Frequently Asked Questions

No. You must take the GRE General Test; this is a requirement for the IDE Program. If you have taken the GREs five or more years ago, then you must re-take them. If you have not taken the GREs by the application deadline, please write a note in the Personal Statement portion of the application and give the date on which you will take the exam.

There is no minimum for the GRE. We will look at your GRE scores, your transcripts, your personal statement, and your letters of recommendation to evaluate your ability to succeed in our program. The average GREs in recent years were: Verbal 159, Quantitative 165, and Analytical 4.2.

Yes. Submit the new scores in the same manner as the original scores. When Yale receives them, they will be added to your application for the admissions committee to view.

You must request (either at the time of the test administration or via an additional Score Report) that your official scores be released to Yale University Institution Code 3987.  If you are required to enter a Department or Program code, you should use Department Code 0000 (Undecided) for the GRE. No paper copies of GRE score reports will be accepted. For the most recent details on the codes visit the standarized testing page on the GSAS Admissions website.

The GRE General Test is required, not the GRE Subject Test.

The TOEFL exam, administered in foreign countries by the Educational Testing Service, is required of all applicants whose native language is not English. This requirement is waived only for applicants who will have received a bachelor’s degree, prior to matriculation at Yale, from a college or university where English is the primary language of instruction. Applicants must have studied in residence at the baccalaureate institution for at least three (3) years to receive the waiver. The waiver is automatically determined based on these above factors once your application has been submitted.

You may alternatively take the IELTS exam.

If you have taken TOEFL within the last two years or are about to take it you will need to have your TOEFL scores released to us (code 3987). If you are required to enter a Department or Program code you should use 99 (Undecided) for the TOEFL either at the time of the test administration or via an additional Score Report. For the most recent details on the codes visit the standarized testing page on the GSAS Admissions website.

Application fee waivers may be granted on the basis of participation in a special program, event, fellowship, or status, or by documented financial hardship. Check this page to learn more.

Yes- you can and should! IDE prides itself to be open to any background as long as it is very analytical and you have the necessary mathematical ability. To apply to the IDE program, an undergraduate economics major, while preferred, is not absolutely necessary. However, as the IDE Program is purely a master’s in economics, we always take people with exceptional analytical and usually economics backgrounds. Most students we accept are students who have taken microeconomics, econometrics, and macroeconomics. Additionally they have taken courses in multivariate calculus, probability and statistics, and we give preference to people who have had computational linear (matrix) algebra. Upon admission to the program, it may be required that a student take the “Math for Economists” course during the summer prior to beginning the program.

The IDE program requires a strong analytical background, so it is strongly suggested that prospective students take Microeconomics, with an analytical perspective if possible, then Econometrics, then Macroeconomics.

We admit students who have courses in multivariate calculus, probability and statistics. We give preference to people who have had computational linear (matrix) algebra.

In the past, many of the students entering the IDE program were early career professionals in the public or private sectors in developing countries. More recently, however, the IDE program has taken on a more academic focus. About 80% of each IDE class come directly from their undergraduate studies with little or no work experience. The remaining 20% of students have some graduate training and/or early career experience.

Yes. Many of our students are out of the UK or India where this is the normal length of degree. While you can apply without having completed your studies you must have completed an undergraduate degree prior to starting at Yale.

The deadline for submitting your application is January 2 for consideration for admission to the fall term.

Test scores, official transcripts and other supporting documents will be accepted after the deadline.  However, you must upload whatever transcript you have available before the deadline. The application cannot be submitted without a transcript.  Once you have the final official transcript you can return to your application and replace the original with the final transcript. It is best to have your final documents added no later than January 31 or early February. 

Further questions can be directed to graduate.admissions@yale.edu

No writing sample is required as part of the application for IDE.

An interview is not required as part of the application for IDE.

For most applicants we would expect three academic reference letters. For applicants that apply not immediately following the undergraduate education or for candidates whose applications have a major non-academic component, one of the recommenders may be a professional reference. 

Applicants to the IDE program who have taken several economics courses or are economics majors, they have done some work in a developing country, or they have worked or interned at the World Bank, IMF, UN or other international agencies.

Applicants will be notified of action concerning admission from mid to late March.

Firstly, IDE students have access to the full breadth of Yale Employment support that ranges from the Office of Career Strategy who provide workshops, career fairs, one-on-one CV support and many other services to the the access to the Yale Alumni Association who gladly put in touch students with alumni in a related field. In addition, the close contact to faculty will allow these potential references to provide more detailed and meaningful letters. Finally, IDE alumni very much are involved in the program, return to campus for presentations on their jobs and are always are happy to advise current students. 

Generally, students come to the IDE program with sponsorship from their employer or from their government, or by securing loans from either banking institutions or from their family. International applicants may apply for the Yale International Loan or any loan of their choice.  For information, contact the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences' Financial Aid Office at gradfinaid@yale.edu or 203-432-2739.

You can find a list of external funding sources on our funding page.

Beginning with the 2022-23 application cycle, the Economic Growth Center and the IDE Program are launching a new scholarship program for applicants from Sub-Saharan Africa with the aim of providing new opportunities for excellent students from a region central to development economics, and encouraging further diversity in the IDE program.

You can find a list of external funding sources on our funding page.

Many governments have regular fellowship programs for graduate training of public officials. Alternatively, candidates for admission may be eligible for support from the World Bank, Fulbright, the Ford Foundation, the US Agency for International Development, the Asia Foundation, or a number of other foundations. Yale’s Graduate School financial aid website gives a list of online databases for fellowships and grants. These databases provide direct access to several hundred grant and fellowship opportunities around the world. Another website that might be helpful is http://www.cgsnet.org; this site gives a list of graduate fellowship opportunities for those entering graduate programs.

The cost of tuition for 2024-25 is $50,500 and tuition increases yearly by approximately 4%. Yearly living expenses for New Haven are approximately $29,778 per single student. For updated costs and estimates, please visit the GSAS Tuition, Funding & Living Costs site.

No. The one-year IDE program is a full-time, in-person program.

Yes, many IDE students find employment on campus either as research assistants, teaching assistants, course prep assistants, EGC Comms interns or in offices throughout the university. You may consult our work opportunities page for more information.