Admission is highly competitive. About 20-25 outstanding students enter the doctoral program each year. In evaluating applications, we consider a wide range of factors, including your academic background and performance, essays, research interest and potential, prior exposure to academic research, strength of recommendations, and standardized test scores. You may only apply to one dissertation area per year.
PhD applicants must hold a four-year bachelor’s degree from an accredited university (or expect to receive one by the time they enter the program).
Non-US residents should consult the International Applicants page to learn more about eligibility requirements. Chicago Booth prides itself on a fair and impartial selection process. To find out more, read the Nondiscrimination Statement.
The PhD Program matriculates new students once a year, in the Autumn Quarter. The application deadline is December 15, and applicants are notified of their admissions decision by email. Generally speaking, all applicants should have their decisions by early March. However, please be aware that because we have seven different dissertation areas, there will be seven different reviews (one in each dissertation area), and reviews in each area will begin at different times, which will impact the timing of the release of admissions decisions for each area. Once the deadline passes, the PhD Office will begin processing applications by dissertation area, completing all applications to a single area first, and sending those applications to that committee for review. Once the first review begins, we will move on to processing applications to another dissertation area until all of those applications have been processed and sent for review, then move to the next area and so on, until all seven dissertation areas have been processed and sent for review. We will not announce admissions decisions for all seven areas at one time, so this means that invitations for interviews (if the area will be interviewing) and admissions decisions may come out for one dissertation area before other areas have finished, or possibly even begun, their reviews. In some cases, areas that go under review first or second could have admissions decisions by late January/early February (though possibly later), whereas areas that go for review later in the process (mid-late January) may not have admissions decisions available until late February/early March, though we hope to have all initial decisions out by early March.
The application for Fall 2023 will open in September.
To apply, please submit the following.
For Joint Program in Financial Economics applicants, applicants who decide to submit optional GRE/GMAT scores, and international applicants who are required to submit either a valid TOEFL or IELTS, scores should be sent directly to the Chicago Booth PhD Program by listing the institution code when taking the exam:
It is the responsibility of Joint Program in Financial Economics applicants and those submitting optional scores to ensure that test scores are submitted to Chicago Booth's doctoral program before December 15. To meet the application deadline, we recommend that you take the required test by early October.
GMAT and GRE scores are valid for five years. Prior coursework or degrees at the graduate level (e.g., MBA or master’s degrees) do not exempt Joint Program in Financial Economics applicants from submitting the GRE as part of their application.
If your application is incomplete on the application deadline, it will not be considered for admission.
Admission to the Joint Program in Financial Economics requires admission to both the doctoral program in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics and to the doctoral program at Chicago Booth, but interested parties need only apply to one or the other program. Students may enter the joint program at the beginning of their doctoral studies. Those seeking admission to the joint program should apply online to either the PhD program in the Department of Economics or Chicago Booth. The GRE is required for all applicants to this program.
Students enrolled in doctoral studies in either the Department of Economics or Chicago Booth may apply to the joint program at any time within their first two years in residence. Such students will still have to meet all of the requirements of both programs.
Enrollment and financial aid throughout a student's matriculation in the joint program will be administered by either the Division of the Social Sciences or Chicago Booth, as arranged by the two units. This designation will be for administrative purposes only and will not have programmatic implications. If a student's interests change, the director of the PhD Program at Chicago Booth and the dean of students for the social sciences will facilitate transfers out of the joint program and into the doctoral program in economics or business.
Students interested in applying to the Joint Program in Psychology and Business through Chicago Booth should apply online for admission to the Behavioral Science dissertation area. Once admitted, students seek a faculty research sponsor in the Department of Psychology. After a faculty sponsor in psychology has been identified, admission to the Joint Program is generally automatic. Entry into the Joint Program in Psychology and Business normally occurs during the first year of study. Applicants should state their interest in the joint program as part of the application process so they can be given advice in making the connection to faculty in the Department of Psychology. Although the GRE is preferred for applicants to this program, the GMAT is accepted.
To earn the joint PhD/JD degree, you must be admitted to both the Law School and Booth’s PhD Program. You may apply to both programs at the same time, or you may begin one program and then apply to the other at a later date.
Admitted students who are called to active duty prior to matriculation will be granted a deferral of admission and Chicago Booth financial aid to the following year. Deferrals will be reviewed/extended on an annual basis.
The PhD Program at Chicago Booth accepts up to three courses in transfer credit from other approved institutions. These credits can only be used toward the coordinated sequence requirement. The PhD Program does not grant credit for experiential learning or online courses.
For details on readmission, taking a leave of absence, resuming studies, academic grievance policies, and add/drop requirements, please see the PhD Program Guidebook.
If you still have questions after reviewing our FAQ, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!
Phone: 773.702.7298
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