The GRE is required
The programme page states that the GRE is required.
Doctoral · Yale Economics
Yale Economics PhD: a required GRE and a course-by-course path to candidacy
The Yale Economics PhD requires the GRE and is structured as a staged path: at least six graduate courses before the second year, at least fourteen term courses in economics before the third, and two prospectus workshops in the third year. The Bulletin also describes waiver exams in microeconomics and macroeconomics each June and August, which let a well-prepared student place out of first-year courses.
Official information · no entry-year label on the page
What Yale asks for in Yale Economics PhD
Taken from the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Economics PhD programme page and the Yale Bulletin entry for the Ph.D. in Economics and read on 2 November 2026. The page carries no entry-year label, so every value below is treated as previous-cycle evidence for a 2028-29 start; Yale's requirements, dates and funding for 2028-29 are awaiting publication, and none is stated here.
Six courses, then fourteen
The Bulletin sets six graduate economics courses before the second year and fourteen term courses before the third.
Waiver exams
Waiver exams in micro and macro are given each June and August.
Official sources
Read on 2 November 2026 on the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Economics PhD programme page and the Yale Bulletin entry for the Ph.D. in Economics, which carries no entry-year label. The department website, the application portal, deadlines, funding and the English-test scores were not used and are not stated. No deadline, fee, funding amount or place number is stated.
The decision
Does your record fit what the programme page asks?
This guide concerns only the Yale research degree. The reading below is Avandy's judgment (heuristic), built from what the programme page says.
It fits if
you can sit the GRE and want a programme whose requirements are tracked by course counts, exams and workshops.
Think again if
you expect the GRE to be optional. The Economics page says it is required, unlike several other Yale programmes.
Check the page
The Graduate School's programme page is the source; deadlines, funding and score thresholds change by cycle and are not stated here.
How the application is read
What the programme page lists
The programme page lists the GRE as required and TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic for most applicants whose native language is not English, with an exemption for applicants who have studied in residence at an English-medium institution for at least three years. The Bulletin entry lists the fields and the staged requirements that follow admission. This guide states no deadline or funding term.
How the programme runs
Focus and working pattern
The Bulletin describes requirements before the second year, before the third year and for admission to candidacy, the last including two one-term prospectus workshops in the third year. Fields include microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, labor, public finance and industrial organization among others. This page carries no entry-year label and is treated as previous-cycle evidence.
Avandy's judgment
Where an application can go wrong
These points are Avandy's heuristic reading of the page. They are not Yale rules and carry no probability.
Assuming the GRE is optional
The Economics programme page says the GRE is required.
Ignoring the first-year gate
The Bulletin ties progress to graded first-year micro and macro courses or waiver exams.
Treating the course counts as flexible
Exceptions are described as granted only by vote of the Economics faculty for extenuating circumstances.
Next steps
A sensible order of work
The order is Avandy's suggestion, built from the page's own steps.
Check your record
Compare your coursework and experience with the stated expectations.
Prepare the written work
Draft the statements and writing sample the page asks for, in the formats it lists.
Plan the tests
Check which tests are required, optional or not accepted.
Read the current page
Read the programme page for the cycle you apply in.
Planning for 2028-29 entry
Planning for 2028-29 entry: what carries over and what awaits publication
Yale's programme page carries no entry-year label. A start in 2028-29 means applying under rules Yale has not yet published. Each item below is either read on the page and treated as previous-cycle wording, which may change, or awaiting publication for 2028-29 entry.
The structure of the programme and the application
The expectations, the written work and the test policy are described on Yale's programme page, which carries no entry-year label. Yale has not published the following cycle.
Deadlines, places, funding and fees
This guide states none of them. Yale publishes them per cycle; read the page again for the cycle you apply in.
What to do now
Check your record against the programme page, prepare the written work it lists and plan any required test.
Support
Independent support with the research statement and fit
Avandy provides independent academic and admissions support. It is not affiliated with Yale University or any of its departments, and it has no relationship with any member of staff. Support sits within the Avandy Trinity Advisory Model: a Strategic Admissions Consultant and a PhD-level Academic Mentor help the applicant test a research idea against the department's published research areas and plan their own statement. Support here is limited to testing a research idea against the department's published research themes and planning the applicant's own statements; it does not extend to contacting staff on the applicant's behalf. Avandy does not write or submit any part of an application, cannot arrange a supervisor and promises no outcome or funding.
Questions
Questions applicants ask
What does the Yale Economics PhD ask for?
Before the second year students must have passed at least six economics graduate courses.
Is a test required?
The GRE is required.
Does this guide state a deadline?
No. The page carries no entry-year label and this guide states no deadline, fee or funding. Check the programme page for the cycle you apply in.
Does the programme include funding?
This guide did not use Yale's funding sections and states no funding.
Students and families
Talk to us about the Yale Economics PhD
Tell us about your degrees, your research experience, the research question you want to pursue and the supervisors or groups you have in mind. A senior adviser will review the academic profile before recommending how to develop the research statement.