Course work

The program offers three fields of specialization: International Development Economics, Public Economics and Financial Economics. Each student must select two fields and complete a combination of at least sixteen courses and three semesters of dissertation research. The required course work consists of:

• Seven core courses
• Four field courses, comprised of two courses in each of the two chosen fields
• One course in Philosophy of Economics 
• Two courses of research workshop
• Participation in a teaching workshop
• At least two general electives
• At least three semesters of dissertation research.

A full-time course load is typically three courses per semester or enrollment in dissertation research (EC 901 or EC 999). Up to eight Ph.D. level courses can be transferred at the Graduate Program Director's discretion.

Qualifying exams

Upon successful completion of the core courses in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Econometrics, a student in good academic standing will be allowed to take a qualifying exam in each of the three areas. The qualifying exams will be given twice a year. Students must pass the qualifying exams in no more than two attempts in order to continue in the program. Both the course work and the qualifying exams must be completed within five years of enrollment.

Field requirements

After passing the qualifying exams, students will continue in the program by taking additional courses in their two fields of specialization. Upon completion of the two required courses in two fields, students in good academic standing are required to enroll in the Research Workshop I, EC 880, offered during the fall semester. Students are expected to identify a research paper topic in their fields of specialization during the summer prior to enrolling in EC 880 and must submit a two-page description of their topic by the second week of the semester in which they enroll in EC 880. As part of the EC 880 course, students are required to write a field research paper and to make a paper presentation by the end of the semester in which the course is taken. The final paper will normally be graded by two faculty members. The student must receive a grade of B or better on the paper to pass the field paper. Following completion of EC 880, students will enroll in Research Workshop II, EC 881, during the spring of their third year. Students will continue to work on their dissertation research, and discuss and present their research at the workshop.

Dissertation

Upon completion of all required course work and the field paper requirement, students in good academic standing may make a proposal defense, leading up to the defense of the dissertation. The proposal defense will be made under the supervision of a Committee consisting of one advisor from the Department of Economics and two other faculty members who will serve as readers. A minimum of two members of the Committee, including the advisor, must be from the Department of Economics. The student must defend the dissertation within a period of ten years after enrollment.

Time to completion

A typical full-time student can complete the degree in four to five years. If a student has not completed the dissertation after four full years (16 courses and at least three semesters of dissertation research), the student will enroll in EC 999, Ph.D.-Continuation, which will be assessed a fee of $300 per semester or up to $600 per year, for the duration of dissertation writing. EC 999 does not carry any academic credit.

Academic standing

To receive the degree, candidates must have a cumulative grade point average of B (3.0). In the Ph.D. program, should a student's semester grade point average fall below 3.0, the student is subject to an academic warning. If a Ph.D. student's semester grade point average falls below 3.0 for any two semesters or if the student receives two grades of C (including C+) or lower, the student is subject to dismissal from the program.

Master’s degree

A student who is in the Ph.D. program, and who is in good academic standing, may choose to exit the Ph.D. program and transfer credits earned towards a terminal Master’s degree (M.S.) in Economics. In this case, the student must complete a total of 10 economics courses at the 700 or 800 level. Three of the ten courses must cover macroeconomics (EC 710 or EC 810), microeconomics (EC 720 or EC 820) and econometrics (EC 750 or EC 850). If one of these three courses is completed at the 800 level, it may not be repeated at the 700 level. Continuing Ph.D. students in good academic standing may apply for the M.S. upon completion of their required course work.

Course List

Required courses

EC 800 Quantitative Foundations of Advanced Economic Analysis
EC 810 Macroeconomics I
EC 811 Macroeconomics II
EC 820 Microeconomics I
EC 821 Microeconomics II
EC 850 Econometrics I
EC 851 Econometrics II

EC 802 Teaching Workshop (1 credit)
EC 803 Philosophy of Economics
EC 880 Ph.D. Research Workshop I
EC 881 Ph.D. Research Workshop II 

General electives (select at least two courses)

EC 724  Cost Benefit Analysis and Impact Evaluation
EC 760 Applied Time Series Methods
EC 823 Economics of Regulation

International Development Economics Required Courses

EC 842 Transition/Development Economics
EC 830  International Trade Theory and Policy 

Public Economics Required Courses

EC 801 Public Choice
EC 825 Advanced Public Economics

Financial Economics Required Courses

EC 826 Financial Economics
EC 827 Empirical Financial Economics

Note:

• Field courses may be counted as electives for non-specializing students.
• Students may take up to two courses at the 700 level across their field and general elective courses.
• Students who have taken EC 855 may not take EC 760 as a general elective.