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Programs

Department of Economics

The Department of Economics offers a graduate education that focuses on developing students’ analytical and research capabilities. The blend of coursework, active seminars, research workshops, and informal faculty-student interactions has met with substantial historical success, demonstrated by the professional achievements of the program’s graduates and, more formally, by placement in the top 10 graduate programs, according to the rankings of effectiveness published by the National Academy of Sciences.

Information about faculty and research can be found on the Department of Economics website.

AdmissionsLink to section

Applying to Doctoral ProgramsLink to section

Applications to the PhD in Economics program comprise the following:

  • Online application
  • Application fee
  • Transcripts
  • GRE general test (required)
  • TOEFL or TOEFL iBT Home Edition (if applicable)
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Personal statement (no word limit, but at least a page long)

Proficiency in both oral and written English is required.

AcademicsLink to section

Doctoral Degrees and RequirementsLink to section

The department’s doctoral program requires at least three years of full-time study. The first two years are principally spent in required coursework, with students typically undertaking two to four additional years of on-campus dissertation research. This PhD training builds upon the opportunities for close working relationships between students and faculty that are possible within a small, integrated program. The aspect of the program is especially important during the thesis-writing phase, when students confront the frontiers of economic knowledge.

Each student then develops a field of specialization. Available fields are applied economics, econometrics, international economics, macroeconomics, and microeconomic theory. The student’s preparation is evaluated by a qualifying examination in each field of specialization. A distribution requirement, satisfied by taking a graduate course in two fields other than the fields of specialization, ensures breadth of knowledge.

All PhD candidates are required to do some supervised teaching as part of the degree requirements. Students do not teach in the first two years and are required to work as teaching assistants only in years three and four. Students can opt to also work as teaching assistants in years five and six. Advanced students sometimes have the opportunity to teach a course of their own.

Graduate Course TitlesLink to section

  • ECON 471. Modern Value Theory I
  • ECON 472. Modern Value Theory
  • ECON 475. Macroeconomics
  • ECON 476. Macroeconomics II
  • ECON 481. Introduction to Math Economics
  • ECON 482. Math Economics
  • ECON 483. Introduction to Math Statistics
  • ECON 484. Mathematical Statistics and Econometrics
  • ECON 485. Introduction to Econometrics I
  • ECON 486. Introduction to Econometrics II
  • ECON 487. Applied Econometrics
  • ECON 491. Master’s Readings in Economics
  • ECON 492. Mathematical Economics III
  • ECON 493. Master’s Essay
  • ECON 501. Seminar in Labor Economics
  • ECON 502. Discrete Choice Models
  • ECON 503. Labor Economics II
  • ECON 504. Topics in Applied Economics
  • ECON 507. Economic Theory Workshop
  • ECON 508. Theory Workshop II
  • ECON 511. International Trade I
  • ECON 512. International Trade II
  • ECON 513. International Economics I
  • ECON 521. Advanced Economic Theory I
  • ECON 524. Game Theory and Economic Mechanisms
  • ECON 526. Seminar in Game Theory and Economic Mechanisms II
  • ECON 530. Advanced Topics in Monetary and Financial Economics
  • ECON 531. Macroeconomic Workshop
  • ECON 532. Macroeconomics Workshop II
  • ECON 534. Topics in Macroeconomics I
  • ECON 535. Topics in Macroeconomics II
  • ECON 536. Topics in Macroeconomics III
  • ECON 541. Topics in Microeconometrics I
  • ECON 542. Topics in Microeconometrics II
  • ECON 543. Topics in Macroeconometrics I
  • ECON 544. Topics in Macroeconometrics II
  • ECON 547. Econometrics Workshop
  • ECON 548. Econometrics Workshop II
  • ECON 551. Applied Economics Workshop
  • ECON 552. Applied Workshop II
  • ECON 571. Readings in Macroeconomics
  • ECON 572. Theory Reading Group II
  • ECON 573. Readings Applied Economics
  • ECON 578. Readings in International Economics
  • ECON 588. Professional Economic Communication
  • ECON 591. PhD Readings in Economics
  • ECON 594. Research Internship
  • ECON 595. PhD Research in Economics
  • ECON 595A. PhD Research in Absentia
  • ECON 895. Continuation of Master’s Enrollment
  • ECON 897. Master’s Dissertation
  • ECON 899. Master’s Dissertation
  • ECON 985. Leave of Absence
  • ECON 986V. Full Time Visiting Student
  • ECON 990. Summer in Residence
  • ECON 995. Continuation of Doctoral Enrollment
  • ECON 997. Doctoral Dissertation
  • ECON 997A. Doctoral Dissertation in Absentia
  • ECON 999. Doctoral Dissertation
  • ECON 999A. Doctoral Dissertation in Absentia
  • ECON 999B. PhD in Absentia Abroad