Admissions Overview

Admissions Criteria

• We are looking for the brightest students graduating with a First Class Honours degree or equivalent from top institutions in a relevant subject.

• We also welcome applications from MSc graduates with distinction, although you do not need to have completed a Master’s degree to apply. If you have a Master's degree, you still enter the programme at year one and there are no waivers on exams.

• A GRE score can be helpful. If you have a GRE score that you wish to be considered by the selection panel, please upload a copy of the score to your application portal for their consideration. This is not a compulsory requirement.

• In exceptional cases, where a student has completed an MRes elsewhere, incoming students may be granted a waiver for direct entry to the PhD. Requests for such waivers should be addressed to the admissions committee if you are called to interview. You will then be required to provide a syllabus and transcript of the modules you have followed on your MRes, which must be a comparable course taken at a comparable institution.

English Language Requirements

Candidates whose first language is not English must be able to show a high level of competency in the English Language through their results in one of the approved examinations (including Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE), Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE), IELTS, TOFEL and more). For this programme, we require candidates to have achieved a score in Band B. Please refer to the University website for further information regarding English language proficiency.

International Students

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications. For more information please visit the international entry requirements page.

Applicant Mentoring Programme

Preparing a competitive application to PhD Economics programmes can be a difficult task for applicants who have little or no access to people who have experience with the process. Find out more about the support you can receive from our Applicant Mentoring Programme (AMP).

Postgraduate Application System

Applications are made online via the Postgraduate Application System and you will need to register an account to apply. You will not be required to pay the University application fee, as this will be paid by the Department.

Supporting Documents

Please ensure that you upload all of the relevant documents before submitting your application. Remember that we do not consider any applications before the deadline, so you are not disadvantaged if your application is delayed because you are waiting for documents. The important thing is to include all of your documents and submit them by the deadline.

You should remember to include in your application:

• Personal Statement and/ or CV
• Your degree transcript(s), including details of any modules you have yet to complete
• English language certificate (if applicable)
• Two academic references
• Your GRE score (if you have one)

GRE score

You can find more information about the GRE test on the Official ETS webpage for test-takers.

You should upload a copy of your GRE report (if available) to your application portal as an 'additional document' after your Application Portal has been created following the original submission. Note, a GRE score is not a requirement for application. You are not required to submit this via ETS and so do not require the institutional code.

Referees

We will require two academic referees. If you have contacted a different referee from the one mentioned in your application form, please inform us by email of this change at enquiries.econphd@warwick.ac.uk.

Research proposal

A research proposal is not necessary at the stage of application; all successful applicants enrol in the MRes degree first, but you can upload a statement of purpose if you wish.

Original documents

Only the selected candidates will be asked to provide originals of their documents (transcripts, certificates etc) and they will be verified by Warwick Postgraduate Admissions directly. You do not need to send these until requested by the University's Admissions Team.

English language proficiency

Please refer to the University website for further information regarding English language proficiency for non-native speakers.

Once you have applied

Please note that we do not make decisions on admissions to the programme until after the closing date. We rank applicants with regard to suitability for the programme, based on the information they have submitted and a short interview (usually conducted electronically). Please, therefore, ensure that you have submitted all relevant documents by the closing date. References may be submitted after the closing date.

We will make offers to the top-ranking students first and will proceed to make offers until all the places on the programme are filled. We aim to have a maximum cohort size of around 15 students in each year of the MRes, the majority of which are funded by the department. The majority of students progress from the MRes to the PhD, on achieving the progression criteria.

All students offered a place on the programme will also be offered financial support consisting of a fee waiver and a maintenance award. You do not have to apply separately for the scholarship, if you are offered a place, you will also be offered a scholarship. We have a small number of places for self-funding students, so if you have obtained a scholarship from elsewhere, do please let us know.

Your scholarship will apply to the MRes and PhD. If you achieve the required progression criteria to enter the PhD, we encourage you to apply for the prestigious scholarships available for the PhD stage (e.g. ESRC; or Warwick Chancellor's International Scholarship). In the event that you are not successful in securing an external scholarship, your department scholarship will continue throughout the PhD.

During the MRes, students are not required to undertake any teaching. However, once students progress to the PhD, they will be expected to teach for a small number of hours per week.