Future Graduate Students
The Department of Agricultural Economics offers graduate studies at both the Master's level (M.S.) and the Doctoral level (Ph.D.). Students holding Bachelor's degrees are eligible to apply for admission to the Master's program. Students with a Master's degree are eligible to apply for admission to the Ph.D. program. Students may petition to enter the Ph.D. program after one year in the M.S. program.
Application and Admission
All applications for admission are made directly to the Graduate School.
- Apply for Admission (Information from the Graduate School)
- Online Application
Application Deadlines
- Domestic Applications
- Domestic applications must be received no later than one month prior to the start of the term the applicant intends to begin graduate work. If you must have funding to support your studies, you should have your application complete and processed before the International deadlines below. Funding decisions for fall semester are made the previous March.
- International Applications
- International applications must be received by the Graduate School by the following deadlines:
- Fall Semester: February 1
- Spring Semester: August 22
- Summer Semester - International students are not admitted for summer sessions
All application materials (including all transcripts and official scores) must be received by this deadline. Once you have been admitted, if you are an international student, you will still have to obtain a visa and this may be a lengthy process.
After determining that students meet the minimum standards for admission to the Graduate School (see the Graduate School website for these requirements), the application is passed on to the department for action. These applications are reviewed by the department's graduate program admissions committee.
Does Agricultural Economics Need Anything?
Things change. It is important to stay in touch with our Graduate Program contacts during the application process.
The following may be submitted at the Apply Yourself Website or emailed to the Department of Agricultural Economics at aecdgs@lsv.uky.edu
- Three (3) Letters of Recommendation
- References may be submitted at the Apply Yourself website or by email (professional letter of recommendation) to the Director of Graduate Studies at aecdgs@lsv.uky.edu
- Your Resumé
- Your Personal Statement
- Transcript (copy)
- Submit a copy of all transcripts with your application at our Graduate School's Apply Yourself website.
- Official transcripts must be submitted to The Graduate School for each college or university attended, before the end of your first semester.
- Submit to: Mary Richardson, 201C Gillis Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0033
- Official transcripts in envelopes sealed (unopened) from the institution's Registrar are acceptable.
- Email that your application and transcript(s) have been submitted to the Graduate School.
- GRE/TOEFL or IELTS Scores (copy)
The GRE General Test is a required computer-adaptive test. For information about the test and availability in your area, go to the Educational Testing Service website.
Although there is no absolute minimum GRE score required, the Agricultural Economics graduate admissions committee is looking for an approximate total score (Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning) of 300 with a degree of balance between the two reflecting the quantitative skills inherent in our program. Your GRE scores are considered in your admission decision but as important are your GPA and academic background, resume, personal statement, and your three recommendation letters.
The GMAT is no longer accepted by the Agricultural Economics graduate program.
The TOEFL or IELTS test is required for all students whose native language is not English. The university waives the requirement for students who have earned a degree from a U.S. university. For information about the test and availability in your area, go to the Educational Testing Service website for TOEFL (Minimum acceptable scores are 550 (paper), 213 (computer), or 79 (Internet) or IELTS (Minimum acceptable score is 6.5)
When sending your GRE and TOEFL scores to UK's Graduate School, please use Institution/Program Code: 1837
Details on application procedures are available from The Graduate School, or contact our Director of Graduate Studies for more information (aecdgs@lsv.uky.edu).