today but far from qualified for an econ department, as you all have seen.   Thank you for your help!

Are you sure about that. Anything above the top 40 in econ can get decent jobs as long as the markets good. Though the job market for econ history is tighter than other fields. Is that true for history? Even with Econ History PhD you can do other things. One of my econ history professors was an advisor to Central Banks, and anyone whose gone through econometrics skills has value to the private sector. I've heard UC davis econ history ( a top 35 is quite good). And placement is stellar. Davis would be in my books a top 30-40ish program

UC Davis placement is stellar? They had a couple econ historians recently place at Middlebury and Simon Frasier... good, yes, but stellar?... unless there's something you know that I don't.

Stellar relative to Liberal Arts Academic job placements. From at least what I know of them. The fact that people consistently place into good Universities is good enough to be called stellar in my books. You may define it differently, but the academic job market is quite fierce. If an University on the edge of top 30 consistently places most of its student body into R1 Universities and TOP LAC (the 150 or so universities in North America that really care about research), they are doing excellent in my books.

I also have to say placing into SFU from UCD is quite a feat. They have a strong preference for people from the top 10. That may be why they've picked up so many lemons.

I have identified the following people working in the areas of economic history in which I am perhaps most interested:

Joel Mokyr - Econ and History at Northwestern

Eric L. Jones - Melbourne Business School

Gregory Clark - Econ at UC Davis

Jack A. Goldstone - Public Policy at George Mason

Nick Crafts - Econ at Warwick

Kevin O'Rourke - Econ at Trinity College Dublin

Alvaro Pereira - International Studies at Simon Fraser University

Timur Kuran - Political Science at Duke

Philip T. Hoffman - Economics and History at Caltech

Kenneth Pomeranz - History at UC Irvine

Chad I Jones - Stanford GSB

Richard Easterlin - Econ at USC

Jan deVries - History at Berkeley

Peter Temin - Econ at MIT

As a result of this search and a search through faculty profiles of history deparments, my target history departments (were I to apply to history departments) would be (in descending order of preference based on supervisors available):

1. Northwestern

2. Columbia

3. Berkeley

5. Johns Hopkins

9. Princeton

12. UC Irvine

13. Caltech

I wonder what my placement would be like, as an economic historian, out of these schools.

What are people's thoughts on attending one of these programs (after 1 more year of math education) vs. spending more time working on prerequisites and then getting a PhD in economics?

1. Northwestern 2. Columbia 3. Berkeley 4. Harvard 5. Johns Hopkins 6. Yale 7. Penn 8. UCLA 9. Princeton 10. NYU 11. Brown 12. UC Irvine 13. Caltech   I wonder what my placement would be like, as an economic historian, out of these schools. What are people's thoughts on attending one of these programs (after 1 more year of math education) vs. spending more time working on prerequisites and then getting a PhD in economics?

Those are all great schools. I guess it boils down to whether you think you could place into an equally prestigious econ program were you to take an extra year to prepare for it.

It sounds like you're not really sure how much mileage you'd get out of these history departments, and if that's the case then it is a big gap in your information. If I were in your shoes I would write to all the people you've identified (or at least the ones without a reputation for ignoring students) and try to start a dialogue. It'll help you to gauge whether (a) those programs will get you where you want to go (I'm sure they know what their past students are doing, even if placements aren't publicly advertised); (b) there would be a good advisor fit were you to study under them. My uncorroborated guess is that there are fewer well-trained historians than well-trained economists, so if you were to become the former you'd be part of a group in relatively short supply. Also, economic history being as narrow as it is, advisor quality probably trumps just about everything else, both in terms of degree experience and in terms of placement. This means you want to aim for the best person as opposed to picking the right concentration (history vs. econ). Again, I'm no expert, but maybe this will set you thinking along a new track.

What ever you do find out the job market carefully. I will say this, I'm from a family of academics, both my parents and half their sibblings (6 of 12) are academics, mostly in the sciences. In the sciences its common for people to spend years in postdocs (the average in certain branches of biology is 5 years) before finding academic placements, or not finding any at all. My dad is from a legitimate Ivy League (as in the actual 8), and had classmates in his field (hi energy theoretical physics, which is a lot like economic theory in methodology) that wound up going to Colombia (the country) because they could not find work in North America. I've heard liberal arts are much worse. You need to really find out from people at that school, and the best way is to often contact 4th+5th year graduate students to find out where they are placing. Negative statements should weigh more than positives. Of course top departments place into other top departments, what your concerned about is will you end up unemployed and have waisted 5 or 6 years of your life?

Economists generally have much better job prospects than other fields because they have a deep knowledge of statistics, and know time series. Their degrees are also business degree substitutes so they generally can fill many jobs in finance research or consulting. There also is enough demand for economics courses that most economists can find work at teaching colleges/bidirectional state schools either in the econ department or the business schools. Generally economists on the private sector, their research does not matter, as ABD in economics often is equivalent to PhD on the corporate markets.

Thanks again, all.

The latest information I have comes from Joel Mokyr (my idol...) - who warns, as Nanashi did, that placements out of history departments are generally worse than out of economics departments. Furthermore, he tells me that economic historians are still suspect in many history departments. I have, by no means, made my decision. But I am currently leaning toward taking a Masters degree in economics - or at least continuing to take math and economics courses and waiting on building my CV before I apply to PhD's in economics. My thinking is that, while this will be a very hard path in the short term - it will ultimately lead to me being in a better position w/r/t long-term career prospects upon completing a PhD.

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PhD in USA: Fees 2024, Top Colleges, Placements & Salaries

Jasmine Grover

Senior Content Specialist | Updated On - Apr 30, 2024

You must show your English proficiency by submitting scores for IELTS (7 to 7.5) and TOEFL (90 to 100).  When pursuing your PhD in USA, you've got 10 years to wrap up your thesis even though the program is 6 years. The cost of a PhD in the USA can vary quite a bit, ranging from USD 24,800 to 80,390 (INR 20.6 Lakhs to 66.9 Lakhs) . Though it can be costly, a PhD in USA offers a great return on investment as you can earn salaries ranging from USD 59,506 to USD 92,179 .

Some  top universities to aim for your PhD in the USA are MIT, Harvard University, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley. With a doctorate in hand, you can easily get a job at top-notch companies like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and more. 

PhD in USA: Program Highlights

Top Universities for PhD in USA

When it comes to pursuing a PhD in USA, there's no shortage of top-notch universities to choose from. Here are a few universities that consistently rank high and offer exceptional programs:

Why study PhD in USA?

Studying for a PhD in the USA is a top choice for many aspiring scholars. Here's why pursuing your doctoral studies in USA might be the best choice:

• PhD in USA is offered by well-ranked and globally accredited universities such as Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. 
• You don't need to spend years working on a master's degree before you can pursue PhD in USA. Some universities in USA offer admission to the PhD program right after bachelor's.
• USA universities offer PhD students generous stipends, scholarships, and fellowships, covering tuition fees and living costs.
• The USA boasts a lower unemployment rate of only 3.9% compared to many other countries.
• Over 280 universities in USA offer PhD programs for engineering, business, arts, or sciences.

The USA is a global innovation, technology, finance, and entertainment powerhouse. Whether you dream of working in Silicon Valley, Wall Street, or Hollywood, studying in the US puts you right in the middle of some of the world's most exciting hubs of opportunity.

So, if you're ready to take your academic journey to the next level and set yourself up for success, a PhD in the USA could be the right choice.

Popular PhD in USA Programs for Indian Students

Some popular programs of PhD in USA for Indian students:-

Course Curriculum

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in USA is a popular degree sought after by many international students. It is considered the highest academic achievement in most fields of study. The PhD program in the USA consists of three main phases:

• Coursework Phase: Involves advanced courses over 1 to 3 years to build foundational knowledge and research skills.
• Preliminary Examination : Assess students' breadth of knowledge in their field after completing coursework.
• Dissertation Phase : Lasts 2 to 8 years for independent research, culminating in a written dissertation.

The duration of the PhD program varies depending on the field of study and the student's academic background. On average, it takes 4 to 8 years to complete a PhD program after obtaining a bachelor's degree. However, students who already hold a master's degree may complete the program in a year or two less, depending on their prior coursework and research experience.

PhD in USA Admission

Admission to most universities in the USA remains open during December and January. Students must submit applications before the deadlines are passed. You can go through the sections below to check the eligibility criteria and other requirements for PhD in USA.

PhD in USA: Eligibility Criteria

As the entry requirements vary within the field of study, it becomes very difficult to group this data into a piece of the overall information. However, the following eligibility criteria are followed by a majority PhD universities in USA:-

• 4-year Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree
• A minimum GPA of 3 out of 4.
• 2 academic and 1 professional Letter of Recommendation (LOR)
• A 500-750 word Statement of Purpose (SoP)
• Updated Resume or CV
• A valid passport
• F-1 or J-1 US Student Visa
• Valid Passport
• Student Visa

PhD in USA: University Requirements

To get admission to PhD programs in the USA, students must have a minimum GPA of 2.7 to 3.9 based on various universities. Students must also have English language proficiency scores of IELTSand TOEFL. The various requirements for PhD admission in USA in some of the popular universities are tabulated as follows:-

Cost of PhD in USA

Students who wish to get admission to PhD courses in the USA must have enough funds to support their studies in the USA. Based on various top universities offering PhD courses, the total cost of study in the USA is around USD 70,573 to 1,26,163 (INR 58.47 lakhs to 10.45 million) including tuition fees and living costs.

PhD in USA Tuition Fee

The cost of PhD in USA varies with the specialisation or the preferred field of study. However, on average, the annual tuition fees range from USD 24,800 to 80,390 (INR 2.05 to 66.66 lakhs). The following table presents the university-wise distribution of the average tuition costs for opting PhD in USA:-

Cost of Living in USA

USA is the most popular as well as the costliest study abroad destination for PhD in USA as well as other programs. This corresponds to the quality of education, safety, ambience, and health services the country offers. Based on some of the top universities in the USA, students admitted to PhD courses will face an average living cost of USD 45,773 (INR 37.92 lakhs) based on various parameters mentioned below.

PhD in USA with Scholarship

At Universities in the USA, students are offered various scholarships and fellowships allowing students to ease their financial burden. You can check various fellowships offered by US universities in the table below.

Also Check : Education Loans to Study in USA

PhD in USA Placements

After completing the Ph.D. program at Universities in the USA, students are offered various job profiles based on their field of study and research. The average salary offered for various job profiles listed below ranges from USD 59,506 to 92,179 (INR 49.29 to 76.36 lakhs).

PhD in USA: Return on Investment

After completing the PhD programs in the USA, students are placed in various sectors. Graduates from US Universities receive an annual average salary ranging from USD 65,070 to 1,75,090 based on various top universities as mentioned below.

The availability of stipends, scholarships, and fellowships allows students to pursue a PhD in USA without any financial pressure. With an unemployability rate of just 3.9%, the USA allows graduates to work in their core fields after completing the Ph.D. programs. Companies like Apple, Amazon, CISCO, Microsoft, etc. offer students a salary range of USD 59,506 to 92,179 (INR 49.29 to 76.36 lakhs) based on different job profiles. 

Ques. How much does PhD cost in USA?

Ans. The cost of studying PhD in USA includes tuition costs and living costs as mentioned below.

• Tuition cost for PhD in USA ranges from USD 24,800 to 80,390 (INR 2.05 to 66.66 lakhs)
• Living costs for PhD in USA is around USD 45,773 (INR 37.92 lakhs).

Ques. How many years is PhD in USA?

Ans. Students enrolled in US universities have 10 years to complete their doctoral thesis, even though the course duration is 6 years .

Ques. What is the eligibility for PhD in USA?

Ans. To pursue PhD in USA, you must fulfil the below requirements.

• Students must have a bachelors or masters degree in relevant field.
• Students must have secured a GPA 2.7 to 3.9 on a scale of 4 (80-94%).
• Students must have valid scores of IELTS 7.0-7.5, TOEFL 90-100, etc.

Furthermore, for some of the specialisations, candidates will be required to submit GMAT or GRE scores.

Ques. Can I work while pursuing a PhD in USA?

Ans. Individuals pursuing a PhD in USA are allowed to work for a maximum of 20 hours per week on a part-time basis. They may start full-time working during vacations or holidays.

Ques. What are the top PhD programs to study in USA?

Ans. The following are some of the popular streams for pursuing a PhD in USA:-

• Engineering
• Biological Sciences

Ques. What can I do after completing a PhD in USA?

Ans. After pursuing a Ph.D. program in USA candidates may work under the following job profiles:-

• Research Scientist
• Data Analyst
• Assistant Research Engineer
• Teaching Assistant Professor
• Field Biologist
• Economist, etc.

Ques. Is post graduation necessary for pursuing PhD in USA?

Ans. For a majority of institutions, post graduation or a Master’s degree is not required for studying PhD in USA. Only an undergraduate degree with at least a 3.0 GPA (85%) is sufficient for applying to these colleges.

Ques. What is the salary after PhD in USA?

Ans. Graduates of PhD programs in USA can earn an impressive average annual salary ranging from USD 55,200 to USD 101,100 (INR 45.5 Lakhs to INR 83.4 Lakhs).

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