Admissions

Our program uses a self-managed online application process. Applicants are fully responsible for completing and submitting all materials by the deadline. 

Applications will be considered complete once all of the following requirements are met:

• Official transcripts of all academic work
   
• Evidence of degree (often, this is posted directly on the transcript)
   
• Three letters of recommendation (a maximum of five is permitted)
   
• GMAT or GRE scores from ETS (Educational Testing Service)
   
• TOEFL scores from ETS or Duolingo English Test scores (for students whose native language is not English)

All sections of the application form must be filled out completely. The application site will remain open until December 15, 2025.

A non-refundable application fee of $90 is required of applicants. You may pay this fee using a credit card on the online application site.

One transcript is required from each college or university attended, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, whether or not the applicant earned a degree.

For the application process, we only require scanned copies of transcripts, uploaded to your online application.

If you receive an offer of admission, you will then be asked to provide official transcripts. In all cases, the transcripts must be sealed and signed across the seal by the corresponding registrar's office, and the applicant must forward them, with the rest of the completed application materials, to the Tepper School of Business Doctoral Program office.

A minimum of three evaluation forms must be completed by individuals who are able to provide specific and relevant information about their intellectual ability, performance, maturity and motivation (maximum number of evaluations is five).

• Applicants who are currently students or who are recent graduates should submit at least one evaluation from an academic source.
   
• Those who have completed more than one year of full-time work should submit at least one evaluation from a supervisor.
   
• Recommendations from friends, family members, acquaintances and other sources not able to evaluate applicants on an academic or professional basis are unacceptable and will not be reviewed.

Evaluation forms and/or recommendation letters can be submitted in the following way:

Evaluators should use the electronic system to provide an evaluation. Once you input all required information for each of your evaluators, they will receive an email link with instructions on how to submit an evaluation on your behalf.

The Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required of all applicants. We do not waive this requirement for any reason. Test scores must be forwarded directly to the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon by Educational Testing Service (ETS). The Tepper School's institutional code is 2074.  For the GMAT, our program's code is 69H-XH-19.

If you took the test more than five years ago, you must take it again. To register for the GRE, you will need the GRE Department Code corresponding to your intended field of study. If you cannot find a department code corresponding to your intended field of study, please use 4399.

To have your GRE test scores sent to our Ph.D. program, you should use institutional code 2074.

Our program requires the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Duolingo English Test (DET), or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for ALL applicants whose native language is not English. This includes applicants who have completed degree programs in countries whose primary language is English, including the United States. If your native language is not English, we will ask for valid TOEFL, DET, or IELTS scores.

Applicants should take TOEFL no later than January for August admission in a given year.

All TOEFL scores must be forwarded to the Tepper School of Business by ETS.

When registering for TOEFL, applicants must use institutional code 2074. You will also need a TOEFL departmental code corresponding to your intended field of study. If you cannot find a department code corresponding to your intended field of study, please use 02 or 99. 

(Any questions for ETS about TOEFL should be directed to TOEFL/TSE Services, P.O. Box 6151, Princeton, NJ 08541-6151, USA).