Tài liệu FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS doc

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


I. About the Application and Admission Process

Can I apply for a waiver of the application fee?

The $60 application fee is firmly required and can not be waived or deferred for international
students. Applications will not be processed or reviewed for admission until after the application fee
has been paid.

Exception: Only U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents with demonstrated
financial need can request a waiver. To do so, contact the Graduate
Admissions Office to request a fee waiver application (contact Cathy Jurado
at and include your name and mailing address).

The fee must be paid by check or money order, made payable to "U.C. Regents” (credit card payments are
not acceptable) and it should be sent to:

Marilyn Dexter
Graduate Secretary
Economics Dept.
UC Davis
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616-8578

Exception: Online applicants can pay the fee by credit card, if they provide their credit card information on
the online application before indicating that the application is complete.


What are the Admission Requirements?

A bachelor’s degree, preferably in economics, is required. Students who did not major in economics should
have taken at least intermediate microeconomics, intermediate macroeconomics, and two additional upper-
division economics courses. Because of the quantitative nature of the first-year theory sequence, prior
completion of at least one year of calculus is essential, and a course in linear algebra is highly desirable.
Similarly, at least two courses in statistics, including an upper-division course, are very important as
preparation for the econometrics courses. Also see GRE requirements, farther below.

Is it possible to take prerequisite courses (listed under admission requirements, above) when beginning the
graduate program instead of before applying?

No. These courses must be completed and the grades for them should be included on your transcripts, when
you apply for admission. There is no “conditional admission”.

If I haven’t had the required math or economics courses listed in the Admission Requirements, above, do I have a
chance for admission?

No

What are my chances for admission and/or financial aid?

It will depend on how each applicant’s records compare with those of a great many other applicants. It is
therefore impossible to estimate an individual’s chances until all applications have been received and
examined.



Frequently asked questions, continued.

2

Must applicants have an M.A. degree before applying to the Ph.D. program?

No, applicants can apply to the PhD program if they have a bachelor’s degree and if they meet the other
admission requirements.

Are applicants who have already earned an M.A. degree favored for admission over applicants who have only a
bachelor’s degree?

Not necessarily. What matters is how well the applicant’s application materials meet the admission
requirements.


Is there a minimum GPA requirement?

Yes. The minimum GPA required for admission is 3.25 (on a 4-point scale).


Is the GRE Exam required?

The GRE exam is firmly required (the general GRE exam is required; the subject GRE exam is not required).
It is firmly required of all applicants, even those who have already earned an M.A. Degree. The GRE scores
must either be official scores sent by ETS (Educational Testing Service) or a photo copy of the official
scores.


Can GMAT Scores be submitted instead of GRE scores?

No, GMAT scores are not acceptable as a substitute for the GRE exam.

Are there minimum GRE scores required for admission consideration?

Yes. Applicants with GRE verbal scores below the 60th percentile (30th percentile for non-native speakers
of English), GRE quantitative scores below the 70th percentile, or TOEFL scores below 600
will not be
considered for admission.

Are computer-based GRE scores acceptable?

Yes, both computer-based and paper-based GRE scores are acceptable at this department (either kind of
score is acceptable).

What are the institution and department codes for arranging for ETS to send GRE scores to the Economics Dept.
at UC Davis?

The institution code for UC Davis is 4834 and the Dept. code for the Economics Dept. is 1801.

If GRE scores are several years old, are they still acceptable?

If your GRE scores are less than 5 years old, they are still acceptable. If your GRE scores are 5 years old or
older, you must retake the GRE.

How can I get information about taking the GRE exam?

The GRE exam is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), CN 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-
6000; phone: (609) 771-7670. You can contact the ETS directly by email at
or see information on the web, at: www.gre.org


Frequently asked questions, continued.

3
Is the TOEFL Exam required?

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required if English is not your native language unless
you have studied for at least one year at a school where English is the language of instruction. The
minimum TOEFL score for admission consideration for the graduate program in Economics at UC Davis is
600.

A photo copy of the TOEFL score can be submitted at first, for admission review purposes, but admitted
applicants must also submit an official copy of the TOEFL score from ETS, before enrolling at UC Davis.

How can I get information about taking the TOEFL exam?

The TOEFL exam is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), P.O. Box 6154, Princeton, NJ
08541-6154; phone: (609) 771-7100. Request information from
or see information on the
web, at
www.toefl.org

Is the TSE Exam required?

The TSE exam is not required. However, international students admitted to the graduate program at UC
Davis are required to take an English Exam after arrival at UC Davis, before the Fall Quarter begins.
Students who do not do well on the exam may be required to take one or more English courses at UC Davis.

Does work experience count in the admission process?

Typically not since it is not relevant to the pursuit of the PhD in Economics.

Applicants from India often ask if a 3-year undergraduate degree from India is sufficient to be considered for
graduate school.

The general BA in India is a 3-year degree and is not considered sufficient for admission to graduate school.
In order to be considered, the student must have the 4-year B-Tech degree, or the 3-year degree plus the 1-
year honors certificate, or the 3-year degree plus the 2-year Masters degree.



Is a specific form required for submitting recommendation letters?

No, but if you would like to use a form, you can. A form is available at this website:
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How many letters of recommendation are required?

Three.

Do the letters have to be from professors?

It would probably be best if the letters are from professors who have taught you economics. However, if you
have been out of school for a long time or do not think professors would remember you well enough to
provide good letters, you can provide letters from employers instead.


How many applicants are admitted to the graduate program each year?

As an example, for Fall 2004, there were 221 applicants, 86 were admitted and of those admitted, 20 plan to
enroll at UC Davis, of which 11 are international students.

The previous year, for Fall 2003, there were 216 applicants, 75 were admitted and of those admitted, 27
enrolled at UC Davis, of which 12 were international students.
Frequently asked questions, continued.

4

If admitted to the Graduate Program at UC Davis for Fall 2004 but unable to come to UC Davis, can the admission
be deferred to the next year?

Admission is not deferred to the next year, but you can apply for admission again for the next year by
reactivating your application. See below for instructions on reactivating your application.


If an applicant was denied admission to the graduate program for Fall 2004, can he / she apply again for the
following Fall 2005?

Yes. If you applied for admission for Fall 2004 and were denied admission, you should find out what the
reasons for denial were and improve those areas of your academic record, sending evidence of improvement
when you apply again. For instance, if you plan to apply again for Fall 2005, and you were denied admission
Fall 2004 due to low GRE scores, you should retake the GRE exam and submit better GRE scores when you
apply for Fall 2005. If your grades were not competitive for Fall 2004, you should take further courses to
attempt better grades, so you can submit a newer transcript with evidence of better grades when you apply for
Fall 2005.


TO REACTIVATE YOUR FALL 2004 ADMISSION APPLICATION FOR FALL 2005:

You can simply fill out a "reactivation form"; you can get one from the web:

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and send it to the Graduate Admissions Office by
December 15, 2004. The university will keep all of your
original application materials until December 15, 2004, so you will not need to resubmit any of your
admission application materials. Except, if you take any new course work since the time you originally
applied, you should send official transcripts showing the additional course work and grades. If you retake
the GRE exam or TOEFL exam and plan to submit new scores, be sure to inform the Graduate Secretary, so
that she will know to expect newer scores to arrive.

To apply for Teaching Assistantship:

If reactivating your admission application, there is no need to submit a TA application since all applicants are
considered for these positions.

Where can I find more information about application and admission to the PhD program?

See our website at:
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II. About the Graduate Program

How long does it take to complete the PhD program?

The normal time to completion is a bit over 5 years.

Is it possible to pursue a PhD in Economics at UC Davis on a part-time basis?

No.

Frequently asked questions, continued.

5
If I transfer to UC Davis after completing some graduate course work at a different university, would I be able to
skip some requirements at UC Davis?

If you get admitted to the PhD program here, you can then request to have some requirements here waived if
you feel that you have already fulfilled some of them in your current program. The procedure would be, after
admission, to look over the Graduate Handbook carefully (the web address for it is included in the
information farther below) to see which courses or requirements you would be asking about, and then you
could email the Graduate Program Chair, Professor Kevin Salyer, at to ask if specific
courses could be waived. You might be asked to send the syllabus of the requested course(s) so that he can
compare your earlier course(s) with the similar course(s) here. Then he would respond to you.

If I have already earned an MA degree in Economics, will it take me less time to earn a PhD degree at UC Davis
than a student who has not yet completed an MA degree?

That depends on whether or not you would be allowed to skip requirements at UC Davis (see the information
in the above paragraph about that).


My degree objective is an MA in Economics. Is the Economics Department at UC Davis a good program for me?

No. The graduate program at UCD is focused almost exclusively on the PhD degree; hence only PhD
applications will be accepted. While it is possible to obtain an MA while pursuing a doctoral degree (see
the Graduate Handbook for more details on this), all students must take the first year PhD sequence of
courses in macroeconomic and microeconomic theory. If your interest is in the MA degree, it is best to apply

to a more applied program. For instance, the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department at UC Davis
does have a MA program.

If you already earned an MA Degree in Economics at another university, you are
not eligible to also earn an
MA Degree in Economics at UC Davis (UC Davis does not grant “duplicate” degrees).


Does the Economics Department offer an MBA?

No. If interested in earning an MBA Degree, you should instead contact Holly Bishop-Green, of the
Graduate School of Management, at
, or (530) 752-7363. Information about the
Graduate School of Management is on the web at
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How does the department assist graduates who are searching for jobs?

The Economics Department has a professor who serves as a placement director, who provides information to
students about applying for jobs. Graduate student resumes are posted on the web and students are notified
about job opportunities. The department has "practice job interviews" and “job seminars” for graduate
students, to help them practice and prepare for the job market. Placement information about jobs of recent
graduates is available on the web.


Where can I find details about the graduate program in Economics at UC Davis?

Please see the Graduate Handbook for further details:

III. About Financial Aid

What are my chances for receiving financial aid?

It will depend on how each applicant’s records compare with those of a great many other applicants. It is
therefore impossible to estimate an individual’s chances until all applications have been received and
examined.