How to Apply to Economics at TCU: Economics Sits in the AddRan College of Liberal Arts With BA, BS, International Economics and Economics & Mathematics Degrees, Applicants Apply to the University With No Special Admission Requirement, for U.S., International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Texas Christian University (TCU) is in Fort Worth, Texas. Economics is taught by the Department of Economics in the AddRan College of Liberal Arts; business administration is in the Neeley School of Business and has its own guide on this site. TCU’s program pages say there are no special admission requirements for these economics programs, and you apply to the university rather than a college. This guide sets out what TCU’s pages say for fall 2027 entry for U.S. applicants, international applicants (including those from China) and transfer students.

1. What the programs are

• BA in Economics: 30 semester hours of economics, 24 of them at the 30000 level or above, at least six hours of associated requirements (calculus and statistics), and a passing score in the Excel portion of the Microsoft Office certification. A C- or better is needed in each course that counts. A minor is required.
• BS in Economics: also 30 hours of economics (24 upper level), but the foundation adds econometrics and has fewer electives; besides calculus and statistics, you choose one of four options: Mathematics (7–8 hours), Accounting (6), Business (3 accounting plus 3 finance) or Geographic Information Systems (6). A minor is required.
• BS in International Economics: 30 hours of economics plus at least 18 hours of associated requirements, fourth-semester foreign-language proficiency and the Excel certification. The core is International Trade and Payments and International Monetary Economics; associated courses include World Regional Geography, international or comparative politics, and 6 hours of international or intercultural studies. A minor is required.
• BS in Economics & Mathematics: 30 hours of economics (3 of them data-driven electives), 31 hours of mathematics and 3 hours of computer science (such as Introduction to Python for Data Analytics), plus the Excel certification. No minor is required, and a C- is also needed in any prerequisite for an economics course.
• Minors: the economics minor is 18 hours with at least 12 at the advanced level; the international economics minor is 18 hours with at least 12 advanced and at least nine in international economics courses, and is not available to economics majors.
• Minor choices: the department says any AddRan-approved minor works, a mathematics minor is recommended for anyone heading to graduate school in economics, and with approval from the department chair and the Neeley associate dean, economics majors may minor in finance or accounting.
• Honors: the economics program page links the John V. Roach Honors College, which says undergraduates of every major may apply; TCU also lists an Early Masters Program.
• STEM designation: the economics pages read do not say; ask admission (frogworld@tcu.edu).

2. How admission works: apply to TCU, with no major bar

• You apply to the university: first-year students use the TCU App, Common App, Coalition App or ApplyTexas, all read equally. The program pages say there are no special admission requirements. Whether the application asks for an intended major or college is not stated on the pages read; ask admission.
• Entering the major: the economics pages give no GPA threshold, cap, or required courses before declaring; they only give the course requirements and the C- rule. The declaration procedure is not published; contact the department or your adviser.
• Advising: contact your economics faculty adviser; you can find the name in my.tcu.edu under Student Center.
• Internal transfer: the department pages read give no separate conditions for moving into economics.

3. Prerequisites and course sequence

• High school preparation: TCU’s first-year application page lists materials but no required number of years of math and no major-specific math requirement; this is not published there.
• Economics foundation: any 1000-level economics course; Intermediate Microeconomics (30223, or the mathematical version 31223); Intermediate Macroeconomics (30233); Contending Perspectives in Economics (30243). The BA is 12 hours of foundation and 18 of electives; the BS adds Econometrics (40313) or Time Series Econometrics (40323), for 15 foundation and 15 elective hours.
• Elective examples: Development Theory, History of Economic Thought, Asian Economics, Economics of the European Union, Regional and Urban Economics, Financial History, Health Economics, Resource and Energy Economics, Economic Geography, Public Choice, Industrial Organization, Game Theory, Labor Economics, Public Finance, Economics of Financial Markets, International Trade and Payments, International Monetary Economics, U.S. Economic History, Law and Economics, Economics of Race, Ethnicity and Gender, and Perspectives in Macroeconomics. The full list is on the department page.
• Math and statistics (BA and BS): Applied Calculus (MATH 10283, 3 hours) or Calculus I (MATH 10524, 4 hours); and Statistical Analysis (INSC 20153), Elementary Statistics (MATH 10043) or Statistics (MATH 30853). The department notes that MATH 10283 does not serve as a prerequisite for upper-level math courses.
• Economics & Mathematics: Calculus I, II and III, Discrete Mathematics I, Linear Algebra and Statistics (22 hours), plus 9 hours of math electives (mathematical proof, differential equations, probability, numerical analysis, regression and time series, real analysis and others). Students interested in an economics PhD are encouraged to take mathematical proof and real analysis.
• Excel certification: required for all of these majors.
• Math placement: the pages read do not describe a placement exam; this is not published there.

4. AP, IB and CLEP credit

• AP: Macroeconomics 4 gives ECON 10233 Introductory Macroeconomics (3 hours); Microeconomics 4 gives ECON 10223 Introductory Microeconomics (3). Calculus AB 3 gives MATH 10283 Applied Calculus, and 4 or 5 gives MATH 10524 Calculus I (4); Calculus BC 3 or 4 gives Calculus I and 5 gives Calculus I and II (8 hours); Statistics 3, 4 or 5 gives MATH 10043 Elementary Statistics.
• IB: Economics Higher Level 5, 6 or 7 gives ECON 10223; Standard Level 5, 6 or 7 gives ECON 10233.
• CLEP: Principles of Macroeconomics and Principles of Microeconomics, both at 55, give ECON 10233 and ECON 10223.
• General rules: credit by exam may be awarded only in the first 66 semester hours of college credit; it carries no grade and does not count toward honors; credit will not be granted in a lower-level course once credit has been awarded in a more advanced one; an official score report is required. Whether these introductory courses count as the “any 1000-level economics course” is not stated; ask the department or an adviser.

5. Rounds, deadlines and materials (fall 2027 entry)

• Early Action (non-binding): November 1, decision by January 1, reply by May 1.
• Early Decision I (binding): November 1, decision by January 1, commit by January 15; the Early Decision Agreement is required.
• Regular Decision: February 1, decision by April 1; apply by February 1 if you want senior fall grades considered.
• Early Decision II (binding): February 1, decision by March 1, commit by March 15.
• Materials: a US$50 fee (waived for first-generation applicants, students with an ACT/College Board waiver, students in the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program, and applicants affected by a recent natural disaster); an official high school transcript sent by the school; the essay; counselor and teacher recommendations submitted by school officials; and English proficiency for international applicants.
• Essay: the first-year page says 250–650 words; the Chinese-language guide says 300–500 words. Both are given here; follow the current first-year page.
• Testing: optional; TCU is test-optional through 2028, with a “do no harm” policy that excludes any submitted score that would hurt your chances for admission or scholarship. TCU reports that the middle 50% of students entering in fall 2026 scored 1310–1460 on the SAT and 29–33 on the ACT. Codes: College Board 6820, ACT 4206.
• Chancellor’s Scholarship and Honors: to be considered for the Chancellor’s Scholarship, apply to TCU by November 1 and to the John V. Roach Honors College by November 15; the Honors application is due November 15 or February 15.

6. By reader

U.S. applicants

• Follow the process above; ApplyTexas is also accepted. TCU is private, and the cost page lists a single tuition figure with no in-state or out-of-state distinction and no stated local preference.
• Testing is optional. First-year academic scholarships are considered automatically: Chancellor’s (full tuition), Dean’s (US$32,000 a year), Faculty ($30,000), TCU ($27,000), Founders’ ($17,000) and Purple and White ($12,000), each for up to eight semesters. TCU reports a middle-50% GPA of 3.8–3.98 among 2026 recipients, and says scores are not considered for scholarships for test-optional applicants.
• For aid, you can file the FAFSA and CSS Profile.

International applicants

• English: the Chinese-language guide says non-native speakers need one of TOEFL 80 or above, IELTS 6.5 or above, Duolingo 110 or above, or at least three years at an English-medium high school.
• Finances: TCU is need-aware for international applicants, and says those who can contribute at least US$40,000 a year are the most competitive. Applicants seeking need-based aid must submit the CSS Profile (TCU code 6820) and will not receive a decision until it arrives. Applicants who need a visa must submit a TCU Financial Statement signed by the applicant and sponsor, with letters from the sponsor’s employer and bank showing funds for the full year and for following years; with a non-refundable enrollment fee, it is required before an I-20 is issued.
• Credential evaluation: the pages read give no specific procedure; transcripts must come from the school directly.
• International aid: academic scholarships are reviewed automatically; need-based aid ranges from US$2,000 to $41,570 a year. The same page says students with less than US$21,000 a year in personal resources will not be admitted, that TCU does not offer “full funding”, that the average package is about $25,000 and the maximum $51,570. That page still shows a 2020-21 cost of attendance of $72,080, so rely on the current cost estimate.
• Work: up to 20 hours a week on campus; off-campus work is not permitted on F-1 or J-1 visas.

Applicants from China

• TCU has a Chinese-language guide listing the essay, transcript, testing, fee, English and recommendation requirements (as above, with a different essay length; see section 5).
• Gaokao: that guide does not say how gaokao results or school-exam materials are used or verified; this is not published there. Contact international admission (frogworld@tcu.edu).
• AP and IB economics and calculus results can earn credit (section 4).

7. Costs (2026-27)

• International direct costs: tuition US$66,520 (12–18 hours per semester), Student Government Association fee $90, housing and food $18,780 (typical first-year housing $12,080 and a basic meal plan $6,700), health insurance $2,846 and books $700, about US$88,936 in total; indirect costs include about $1,374 travel, $2,278 personal expenses and $68 loan fees.
• Other direct totals: on campus $86,090, off campus $85,410 and living with a parent $70,940. The page is titled 2025-2026 but its figures are labeled 2026–2027, and the travel figure appears as $1,374 in some tables and $844 in another; use the current cost estimate.
• No separate college surcharge for economics appears on the pages read.

8. Internships and research

• The economics department site has career resources and student organizations pages; the specific programs are not described on the pages read.
• TCU’s international students page says about 40% of students take part in research or study abroad, 96% of graduates are employed or continuing their education within six months, most students complete at least one internship, and alumni get free career services for life. These are university-wide figures, not economics-specific.
• The economics program page lists alumni destinations in finance, consulting, law and international affairs.

9. Transfer

• Basics: 12 transferable credits from a regionally accredited college in a long semester after high school, and a transfer GPA of 2.7 or higher (some majors require more). The economics program page says there are no special admission requirements.
• Materials: the TCU App or Common App; a US$50 fee; official transcripts from every college; a high school transcript showing graduation date (or official GED documentation); a 300–500-word essay; and a disciplinary standing form from colleges attended in the last five years.
• Deadlines: fall Early Action February 1; U.S. fall final June 1; summer and fall international final April 15, with decisions by June 1; spring international October 1 and spring U.S. November 1.
• International transfers: TOEFL 80 or IELTS 6.5, which may be waived with strong SAT/ACT scores or 24 transferable credits including English composition from a U.S. college; and the TCU Financial Statement.
• Credit: TCU offers a Transfer Credit Calculator. No economics-specific transfer conditions are published on the pages read; compare your courses with the math, statistics and introductory economics requirements above.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Apply to TCU by November 1 (EA, ED I) or February 1 (RD, ED II); US$50 fee
• Essay, transcript, teacher and counselor recommendations; testing optional
• After enrolling, take intermediate micro and macro, Contending Perspectives, calculus and statistics with a C- or better, and pass the Excel certification

International applicants:

• TOEFL 80, IELTS 6.5, Duolingo 110, or three years at an English-medium high school
• File the CSS Profile by February 1 if you need aid; prepare the TCU Financial Statement

Applicants from China:

• Read TCU’s Chinese-language guide; ask international admission how gaokao results are used
• AP and IB economics and calculus results can earn credit

Transfer applicants:

• At least 12 transferable credits and a 2.7 GPA; international applicants apply by April 15 for fall

Sources: Texas Christian University, Economics program; Economics & Mathematics program; International Economics program; Department of Economics: majors and minors; Department of Economics: advising; First-year application and deadlines; Testing policy; AP/IB/CLEP credit; Chinese-language guide; International students; Cost estimate; First-year scholarships; International scholarships and aid; Transfer application; Transfer requirements. The deadline pages do not print a year; confirm on TCU’s site that they are for fall 2027 entry.