Graduate Programs - Graduation

Master's program

Students who have completed 30 credit hours of course work with a 3.0 GPA or higher and have passed the micro and macro comprehensive exams are eligible to graduate. At the beginning of the semester in which you intend to graduate, you will need to submit an Intent to Graduate and an Application for Graduation. You can file your Intent to Graduate online through Patriotweb. The Application for Graduation is available online at the GMU Graduate Office website under forms (follow the link below).

The Application for Graduation is submitted to the Economics Graduate Studies Office for review and approval. It is not necessary to complete the “University Review” section of the application, as it will be completed by the program administrator. Applications can be emailed to econgrad@gmu.edu or faxed to 703-993-1133. The degree conferral date is usually a couple of weeks after the last day of classes. Although the conferral date is the date that you will officially graduate, your degree may take several weeks to be displayed on your transcript.

Doctoral program

Students who have completed 72 credit hours (at least 12 of which must be dissertation hours) with a 3.0 GPA or higher, have passed all prelim and field exams, and have defended and submitted their dissertations to the library are eligible to graduate. At the beginning of the semester in which you intend to defend and graduate, you will need to submit an Intent to Graduate and an Application for Graduation. You can file your Intent to Graduate online through Patriotweb. The Application for Graduation is available online at the GMU Graduate Office website under forms (follow the link below).

In order to successfully defend and submit your dissertation to the library, it is important that you follow all of the dissertation guidelines and timelines provided by various university offices. For more information on dissertation defense and submission, please review the dissertation information on our Dissertation/Thesis Information webpage.

The Application for Graduation is submitted to the Economics Graduate Studies Office for review and approval. It is not necessary to complete the “University Review” section of the application, as it will be completed by the program administrator. Applications can be emailed to econgrad@gmu.edu or faxed to 703-993-1133. The degree conferral date is usually a couple of weeks after the last day of classes. Although the conferral date is the date that you will officially graduate, your degree may take several weeks to be displayed on your transcript.