Overview
American University was founded as a Methodist institution, chartered by Congress in 1893. The University is located on an 84-acre site in a residential area of northwest Washington. As a member of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Area, American University offers its degree candidates the option of taking courses at other consortium universities for residence credit.

American University's emphasis on experiential education outside the classroom may prove a stepping-stone to a future career. Graduates of the University's programs have entered academic and policy-oriented careers or found employment in private industry in the United States and around the world. In the last five years, about one third of those who graduated from the program with a Ph.D. found employment in academics. Most of the remainder of the graduates found employment with governments or private industry here or abroad.

The Community
The national capital area offers students opportunities for practical applications of theoretical studies. Research, internships, cooperative educational placements, and part-time and summer jobs are readily available. Local bus and subway transportation from the campus provide easy access to sites in the greater metropolitan area.

Roughly one third of the graduate students are international and about half are women. There are about 100 M.A. students, many part-time, and 75 Ph.D. students in economics, most of whom study full-time. Half of the full-time Ph.D. students receive financial aid.

Programs of study and degree requirements
The Department of Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences offers an M.A. and a Ph.D. degree in economics. Providing training in theoretical and applied economics as well as in quantitative methods, the programs prepare the student for a career in academics, government service, or business. In addition, two other M.A. degrees are offered, one in financial economics for public policy and one with a concentration in development finance and banking. The department offers diversity by providing neoclassical and political economy approaches to economic theory and by emphasizing economic policy applications.

All programs can be completed on a part-time basis, since most graduate courses are offered in the evening. The various M.A. degrees require between 30 and 36 hours of credit, which means one to two years of full-time course work. The Ph.D. requires 72 hours of course credit, which means about three years of course work for students whose undergraduate major was in economics but who have not done any graduate work in the field. The dissertation normally requires two more years of full-time work. Students with a previous M.A. in economics may apply up to 30 credits toward the Ph.D.

Proximity to the seat of the federal government and international organizations encourages an active interest in current policy issues. The majority of faculty members are involved in research for government agencies, such as the Joint Economic Committee, House Banking Committee, World Bank, Labor Department, Commission on Civil Rights, and Inter-American Development Bank. There are several international faculty members who teach in the program and several who are U.S. citizens but have lived or taught extensively in developing countries. Fields of specialization include economic growth and development, labor economics, political economy, economics of gender, economic history, history of economic thought, monetary economics, public economics, comparative economic systems, international economics, and industrial organization.

Facilities & Resources
The Bender Library and Learning Resources Center houses more than 745,000 volumes and 3,500 periodical titles, extensive microform collections, and a nonprint media center. In addition, more than 14 indexes in compact disk format are searchable using library microcomputers. Students have unlimited book check-out privileges and access to online bibliographical search services. American University is a member of the Washington Research Library Consortium, which allows graduate students to have borrowing privileges at six college and university libraries in the Washington, D.C, area. Dozens of other private and governmental collections, including the Library of Congress, are easily accessible. Microcomputer resources are extensive and can be used 24 hours a day at various campus locations. Statistical software packages—SYSTAT, SPSS, and SAS—are available.

Expenses and Aid
Costs: Tuition is $1,548 per credit hour.

Financial Aid: Fellowships, assistantships, and study grants are available to full-time students. Special opportunity grants for members of minority groups (African American, Hispanic American, Asian or Pacific Islander American, American Indian, or Alaskan Native American) parallel the regular honor awards. Research and teaching fellowships and assistantships provide stipends plus tuition. Graduate study grants provide up to 18 credit hours of tuition remission per year.

Housing/Living Expenses: Although many graduate students live off campus, the University offers some limited graduate dormitory rooms and apartments. The Off-Campus Housing Office maintains a referral file of rooms and apartments. Housing costs in Washington, D.C., are comparable to those in other major metropolitan areas.

How to Apply
The College of Arts and Sciences uses a rolling application process. However, for international applicants, it is highly recommended that completed applications for the fall semester be submitted by June 1 for accurate processing. Applications by students seeking merit awards must be received by February 1. Online or downloadable applications may be obtained on the Web at http://www.american.edu/cas/admissions. The cost to apply is $50 for the online application submitted electronically or $80 for the paper-based application submitted by mail, including those that are downloaded. Admission consideration is open to all qualified candidates without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, gender, or disability.

Ph.D. students should apply by February 1 for the following September if they are also applying for merit financial assistance. Transcripts of previous university course work, official Graduate Record Examinations General Test scores, and at least two letters of recommendation are required. Students may also submit GRE Subject Test scores in economics and examples of published or unpublished research. Admission is based on an evaluation of the student's entire record, but generally speaking a minimum B+/A– average is required in previous graduate work and a minimum B average in undergraduate work. All international students must submit TOEFL scores, unless they have previously studied in the U.S.

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