Doctor of Philosophy in Economics

The Ph.D. program in economics trains students in theoretical and empirical skills, and exposes them to a broad range of policy issues to prepare them for careers in academia, business or government. The small size of the program, approximately ten new Ph.D. students each year working with twenty one full-time faculty members, promotes close collaboration between faculty and students.

We have a diverse group of faculty and students coming from over twenty countries from around the world. The Department welcomes students from all countries.

Students in the program can draw on faculty expertise from most areas in economics, including: international economics, population economics, labor economics, economics history, health economics, experimental economics, microeconomics, econometrics, macroeconomics, economic development, public economics, and environmental and resource economics.

Note: Effective Fall 2020, the following is the new requirements. Students who were admitted prior to Fall 2020 must choose the new requirements or the old ones: see the old requirements. Students who satisfy all prerequisites and who follow a prescribed schedule can finish the program in five years.

The Ph.D. in economics requires successful completion of:

Seven core courses,
Qualifying examinations in microeconomic theory and macroeconomic theory,
In addition to the core courses, seven 600-level and 700-level courses in economics
One course in Methods/Theory,
Two fields, each consisting of two courses,
Two elective courses if Methods/Theory is elected as a field, one elective course otherwise,
Econ 730
A third-year research paper,
An oral comprehensive exam, and the defense of the dissertation proposal,
A final oral exam, including defense of the final dissertation,and
Submission of the final dissertation manuscript to Graduate Division.

Completed Online Application.
Application fee. The application fee cannot be waived.
Official copies of transcripts directly from the registrar of each post-secondary institution attended. Transcripts in a language other than English must be accompanied by certified English translations.
Official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores for Ph.D. applicants. GRE scores are required by the Economics Department only for Ph.D. applicants. Applicants should take the general test. The subject test is optional.
The minimum scores are 500 (PBT) and 61 (iBT).
IELTS, the minimum score is 6.00 for the overall band test results.
A master's degree with a GPA of 3.0 or better