FAQ

No. The program is a full-time program that takes about five years to complete:

• First year - Students take a full schedule of courses (9-12 courses) and work on a research project during the summer quarter.
• Second year - Students take a full schedule of courses (9-12 courses), work on a research project during the summer quarter, namely the curriculum paper, and must register for and attend the weekly workshop in their dissertation area all three quarters.
• Third year - Students take only a partial schedule of courses (if needed) and begin their dissertation proposal in the spring and summer quarters, and must register for and attend the weekly workshop in their dissertation area all three quarters.
• Fourth year - Students take courses (if needed) and make substantial progress on their dissertation proposal. Often they propose their dissertation.
• Fifth year - Students devote their full time to writing a dissertation and proposal (if they haven't already) and defending their dissertation.

Yes. If you take all the required courses for the MBA, you may receive the degree after you successfully propose your dissertation. The PhD Program does not contribute financial assistance toward MBA courses unless the courses are approved by the director of the PhD Program as an integral part of the student’s doctoral study.

Various kinds of financial aid are offered to students in the PhD Program. Visit the Tuition and Financial Aid page.

Please visit the Tuition and Financial Aid page.

Approximately 20 new PhD students matriculate each autumn, selected from around 700 applicants. All applications are reviewed at the same time and in comparison with each other following the submission deadline of January 1. The application reviewers base their decisions on all the information in an applicant’s file including the essay, academic background and performance, research interest and potential, prior exposure to academic research, strength of the recommendations, and scores on the GMAT or the GRE. The review process takes place between January 1 and February 28, with admission decisions sent out by email in early March.

Applicants from the previous year should complete a new application online for 2014 (available in September 2013). The deadline will be January 1, 2014. Reapplicants should also contact the PhD Office to indicate that they are reapplying. Reapplicants must complete the following sections of the application:

1. Program information
2. Personal information
3. Test scores - GMAT/GRE taken within five years of application deadline; TOEFL/IELTS taken within two years of application deadline (send any updated test scores)
4. Academic background (send any updated transcripts)
5. Work experience/resume (updated since last application)
6. Letters of recommendation (optional, but recommended)
7. Essays (optional, but strongly recommended)

We can use the transcripts (unless you have done additional academic work, in which case we need an updated transcript) and test scores from your previous application (as long as the test scores are still valid). We recommend that you get new letters of recommendation and write a new essay, but that is optional. Reapplicants are required to pay the $65 application fee.

Our application fee is $65, is non-refundable, and must be paid online by credit card.

The fee is required of all applicants, except for students currently registered in a degree program at the University of Chicago. Under no circumstances will an application fee be refunded, nor can the fee be waived or deferred. Applications received without a fee will not be considered for admission.

TOEFL/IELTS scores are valid for two years. Your score will be considered expired if the test was taken more than two years prior to the January 1 deadline.

Yes. Depending on the intended dissertation area, applicants for the PhD Program MUST take either the GMAT or the GRE.

• For Economics - the GRE is required.
• For Finance - the GRE is preferred; GMAT is acceptable.
• For the Joint Program in Business and Psychology - the GRE is preferred; GMAT is acceptable.
• For the Joint Program in Financial Economics - the GRE is required.
• For all other areas - the GRE or the GMAT are accepted.

Yes. Prior coursework or degrees at the graduate level do not exempt you from submitting either a valid GRE or GMAT score.

Your scores will be considered expired if the test was taken more than five years prior to the application deadline. If you took the test before January 1, 2009, you must retake the test for us to consider your application. The PhD Program Office retains received test scores for two years.

Test scores must reach our office by the application deadline, January 1. Therefore, applicants should consider taking the test by November, since the results of later tests may not be available until after our admissions deadline.

Yes. You must submit both original (native) language records and official English translations. All translations must be literal and complete versions of the original records, and must be prepared or verified by your institution or someone whose position requires knowledge of both English and the original language (e.g., a certified translator). Unofficial transcripts and facsimiles of transcripts are not acceptable. If your institution’s teaching medium is English, you should submit the transcript with an official letter from your institution stating that they provide transcripts only in the English language.

GMAT - H9X-9F-05
GRE - 1501
TOEFL - 1819-02

There is no minimum cutoff score for the GRE/GMAT in order for your file to be reviewed.

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is required of international applicants whose native language is not English. For TOEFL/IELTS waiver policies, please see the International Applicants page.

Please see the International Applicants page.