Graduate Admission Requirements

A.  General University Requirements
All applicants for any type of graduate or post baccalaureate study at San Diego State University must: 

• hold an acceptable baccalaureate degree from an institution accredited by a regional accrediting association or have completed equivalent academic preparation as determined by the Graduate Dean 

• have attained a grade point average of at least 2.75 (when A equals 4) in the last 60 semester (90 quarter) units attempted.  (Note: The GPA requirement for international students is a 3.0 on cumulative course work.)

• have been in good standing at the last institution attended

• have taken the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test 

B.  TOEFL Requirement
Students who do not possess a bachelor's degree from a post secondary institution where English is the principal language of instruction must receive a minimum score of 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Note: the minimum score of 550 corresponds to the paper-based version of the TOEFL.  The minimum score on the computer-based version of the exam is a 213.

C.  Department Requirements
In addition to the general requirements of the University, the graduate committee of the department must judge the applicant capable of graduate work in economics. The committee's judgment will be based on 

• the applicant's transcripts of prior academic work.  Applicants are expected to have a grade point average of at least 3.0 (when A equals 4) in the last 60 semester (90 quarter) units attempted 

• two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the applicant's academic ability 

• the applicant's scores on the GRE General Test (receive a minimum combined score of 1,000 on the verbal and quantitative sections of the exam).

Applicants will be expected to have completed undergraduate courses in intermediate microeconomics, calculus and statistical methods. Applicants whose preparation is judged inadequate by the graduate committee may be admitted with conditional graduate standing. More detailed information on graduate admission requirements can be found in the Graduate Bulletin.

Note:  Applicants who do not qualify for admission under the provisions listed above may be admitted by special action if the Graduate Committee and the Graduate Dean determines that there is other academic or professional evidence sufficient to warrant such action.