Department of Economics
MA Admission Guidelines
Admission to the MA program requires a baccalaureate degree, the attainment of a satisfactory score on the Graduate Record Examination, and three letters of recommendation. Students should have completed the following prerequisite courses as part of their undergraduate program:
Intermediate Microeconomic Theory (3 hours)
Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory (3 hours)
Economics and Business Statistics and Econometrics (3-6 hours)
Calculus I and Mathematical Economics (or Calculus II) (6 hours)
In addition to intermediate microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, students should have taken (1) a calculus course, (2) a quantitative analysis (mathematical economics) course that covers basic linear algebra, comparative statistics and optimization, such as the first 12 chapters of Alpha Chiang's, Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics, and (3) at least one and preferably two statistics and econometrics courses.
The admission decision is based on an evaluation of three main criteria: GRE scores (minimum verbal should be above 500 and quantitative should be above 700), letters of recommendation, and a GPA over 3.0. Extra weight is placed on grades earned in economics, statistics and quantitative courses when a student does not have a 3.0 GPA. A below average performance in one area may be offset by an above average performance in another area.
Provisional admission may be granted to promising candidates who do not meet the admission standards. Students may be admitted provisionally with the requirement that they earn at least a "B" average in the five fall core courses. Those students receiving provisional admission are not eligible for graduate assistantships.
Prospective students with a limited background in economics may enroll in the spring semester at UNCG and take the four prerequisite courses to prepare for the program and gain admission. Provisional admission is not required to take these prerequisite courses, as any potential graduate student is permitted to enroll in the university through the VISIONS (for visiting and non-degree seeking students) program, in preparation for formal admission into a graduate program.
ECO 301: Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
ECO 346: Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
ECO 319: Quantitative Analysis I, and
ECO 351: Economics and Business Statistics II
Promising candidates who have majored in other subjects have excelled in our program after taking these prerequisite courses. Alumni from our program who have undergraduate degrees in chemistry, engineering, English, political science, psychology, and music are now working as professional economists.