MA Admission Requirements

Admission Requirements

To qualify for regular admission a student must:

1. Meet all general requirements of the Graduate School (including a 2.50 undergraduate grade-point average).
2. Submit three letters of recommendation.
3. Submit official transcripts from all colleges attended.
4. Have completed 15 credit hours of undergraduate economics including intermediate microeconomic theory and intermediate macroeconomic theory.
5. Have completed courses in calculus and statistics.
6. Submit GRE scores.
7. International students must submit TOEFL scores.

At least two of your letters of recommendation should come from individuals who are familiar with your scholarly record. The third can be an additional academic reference or professional reference from someone who knows you well and can comment on your potential as a graduate student. You can find the recommendation form here. If you entered the e-mail addresses of your letter writers in the online application, they will be automatically e-mailed a link to submit the letters electronically. This form is only necessary if they did not receive the e-mail. Fill out the top half of the form and give it to your letter writer with the instruction to send it along with the recommendation letter to:

UCD Graduate School Admissions

Campus Box 163
P.O. Box 173364
Denver, CO 80217-3364 

More information about the recommended prerequisite courses can be found here.

All applicants, international and domestic, must submit GRE scores regardless of prior degrees, coursework, or work experience. The institution code for UCD is 4875. Most students admitted to the MA program score 154 or above (690 or above using the prior test scores) on the quantitative section of the GRE. However, this is not a minimum GRE cutoff score, nor is it a score above which admission is guaranteed. GRE scores are used in conjunction with other indicators of academic success at the masters level. Applicants must show strong evidence of quantitative ability either through high grades in math and statistics courses, a high quant score on the GRE, or preferably both.

The minimum requirement for international students is a score of 75 (IBT based TOEFL), 537 (paper based TOEFL), or 6.5 (IELTS). The institution code for UCD is 4875. The minimum TOEFL scores are a requirement of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and cannot be waived by the department of economics. The University may waive this requirement for applicants who have attended a college or university in the United States as a full-time student and have completed two semesters of academic work with a "B" average (3.0 GPA or higher). Please visit the International Admissions office website here if you have questions about this requirement.​