Applicants who wish to pursue graduate education in an Economics-based program at Northwestern University, either in the Kellogg School of Management or Department of Economics, are permitted to submit one application for a primary or first choice PhD program while requesting additional consideration for a second choice PhD program.
Applicants will only be considered for the second-choice program if they are not offered admission to their first-choice program.The Dual application is an expression of a secondary interest: it tells the primary department to forward such applications to the secondary department only after denying your application. By the time the secondary program receives dual applications, it considers such applications only on a space-available basis. Since fewer applicants are ultimately admitted this way, applicants should keep this in mind when choosing which program to list as primary and when deciding whether to file a dual application.
The application fee will increase from $95 to $175.
Applicants must enter at least one faculty member name from the secondary program who they are interested in working with into the Faculty section (names should be entered after listing names for the first-choice program).
Applicants should submit one Personal Statement which will be reviewed by your first and second-choice program and one Academic Statement which should include additional information regarding your second-choice program on the last page of the Academic Statement.
Depending on your program selections, certain requirements such as test scores and English language proficiency for admission, may vary by program. Be sure to review and understand each program’s requirements on their webpages to ensure they will be met. Selecting this option indicates you understand what materials and requirements are needed from each program selected.
Kellogg and the Department of Economics share the same deadline to apply of December 15, 2025. The deadline for the dual application is also December 15, 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please read the answers to these frequently asked questions before you contact our offices with any queries. If you still have remaining questions, please contact the Department of Economics at econphd@northwestern.edu or Kellogg at Kellogg-phd@kellogg.northwestern.edu.
Once you begin an application in ApplyWeb, you will select your first-choice program application. f the program you are applying to allows for dual applications, on the next page of the application, you will be asked if you want to apply to a second-choice program as an additional consideration. You should select your second-choice program here. If you are not interested in this option, leave it blank.
Accounting Information & Management (Kellogg)
Economics
Managerial Economics & Strategy (Kellogg)
Quantitative Marketing (Kellogg)
Yes, your application fee will be waived if you meet the TGS fee waiver requirements. You will answer questions in the application portal to determine eligibility for the fee waiver. Please do not contact the department for a fee waiver.
In this addition, you should highlight why they want to be considered for the second-choice program in Kellogg or Economics. Please do not resubmit or rewrite the same information included in your Academic Statement of Purpose.
No, please include this additional information after your Academic Statement of Purpose. It should be one file together consisting of your academic statement of purpose and additional information (1-2 pages).
All application material submitted will be reviewed by both programs if necessary.
No. If you select a program in Kellogg as your first choice, you must select Economics as your second-choice program.
No. If you no longer wish to be considered by your first choice program, you may request from that program that your application be denied. This will move your application to your second choice program for review. Once a decision is made by either or both programs, all decisions are final.
Your application will only be reviewed by both programs if an offer of admission is declined by your first-choice program. Please make sure to review the requirements for each program:
To ensure a full review, please include all requirements in your initial application. If you are denied admission to your first-choice program, your second-choice program may request any missing information from you directly to complete your application and review.
You should reach out to your first-choice program to get an initial update or if you would like to submit additional materials.
If you have already heard from your first-choice program that you were denied admission, you may reach out to your second-choice program at that time.
While admissions is rolling throughout the April 15th deadline, we hope to make initial decisions on first choice programs by late February. If you are denied admission to your first-choice program, you will receive a formal notification from The Graduate School highlighting that your application will now be reviewed by your second-choice program.