PhD in Finance - Admissions

• Submit your PhD application online.
• The application will include a statement of purpose and CV.
• The application will also require three confidential letters of recommendation submitted. Each recommender will automatically receive an electronic form once their contact information is entered into the system. We strongly advise selecting recommenders with knowledge of your academic qualifications and your potential as a researcher.

• Completion of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited U.S. institution or its equivalent from a university in another country. A Master’s degree is not required for admission.
• Grade point average for admission is a 3.0 average (A = 4.0) in the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework and in all graduate coursework. Note that official transcripts and degree certifications are only required if admitted into the program.

• Acceptable scores on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). While there is no required minimum score, the average score of students admitted in recent years is over 700. GMAT scores are provided by PearsonVue. Please self-report your score on your application and your scores should be sent to the PhD program using the code VKR-TK-03.
• The Graduate Record Examination (GRE), with an average quantitative score being 160, is accepted as a substitute for the GMAT. Please self-report your score on your application and request ETS to report your GRE score electronically to the University of Illinois (Institution Code 1836, Department Code 4102).

• International applicants are required to submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The minimum requirement of a TOEFL score for full admittance is 103.
• IELTS is also accepted as a substitute for the TOEFL. The SPEAK test is not required for admission.
• Please request that Educational Testing Service send scores to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign using our institution code number 1836 and department code 4102.
• The TOEFL requirement is waived for international students if one or both of the following conditions are met:
  • Applicant is from a country in which English is both the primary language and the official language.
  • Applicant completed at least two academic years of full-time study (as defined by the home institution) within five years of the beginning of the proposed term of enrollment, or the applicant has completed a graduate degree, in a country where English is the primary language and at a school where English is the primary language of instruction. That is, English must be both the language of the country and the language of instruction at the school.

Please see English Proficiency Requirements for further details.