International applicants must also supply a TOEFL score of 230
or higher (575 on the paper based exam) and English translations
of foreign transcripts. Those interested in funding must have
a TOEFL score of 260 or higher.
Our average incoming student has a GPA of 3.6 and GRE scores
of 620 verbal and 760 quantitative. Students receiving funding
generally score higher in all areas than our average students.
We offer funding to about 25% of our incoming Ph.D. students each
year (5-10 students). Funding is awarded in the form of graduate
assistantships, with stipends ranging from $8,000-12,500 and tuition
waivers for 18 credit hours per academic year.
Applications are only accepted for Fall, with a deadline of February
1. International applicants should apply 6-8 weeks prior to the
deadline to allow the admissions office time to evaluate foreign
credentials. Interested applicants apply
online or access the PDF
version of the paper application located on the admissions
website.
Degree Requirements:
Students are required to pass 72 credits of course work, of which
no more than 24 may be dissertation credits. Once enrolled in
ECON 998 (dissertation proposal), a student must maintain continuous
registration in 998 or 999 each semester until the dissertation
is submitted to and accepted by the university library. Students
must pass qualifying exams in microeconomics and macroeconomics.
In addition, students must pass field exams in two of the fields
listed below. Exams are usually given in August and January. Students
who enter with a master's degree in economics may have their credit
requirement reduced by up to 30 credits at the discretion of the
Ph.D. Coordinator. Credit is not given for comprehensive and field
exams from other universities.
All doctoral students must take a year of microeconomic theory
(ECON 811 and 812), a year of macroeconomic theory (ECON 715 and
816), mathematical economics (ECON 630), and econometrics (ECON
637). Also required are two courses beyond the other required
courses in each of the student's two chosen fields in preparation
for field exams.
A typical first-year program of study for a full-time doctoral
student includes ECON 811, 630, and 715 in the fall; ECON 637,
812, and 816 in the spring; and micro and macro comprehensive
exams in August. A typical second-year program includes Field
1 and Field 2 in the fall; Field 1 (continued) and Field 2 (continued)
in the spring; and field exams in August.
If possible, part-time students should arrange their work schedules
to take two courses per semester in the first year. Doctoral students
must enroll at the Fairfax Campus for their required theory and
mathematics courses.
Subject to course availability, the department offers exams in
the following fields of study:
The department also offers a concentration in experimental economics,
the application of the laboratory method to test the validity
of various economic theories and new market mechanisms. Students
should consult the director of the doctoral program and director
of the Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science (ICES) for
program details and requirements.
A new joint JD/PhD program with Mason's School of Law is now
available. Information about the program is available on the Law
School website.
Our
Comparative Advantages
Austrian
Economics:
GMU is the
premier place for the study of Austrian Economics by faculty,
alumni, and graduate students. Mason offers courses, brown bag
lunches, colloquia, and the seminars in Austrian Economics series.
Past speakers include: Mancur Olson, James Buchanan, Israel Kirzner,
Larry White, Mario Rizzo, Roger Garrison, and Peter
Boettke. Furthermore, The
Mercatus Center offers a limited number of graduate assistantships
to GMU students who are interested in Austrian Economics.
Public
Choice:
George Mason
University is proud to have Nobel Laureate James
Buchanan. Dr. Buchanan published ground breaking work in Public
Choice and Constitutional Political Economy. He is the coauthor
of The Calculus of Consent. He is also the Executive Director
of the Center for the Study of Public Choice.
The Center
for Study of Public Choice funds students interested in Virginia
Political Economy and supports two public choice seminars a week:
an academic colloquium and an informal lunch. The Virginia School
of Political Economy examines a variety of other subjects giving
George Mason a unique perspective. For example, the following
classes incorporate public choice theory: Industrial/Organization,
Macroeconomics, Public Finance, and Monetary Theory.
Public
Policy
Given George
Mason's proximity to Washington, DC and because most classes are
held in the evening, many students find policy related work in
either the public or private sector while taking classes. This
provides students with a unique opportunity to apply their learning
outside the classroom. Many of our graduates continue to work
in the area of policy after graduation.
Distinguished Faculty
Some
of our distinguished faculty members include:
Nobel Laureate
James Buchanan is advisory general director of
the James Buchanan Center for
Political Economy. He is best known for developing the "public
choice theory" of economics, which changed the way economists
analyze economic and political decision making.
Nobel Laureate
Vernon Smith, research scholar in the Interdisciplinary
Center for Economic Science, and a Fellow of the Mercatus
Center all in Arlington, VA. He has authored or co-authored
over 200 articles and books on capital theory, finance, natural
resource economics and experimental economics.
John M. Olin
Professor of Economics, Walter
Williams is arguably the most ardent free market
economist in the world. Potential graduate students interested
in free market economics should consider his chairmanship. A well
known author, Dr. Williams, recently published his 6th book, More
Liberty Means Less Government: Our Founders Knew This Well..
He also writes a weekly, nationally syndicated column. Dr. Williams
has served as a Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution,
and Peace as well as at the Ford Foundation.
Recently Tyler
Cowen has won acclaim for his work on the econmics
of fame and also for for his work showing that free markets promote
art. His most recent books are In Praise of Commercial Culture
and Risk and Business Cycles: New and Old Austrian Perspectives.
