PhD Frequently Asked Questions

No. The program is full time and 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.

Students are generally awarded a fellowship that includes tuition, student-only premiums for the university’s student health insurance plan, and a stipend. Visit the Financial Aid page for additional information.

Please visit the Financial Aid page.

No. Prior coursework at the graduate level will not reduce your time to degree. There is very little overlap between MBA and PhD level coursework (even if your MBA was earned from Chicago Booth).

Explore predoctoral opportunities on the Pathways to Research and Doctoral Careers (PREDOC.org) website. PREDOC.org is a consortium of universities and research institutions that aims to remove barriers to access to research and doctoral careers.

In advanced stages of the review process, dissertation area committees may invite applicants for virtual interviews. The areas that conduct interviews are: Accounting, Behavioral Science, Econometrics & Statistics, Finance, and Management Science/Operations Management.

Applicants will receive invitations to interview directly via email. On your application, please enter a contact email that you use regularly.

Admissions to the Stevens Doctoral Program is highly competitive. While we receive hundreds of applications, only 20-25 outstanding students enter the Stevens Program each year. You can find more information about our admit profile here. 

The GRE/GMAT is required of all applicants seeking admission to the Stevens Doctoral Program.

Please see below for specific score requirements for finance/economic areas:

• Economics: GRE is required.
• Finance: GRE is strongly preferred, but GMAT is acceptable.
• Joint Program in Financial Economics: GRE is required.

Check the How to Apply page for instructions on how to submit a valid test score.

There is no minimum cutoff score for the GRE/GMAT. However, the average GRE Quant score for incoming students is 168.

The GRE/GMAT is required of all applicants seeking admission to the Stevens Doctoral Program. Prior coursework or degrees at the graduate level do not exempt applicants from this policy.

Your scores will be considered expired if the test was taken more than five years prior to the application deadline. For example, if you took your test prior to December 15, 2019, your scores would be invalid for this admission's cycle. Our office retains received test scores for two years.

It is the responsibility of all applicants to ensure that test scores are submitted to the Stevens Doctoral Program by December 15. While we accept test scores received after the application deadline, we cannot ensure your application will still be in review by the time they arrive.

To meet the application deadline, we recommend that you take the required test by early October.

Applicants to Stevens Doctoral Program, regardless of citizenship, must either meet one of our waiver criteria (below) or submit proof of English language proficiency. Only the TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic tests are accepted as proof of proficiency.

Waiver Criteria
There are two ways to receive a waiver from the proof of proficiency requirement:

• Primary Language Waiver:
  • If English has been a primary language of communication and schooling for you since childhood, you may attest to this on the application. We cannot assist you in determining if this is the case for you. Falsifying this information, as with any other information on the application, may lead to revocation of an offer of admission.
• Education Waiver:
  • If you were enrolled for at least one full academic year in the last ten years, as a full-time, degree-seeking student at an accredited English-medium post-secondary institution in one of the following countries or territories: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, the United States.
  • Education in English-medium institutions in any countries or territories not listed here does not qualify for the exemption.
  • Only full-time coursework in a degree program at a college or university in one of these countries or territories qualifies. Remote study, lab or research work, non-degree programs, intensive English language courses, or high school/secondary school do not qualify. The qualifying academic year must be completed – i.e., if you are now in a program and are planning to have completed a year by the time you enroll, it will not meet the requirement.

Please do not email us regarding your qualifications for a waiver. If you meet the criteria, we will process the waiver after you have submitted your application.

Acceptable Tests
Applicants who don't meet any of the above waiver criteria must submit a valid language-test score as proof of proficiency. Students may submit either:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test (iBT), including tests taken online at-home, or in a testing center.
  • The minimum test score requirement for the TOEFL is 100 overall score, no subsection requirements.
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic
  We do not accept any other proficiency tests, exams, equivalent coursework, certificate/certifications, endorsement from faculty, and/or other measurement other than the TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic. This includes the IELTS “Indicator” test and the TOEFL ITP Plus as well as Duolingo.
  • The minimum test score requirements for the IELTS is an overall score of at least 7, with sub scores of at least 7 each.

Acceptable Tests
In order to meet the proof of proficiency requirement, students may submit either:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) internet-based test (iBT), including tests taken online at-home, or in a testing center.
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic
  
  • We do not accept any other proficiency tests, exams, equivalent coursework, certificate/certifications, endorsement from faculty, and/or other measurement other than the TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic. Aggregate or indicator scores such as the IELTS “Indicator” test, the IELTS One Skill Retake, the TOEFL MyBest scores, or the TOEFL ITP Plus are also not acceptable. We don't accept Duolingo.

Validity

• TOEFL or IELTS score reports are valid for two years; scores will be considered expired if the test was taken more than two years prior to the application deadline. If you send us a score and it expires prior to the deadline you are applying under, you will need to send a more recent score. For example, a score from a test taken prior to December 15, 2022 would no longer be valid for Fall 2025 admission.
• Photocopies or PDFs of TOEFL or IELTS Score Reports will not be considered valid or accepted in lieu of an official score report from the agency. An offer admission cannot be made without an official score report on file.

GMAT: H9X-9F-05
GRE: 1501
TOEFL: 1819
IELTS: Please email your TRF number to phd@chicagobooth.edu.

TOEFL
Internet-based (iBT): 100 overall score, no subsection requirements

IELTS
Overall score of at least 7, with sub scores of at least 7 each

Yes, you can still submit scores after the December 15 deadline. However, we cannot guarantee that your profile will still be under consideration by time they arrive.

We do permit applicants for whom a recent natural disaster or other major, widespread disruption has affected their ability to submit required components to request a temporary delay of test scores.

If the impact of the incident or disruption makes it difficult for you to submit one or more required components – such as GRE scores,TOEFL scores, transcripts, etc.– by the deadline, please complete your application to the best of your ability and then submit a formal hardship request. We will launch the hardship request form here when the application goes live.

Eligible applicants will still be required to submit the missing item(s) as soon as circumstances allow. We cannot extend an offer of admission before all materials (including official test scores) have been submitted.

We require all applicants to submit a minimum of two letters of recommendation (preferably from academic sources) as part of their application, although we will accept up to four.

Please see the International Applicants page.

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.

Our application fee is $80, is nonrefundable, and must be paid online by credit card.

Yes. All applicants meeting the following criteria and providing appropriate supporting documentation will be considered for a fee waiver. You will be prompted to submit a request form in the application. We will only reach out to individuals whose request for a fee waiver has been declined. Please do not reach out to confirm the status of your waiver and note that there are often delays in our staff manually updating your profile.

You can find the waiver criteria below and more detailed information on our How to Apply page.

Category A: Current University of Chicago student or University of Chicago alumni from degree programs (includes current non-degree visiting students and past non-degree visiting students).
Category B: Current University of Chicago Staff (including full-time research professionals).
Category C: Current undergraduates receiving need-based financial aid from a U.S. institution (no citizenship requirement):
Category D: Individuals experiencing financial hardship

No. Because of the large number of applications we receive, we are unable to notify students when we receive applications and if they are incomplete. Chicago Booth uses a "self-managed application" for the Stevens Program. Once you have submitted your online application, you will be able to check the status of your application materials (both those submitted by you and those submitted by external sources, such as letters of recommendations and test scores) by logging back into the online application system and clicking "Open Application."

During the application process, you may see a red X next to some of the items on your applicant check list (which can be viewed in your applicant status portal). This is not a cause for alarm and we have a few important things to note: 

• The red X does not mean that your application is being stalled from review, nor will it impact the review itself. We do not use this checklist to determine which files are sent for review, the checklist is purely for applicants to monitor the status of their external materials (such as letters of recommendation and test scores).
• If you have submitted your test scores or are eligible for a TOEFL waiver and are seeing the red X, this does not mean that your scores have not been received or that you have not been approved for a waiver (though for application fee waivers, you need to determine your eligibility from the FAQ page and contact the PhD Office at phd@chicagobooth.edu to confirm). Most often this means that we simply have not reached your application for processing yet.

Applicants from the previous year should reach out to the PhD Office (phd@chicagobooth.edu) before completing their application. We can use the test scores from your previous application (as long as the test scores are still valid), but we recommend that you get new letters of recommendation and write a new essay. Reapplicants are required to pay the $80 application fee unless they meet fee waiver eligibility requirements.