Admission Requirements
The MIAGE admissions committee seeks a diverse pool of applicants who aspire to learn, practice, and interact in a supportive yet rigorous graduate program designed to help you achieve. We admit MIAGE students representing a variety of undergraduate majors, including business and the social sciences. We also welcome students with diverse professional backgrounds, including those who work in business, government, NGOs, and those coming directly from their undergraduate studies.
The MIAGE admissions committee carefully reviews an applicant's combined academic and professional background. The committee will evaluate each application individually and will consider:
Academic background, including undergraduate transcripts and academic recommendations. You may also choose to submit optional standardized test scores. Professional experience including work experience, internships, professional recommendations, and volunteer and community service activities. Evaluation of the content of your letter of intent (or personal statement). The admissions committee will also use this document to assess your writing skills.
Application Deadline
The MIAGE program accepts applicants for the Fall Semester only.
- All application materials must be completed by the priority deadline of January 15th at 11:59 pm to be eligible to apply separately for department fellowships and assistantships.
- March 31st is the deadline for international applicants and domestic applicants missing prerequisites.
- If you have not yet completed the microeconomics, macroeconomics, and/or statistics prerequisites, and you know you plan to enroll in the summer PUBPL 6000 prereq course to complete them, please apply for summer admission.
- June 30th is the final deadline for domestic applicants who have already completed the prerequisites and received approval from the Program Manager.
Contact the Program Manager to request approval of late documents. An additional fee of $30.00 will be charged by Admissions for late submissions starting on April 1st.
Application Components
Academic Transcripts
Application Fee
Current Resume or Curriculum Vitae
Letters of Recommendation
Minimum 3.0 Undergraduate GPA
Standardized Test Score
Letter of Intent
Prerequisite Courses
Helpful Links
Academic Transcripts
All applicants will be asked to upload an unofficial copy of their academic transcripts
when completing the application online. Universities participating in an electronic
transcript service should email transcripts to admisstranscripts@utah.edu. If you are admitted to MIAGE, you will be required to provide an official copy
of your transcripts, sent directly from your previous school to the Graduate Admissions
office at:
Admissions Office
The University of Utah
201 S 1460 E
Room 250 S SSB
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Transcripts submitted for admission become the University of Utah property and cannot
be returned to the applicant. Failure to list all schools previously attended or making
false or misleading statements on the application may result in loss of credit and/or
cancellation of admission status.
Application Fee
All students are required to pay an application fee.
- Domestic graduate students: $55
- International graduate students: $65
Applications submitted after April 1st will also be subject to a $30.00 late fee.
Current Resume or Curriculum Vitae
Submit a current resume or curriculum vitae. Please show all previous work, relevant academic courses, and community and extracurricular activities.
Letters of Recommendation
Please submit a letter of recommendation from individuals familiar with your academic
and professional abilities. At least one letter should be from an academic reference,
preferably a former professor. Please follow the instructions in Slate for submission
of these letters. You may submit more than one letter, but one is required.
If your recommenders elect not to use the online Slate application, please contact
the program manager for alternative submission methods.
The admissions committee members prefer that at least one letter is from a professor.
However, they will also accept professional recommendations. Please do not submit
personal references (which includes family, pastors, etc.). Consider reaching out
to a favorite professor from whom you took more than one class with a note reintroducing
yourself. Explain why you would like to pursue this program, particularly if their
class contributed to your desire to apply for MIAGE. You can also send them an updated
resume to share what you have been doing since you were last in their class.
While preferred, a lack of academic references should not dissuade you from applying.
Minimum 3.0 Undergraduate GPA
If your undergraduate GPA is not at or above 3.0, please address this in your letter of intent or contact our office staff to discuss your options.
Standardized Test Score
Standardized test scores are optional, and should only be submitted if beneficial to your application. The MIAGE program accepts the GRE, GMAT, LSAT and MAT test scores for admission. If submitting, it is recommended that the test be taken well in advance so the test scores will arrive for admission consideration prior to deadlines.
Applicants may take one of the following entrance exams:
GRE: The GRE is the preferred test for admission to the MIAGE program. The GRE U-code is 4853.
MAT (Millers Analogies Test): The MAT U-code is 4853. MAT scores are sent to the admissions office. Applicants wanting MIAGE to have access to these scores must contact admissions and have the scores sent to the MIAGE office.
LSAT: The LSAT U-code is 4853. Email pdf results to the MIAGE program manager.
GMAT: The GMAT U-code is: 4853. Please note the GMAT scores are sent to the business school. Applicants wanting MIAGE to have access to these scores must contact the business school and have the scores sent to the MIAGE office.
The MIAGE admissions committee does not prefer one test over another, and looks at percentile ranks in each category of the test rather than raw test scores. It is recommended that applicants only consider submitting scores if they receive a 50th percentile or above in all assessed categories of a test.
Please contact the University Testing Center for assistance with preparation and scheduling tests.
English Proficiency: International students may also be required to submit proof of English proficiency. You can learn more about the English proficiency requirements by reviewing the International Graduate Admissions webpage.
Letter of Intent
The personal letter of intent is a crucial part of your application because it is the primary way that the admissions committee will get to know you as an applicant. We recommend applicants format their letter as they would a cover letter (with a salutation and a sign-off). Applicants should consider the following questions when writing their letter:
- Who are you?
- What is your academic background?
- What is your professional background?
- Why are you interested in the MIAGE program?
- How would the MIAGE program benefit you?
- What unique qualities would you bring to the program?
- What are your future goals?
The letter of intent should be no longer than two pages and should include your name and contact information in the heading at the top of each page.
Prerequisite Courses
All MIAGE applicants must have academic background knowledge in the following three areas:
- Statistics
- Macroeconomics
- Microeconomics
Prerequisites do not need to be completed by the time a student applies, but they must be completed before students are allowed to begin graduate study. The exception to this rule is students who are enrolled in PUBPL 6000. There are two primary ways to fulfill these requirements.
Option One: These courses must be completed at the undergraduate level with a grade of “C” or better. You may be admitted to the program before completing these requirements; however, you may not enroll in the program until these courses are satisfactorily completed. Prerequisite courses are:
- Introductory Microeconomics* - A sample course at The University of Utah would be ECON 2010
- Introductory Macroeconomics* - A sample course at The University of Utah would be ECON 2020
- Introductory Statistics (basic or applied) - A sample course at the University of Utah would be MATH 1070, MATH 1040
Option Two: Applicants may enroll in PUBPL 6000: Application of Economic Principles & Public Policy Statistics for the summer semester before their official start date.
This online course allows you to begin your graduate program sooner. You can also earn graduate elective credit as you fulfill your prerequisites and refresh your knowledge of economics and applied statistics. Additionally, this will lighten your future course load (this class counts as one of your six electives).
If you plan to take this course, select summer as the semester you are applying to (even though your first full semester of coursework will be in the fall). This class can be counted as a part of your graduate course of study and therefore is eligible for federal loans and qualifying grants (such as G.I.). This is unlike non-matriculated undergraduate prerequisite courses, which are not.
This class is also the first in the series for the online graduate certificate in public policy, which can be earned alongside the MIAGE degree.
Course description: PUBPL 6000: Application of Economic Principles & Public Policy Statistics provides a staged learning process and equips students with the fundamentals of microeconomic theory and applied statistics related to public policy issues and processes. The purpose of the course is to provide the foundational knowledge needed for subsequent public policy courses.