Applying for Admission
New! Rutgers University Fellowships
$35,000 annual stipend for two years plus full support for 5 years. All exceptional students applying to the doctoral program in economics will be automatically considered. Early application essential.
Fall term applicants should submit all required materials by January 15. (Note: Applications for the Spring semester are not accepted.)
Application forms are available online at:
http://gradstudy.rutgers.edu/ Or by writing to :
Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions Office
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
18 Bishop Place
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-8530
The required materials include Graduate Record Examination scores (general test required), three letters of recommendation, a personal statement, and transcripts from all institutions attended. International students whose native language is not English must also submit scores from the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language).
Preparation for Graduate Study
An undergraduate major in economics is not necessary for graduate study. In reviewing applications, we are far less concerned with the number of economics courses a student has taken, than with his or her ability to do well in demanding analytical courses across a variety of fields. Some exposure to economics, including at least intermediate-level courses in microeconomics and macroeconomics, is essential.
Training in mathematics and quantitative methods is necessary for graduate economics work. A semester of undergraduate statistics and a year of college-level calculus (differential and integral) and linear algebra are regarded as the minimum; additional background in math and econometrics is very helpful.
We strongly encourage students whose backgrounds in quantitative methods and mathematics are at the minimum, as noted above, to seek additional training during the summer prior to enrollment in the graduate program.
Transfer of Credit
Transfer credit for appropriate graduate courses taken elsewhere will be recommended by the Department, subject to the rules of the Graduate School and in which grades of B or better were received. Such credit is ordinarily limited to one-half the course credit requirement of a student's program. No core courses may be transferred, and no credits may be transferred until 12 or more hours of course work at Rutgers have been completed.
Financial Aid
Most of our graduate students have received financial support in recent years. Support is provided in the form of teaching assistantships and fellowships. Tuition is waived for teaching assistants and fellows, although payment of certain minor fees is required. Especially well-qualified students may be supported with a fellowship. Fellowships are awarded normally for the first year of study, and carry a stipend comparable to that for an assistantship, but with no assigned duties outside of coursework and research.
Assistantship duties are varied. TA's are usually assigned to specific faculty members, who may ask them to grade papers, hold office hours for undergraduates, or lead discussion and problem solving sections in undergraduate courses. New TAs are often assigned to work in the Economics Department's Microcoputer Center. Offices are provided for teaching assistants, if space is available.
For further information see http://gradstudy.rutgers.edu/financial.html
Cost of Study
Tuition is $600 per credit for New Jersey residents and $939 per credit for out-of-state students, plus a student fee (all fees are subject to change). For further information see the University's
Tuition & Fees information page.
Research Facilities
Libraries
Rutgers' library system, with holdings of over 3.7 million bound volumes, ranks among the top thirty research libraries in North America. As part of its Digital Library initiative, Rutgers is actively expanding electronic access to journals, bibliographic databases and quantitative data. The Department of Economics maintains its own specialized collection of books, journals and working papers in the library of New Jersey Hall, and works closely with the economics reference librarian on acquisitions and electronic information sources. Required readings and other materials for graduate courses are generally kept here as well.
Computers
Computer facilities and networks are available for scientific word processing, statistical and econometrics analyses, and simulation. Literature searches and communications are conducted through the university's on-line databases and through the Internet. Graduate students have access to a computer lab adjoining the department library. Virtually all major databases and software are available including: SAS, GAUSS, LIMDEP, TSP, SPSS, STATA, Excel, and more. Computer support is available.
Student Group
There are approximately 70 graduate students in residence, two thirds of whom are Ph.D. candidates. Our students are from top undergraduate institutions around the country and the world. Approximately 20 new students enter the program each year.
Students and Faculty
Graduate students plan their programs in consultation with the faculty. Although there are several general faculty advisors, every faculty member is available for consultation. Our program is small enough that advising and planning can be handled on a personal and largely informal basis. There is also an active program of seminars and workshops (averaging more than 50 seminars per semester) in the department. Both students and faculty are encouraged to use these sessions to present their current research. Students working on their dissertation and/or in the job market also present their research in the Graduate Student Workshop series.
The Area
New Brunswick is a city of about 45,000 surrounded by other suburban towns. In addition to New Brunswick's two professional theaters, ballet and symphony, there are numerous educational and other cultural facilities in New York and Philadelphia less than one hour away by train or bus. Rutgers attracts many distinguished visitors, lecturers, and performing artists to its campus, enabling students to enjoy a broad cultural experience. Please see our interactive maps for directions to Rutgers and
directions to New Jersey Hall, College Ave. Campus.
The University
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, is the only university in the United States with a colonial background that is also a land-grant college and a state university. The 20th largest university in the nation, it had an enrollment of more than 49,000 students in credit courses last year. Approximately 12,800 students participate in the various graduate and professional programs at Rutgers; about 4,500 of these students are matriculated in the Graduate School at New Brunswick.
The Market for Economists
The variety of jobs open to persons with training in economics is remarkably broad, including positions in universities and colleges, business and government. The market for economists is generally stronger than for Ph.D. and M.A. graduates in other disciplines, but it is highly competitive. Colleges and universities hire many new Ph.D. economists, but a majority of new jobs are found in the private-sector and to a lesser extent in government.
The graduate faculty assist in the placement of new M.A. and Ph.D.'s, and Rutgers economists have fared well in the job market. Our graduates during the last few years have found employment with such institutions as Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, AT&T, the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and St. Louis, Chase Manhattan Bank, the Congressional Budget Office, Department of Justice, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the World Bank, Penn State, SUNY (Albany), University of North Carolina, Indiana University, Purdue University, University of Indianapolis, Washington State University, Lafayette, La Salle College, University of Miami/Ohio, Iona College, Union College, Rutgers (Newark), Monmouth College, Texas Tech, Clemson University, Syracuse University, University of Richmond, Swarthmore, Vanderbilt, Central Florida University and University of Nebraska. The graduate faculty makes every effort to help students find appropriate positions upon completion of their work at Rutgers.
For Further Information
The
Graduate Admissions page offers general information on application procedures to the Graduate School-New Brunswick. For information about applying to the Graduate Program in Economics in particular, please contact:
Director of Graduate Program
Department of Economics
Rutgers University
75 Hamilton Street
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-1248
Telephone: (732) 932-7451
E-mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Although a personal interview is not part of our application process, we are pleased to meet prospective students. If you would like to visit, just write, call, the Graduate Program, for an appointment.
NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY
It is the policy of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, to make the benefits and services of its educational programs available to students without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex (except for Douglass College, which is entitled under the law to remain a single-sex institution), sexual orientation, disability or handicap, marital status or veteran status. The university complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Older Americans Act of 1975, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Questions about these laws, or allegations of student rights violations, may be directed to the Secretary, Department of Education, Washington, DC 20201, or to Brian Rose, Designated Employee for Student Rights Compliance, Director of Student Policy Concerns, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, (908/932-7255).
