Economics PhD

Princeton University The Graduate School · Princeton, NJ

Field: Economics
Degrees: PhD
Application fee: $90
GRE: Required
Letters: 3 (recommendations)

Deadlines

PhD application and all supporting material, fall 2027 enrollment (11:59 p.m. EST): Dec. 1, 2026

Essays

Academic statement of purpose (1,000 words)

Please explain why you are applying to a graduate program at Princeton. Outline your goals for graduate study, discuss your current academic and future career plans specifically related to the program. Include any relevant academic and professional experiences that have influenced your decision to apply for graduate admission.

Personal statement (250 words)

Describe a personal experience that influenced your decision to pursue graduate study. Explain how the lessons from this experience would enrich Princeton's residential scholarly community.

Writing sample (25 page maximum)

Economics (ECO) course list (Most advanced math and economics courses with textbooks)

Editor's notes

Princeton's statement of academic purpose is capped at 1,000 words and asks why Princeton and what your study and career plans are, while the separate 250-word personal statement wants one experience and how it would enrich the community, so plan two distinct pieces. The department requires a writing sample of about 20 to 25 pages, a GRE score, and a course list with textbooks, and the application asks you to name at least two research areas in the department. All materials, including scores, must arrive by December 1, and the admissions committee does not meet with applicants beforehand.