Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the application deadline for the EES program?2. Do I have the right background to be considered for EES?
3. How long will it take me to complete my Ph.D.?
4. Can students apply to more than one academic department per year at UCSB?
5. If I am admitted, may I defer my admittance for one year?
6. Should I apply to the Bren School or the Department of Economics?
7. Can I apply completely over the Internet or must some of the application be in paper form?
8. What is the minimum GPA you will accept?
9. What is the minimum GRE score you will accept?
10. Do I need to take a GRE subject test?
11. What are your GRE institution and department codes?
12. How soon in advance of applying to the EES program do I need to take the GRE?
13. Is the EES Training Program available to international students?
14. What is a TOEFL?
15. How long should the Statement of Purpose be?
16. Do you require any supplemental application materials?
17. Do all 3 Letters of Recommendation need to be from faculty members?
18. What are the prerequisites for entry into the EES program?
19. Is it required that I find a sponsoring professor before I apply to the EES program?
20. I am interested in the EES program and would like to attend an open house.
21. What are the dates of upcoming open houses?
22. What is a FAFSA?
23. What is the cost of living in the Santa Barbara area?
24. What are the professional opportunities when I graduate from the EES program?
1. What
is the application deadline for the EES program?
Applications to the EES program are
only accepted for entrance in the fall quarter. Either the
Department
of Economics or the Bren School must receive a complete application and
ALL supporting documents by December 15.
2. Do I have the right background to be
considered for EES?
The EES program
is open to
students from a wide variety of academic backgrounds. Appropriate
undergraduate majors include natural science, engineering, mathematics,
economics or any quantitative field. No economics background is
necessary to be considered for the EES program, however quantitative
skills are very important. If your economics background is weak,
it is nevertheless important that you demonstrate a real interest in
economics, through experience or coursework.
3. How
long will it take me to complete my PhD?
The time to degree completion is usually 5 years.
4. Can
students apply to more than one academic department per year at UCSB?
No. The University allows an applicant to apply to only one department
per academic year.
5. If
I am admitted, may I defer my admittance for one year?
The University does not allow us to defer admittance. If you are
unable
to attend during the quarter for which you have been admitted, we will
keep your application materials (LOR, SOP, transcripts, etc.) but you
must fill out an application and pay the application fee the following
year. Your application will be re-reviewed by the admissions
committee,
but the same admissions decision is not guaranteed.
6. Should
I apply to the Bren School or the Department of Economics?
Applicants for the EES Training Program may apply to either the Department
of Economics (PhD in Economics) or the Bren
School (PhD in Environmental Science &
Management). Before applying, students should carefully review
entrance and degree requirements for both the Economics Department Ph.D.
and the Bren
School Ph.D. The degrees have different orientations and you should
consider which degree you would like to have and where you would like
your primary affiliations to be. Regardless of the department to
which you apply, be sure to indicate clearly on the Statement of
Purpose coversheet
that you are applying to the EES program.
7. Can I apply completely over the Internet or
must some of the application be in paper form?
Applications must be submitted electronically using the Graduate Division's
electronic application, however,
certain
parts of the application must be submitted in paper form, such as
letters of recommendation and transcripts. It is highly
recommended
that you secure a Receipt of Mailing from the post
office when you
mail your application and supporting materials. Instructions for
applying and cover sheets for application materials can be found on the
Graduate
Division e-application main page.
8. What is the minimum GPA
you will accept?
The minimum GPA the University will allow is a 3.0 (on a 4-point scale)
calculated from your junior and senior years. The average GPA of
our
EES students to date is 3.77.
9. What
is the minimum GRE score you will accept?
The University does not require a minimum GRE score. The
median
GRE scores for students entering the EES program in 2005 was 600
(verbal) and 760 (quantitative).
10. Do I
need to take a GRE subject test?
No. We only require the general exam.
11. What
are your GRE institution and department codes?
Institution code: 4835
Department code: 0502 (Environmental Science & Management)
Department code: 1801 (Economics)
12. How
soon in advance of applying to the EES program do I
need to take the GRE?
The Educational Testing Center (ETS) transmits official GRE score
reports ten to fourteen days after the exam is completed.
(However you
will receive your unofficial verbal and quantitative scores immediately
after completing the exam). Therefore, you will need to
coordinate this
date with the application deadlines. For more detailed information,
please see http://www.gre.org/testdate.htmlcbdates.
13. Is the
EES Training Program available to international
students?
The EES Training Program is open to international students.
International students may participate in the program with
their own funding or apply for university and department financial aid,
which is limited and available only to outstanding students.
14. What is
a TOEFL?
Applicants whose native language is not English are required to take
the Test of English as a Foreign
Language (TOEFL). The Graduate Division will consider requests for
exceptions to this requirement for those students who have completed an
undergraduate or graduate education at an institution whose primary
language of instruction is English. For exemption requests,
please
email the Graduate Division at admissions@graddiv.ucsb.edu. The
minimum score for consideration is 550 when taking the paper based test
and 213 when taking the computer based test, but the Bren School looks
for scores much higher than this.
15. How
long should the Statement of Purpose be?
The Statement of Purpose should be at least 1 page to 1.5 pages, but no
more than 2 pages. Clearly state in the Emphasis line on the
cover
sheet that you are applying for the EES Training Program and state your
intended emphasis ("Environmental
Economics" or "Environmental Science"). In your
statement of purpose, articulate your reasons for seeking admission to
the EES Program. We are particularly interested in your
motivation and clarity of purpose. For many applicants both
preparation and interest arise from some experience in research,
perhaps at a job or volunteer experience, or as part of an
undergraduate degree. Experiences that led to your desire for a
career
in the environmental and resource economics field should be
included. If your economics background is sparse, be sure to
indicate why your interest in economics is substantive.
16. Do you
require any supplemental application materials?
We only require the materials listed on the Graduate
Division list of application components.
17.
Do all 3 Letters of Recommendation
need to be from faculty members?
We would like to see most of your letters of recommendation from
faculty members, but we realize that applicants who have been out of
school for a number of years will have difficulty obtaining this.
Other
letters of recommendation may be from people (i.e. former/current
employer, volunteer supervisor, etc.) who can comment on your work
ethic, ability, dedication, suitability for research work, etc.
18. What are the
prerequisites for entry into the EES program?
Admission to UCSB PhD programs requires a Bachelor's Degree from
an accredited 4-year institution, preferably in natural/physical
science, mathematics or economics. Prospective students are advised to
take as much mathematics (calculus, linear algebra, etc.) as possible,
and they also need solid preparation in natural science (chemistry,
biology, etc.). A Master's Degree is not necessary, though
about half of the EES students enter the program with a Master's
Degree. For additional information, see Who
Should Apply.
19.
Is it required that I find a
sponsoring professor before I apply to the EES program?
Having a faculty sponsor is not required, however it is very important
for prospective students to explore faculty research interests.
Ultimately, you will choose a faculty advisor. To
review the faculty research, please visit the EES
faculty page. Applicants to the Bren School are typically
required to obtain a faculty sponsor prior to applying.
20. I am interested in the EES program and
would like to attend an open house. What are the dates of
upcoming open houses?
We hold open houses in the Fall. Check out the Bren
School Open House web page for more information. Prospective
students are welcome to contact our office to arrange an individual
visit at any time. In February, our top applicants are flown to
Santa Barbara (at our expense) to a one day recruiting session, where
you can explore more deeply the EES program.
21. What is
a FAFSA?
All applicants who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, even those
who don't plan on taking out a student loan, should submit a Free Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA) if they plan to apply for any financial support
programs. The FAFSA is used to compile a need
analysis and to
determine
all financial support packages, including grants, fellowships, and
work-study, as well as loans.
We expect all of our prospective and current domestic students to submit the FAFSA if they want to be considered for any federal, University, or School-based financial support. The FAFSA is available at any college or university financial aid office within the U.S., or the application can be completed on-line. The application deadline for the subsequent Fall Quarter is March 2.
22. What
is the cost of living in the Santa Barbara area?
Information on housing on and off campus can
be found at UCSB
Housing and Residential Services.
23. What
are the professional opportunities when I graduate
from the EES program?
See Environmental
Economics as a Career.