To request applications materials or apply online, please go to the Graduate School Admissions web site. Please read Frequently Asked Questions. Any additional questions can be addressed to the Graduate Director.
INTRODUCTION
The Master's and PhD programs have different objectives. The MS program is designed to provide the training necessary for careers in government and business where original research is generally not the primary concern. The PhD program is designed to train economists capable of adding to the knowledge of economics, doing independent research, and teaching at college or university levels.
ADMISSION POLICIES
Applicants for graduate studies in Economics must meet the requirements for admission to the Graduate School and be accepted by the Department of Economics. In general, the minimum requirements are:
- A bachelor's degree from an accredited college with at least a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or a 3.0 G.P.A. for the last 60 hours of study.
- A score of at least 1,000 on the aptitude portion (verbal plus quantitative) of the Graduate Record Examination or equivalent GMAT.
- Satisfactory academic standing at the last institution attended. The above requirements are flexible. Applicants who have higher G.P.A.'s and lower G.R.E. scores or lower G.P.A.'s and higher G.R.E. scores will be considered for admission.
- Foreign students whose native language is not English must take TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). TOEFL scores must exceed 575 on the paper-based version or 232 on the computer-based version for admission into the Economics program.
In addition to the above requirements, we would like students to have completed undergraduate courses in calculus, statistics, and intermediate microeconomics and macroeconomics before entering the MS program. It would be preferable for students interested in pursuing the PhD degree to take at least a year of calculus, a linear algebra course, and probability and statistics.
Non-economics majors with strong academic records are encouraged to apply. It is likely that students who have not had many undergraduate courses in economics or have not had the courses indicated above can make them up in one semester, before taking the core program courses.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
All PhD students, both domestic and international, including entering graduate students, are eligible to apply for assistantships. These stipends range up to $14,600 per academic year, and a full tuition waiver is provided to all students receiving a full-time (20 hour/week) assistantship. Students holding research assistantships are expected to assist the faculty in their research and teaching for a maximum of 20 hours per week. Teaching assistantships are available to those advanced graduate students who have successfully passed the PhD qualifying exams. Graduate School Supplement Awards are available to outstanding graduate students entering the PhD program. These awards are $3,000 per year and are generally renewable for a maximum of four years. A minimum gpa of 3.0 is required to retain the award. Summer stipends for teaching or research have been available in the past and will be available in the future, but their number varies from summer to summer.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PHD PROGRAM
Students may first earn a MS degree and then enter the PhD program, or may immediately enter the doctoral program. The PhD in economics consists of a core of macro and micro theory and three fields of specialized study. The courses and sequencing are as follows:
1. Required Courses
- Year 1, Fall Semester (9 hours)
- Price Theory I (Economics 7700)
- Macroeconomics I (Economics 7710)
- Mathematics for Economists (Economics 7610)
- Year 1, Spring Semester (9 hours)
- Price Theory II (Economics 7720)
- Macroeconomics II (Economics 7715)
- Econometric Methods I (Economics 7630)
- Year 2, Fall Semester (9 hours)
- Advanced Micro Theory (Economics 7725)
- Macroeconomics III (Economics 7735)
- Econometric Methods II (Economics 7631)
- Year 2, Spring Semester (9 hours)
- Advanced Macroeconomics Field Course*
- Econometric Theory III (Economics 7632) or an Elective for students focusing on the Advanced Macroeconomics Field
*Advanced Macroeconomics fields include Economic Growth and International Macroeconomics (Economics 7070 and 7570) and Monetary Economics (Economics 7590 and 7595). The Advanced Macro field for each entering class will be determined by student preferences and by faculty availability and preferences.
**Advanced Micro courses are selected from Industrial Organization, Health Economics, International Trade, Public Finance, and Labor Economics. The courses making up the Applied Micro field for each entering class will be determined by student preferences and by faculty availability and preferences.
- Year 3, Fall Semester (9 hours)
- Dynamic Econometric Theory (Economics 7633) or an elective for students focusing on the Applied Micro Field
- Advanced Macroeconomics Field Course*
*Advanced Macroeconomics fields include Economic Growth and International Macroeconomics (Economics 7070 and 7570) and Monetary Economics (Economics 7590 and 7595). The Advanced Macro field for each entering class will be determined by student preferences and by faculty availability and preferences.
**Advanced Micro courses are selected from Industrial Organization, Health Economics, International Trade, Public Finance, and Labor Economics. The courses making up the Applied Micro field for each entering class will be determined by student preferences and by faculty availability and preferences.
- Year 3, Spring Semester (9 hours)
- Predissertation/Dissertation Research (9 hours)
2. PhD Qualifying Examination:
Qualifying examinations are required over microeconomics and macroeconomics. Students will take both qualifying exams at the start of their fourth semester. The exams will cover all micro and macro coursework taken, normally Micro I-III and Macro I-III, and will together constitute the General Exam required by the Graduate School.
A failing grade on an exam requires the student to take that exam a second time. A second exam will be given in June following the first attempt. Each exam can be taken no more than twice, and exams are given only twice a year.
The student must pass both micro and macro exams with superior performance for continuation in the PhD program. Performance on these exams may be adequate to grant the student a MS, but not admit the student into the PhD program. Performance may be so poor, however, that the student receives neither a MS nor is allowed to continue the PhD program.
3. Original Research Paper
Students are required to write an original research paper starting in the Spring semester of the 2nd year. They are required to complete it no later than the end of the Fall semester in their 3rd year. These papers will be presented in seminars by students and evaluated by the faculty during the Spring semester of the 3rd year, or earlier. Students failing to fulfill this requirement will not be guaranteed funding in the future. Moreover this requirement needs to be met by the end of the Fall semester of the 4th year in order to continue in the program.
4. Completion of 45 Hours
A total of 45 hours of coursework must be completed. These consist of the core macro and micro theory courses, the mathematical economics course, the econometrics courses, and the field courses.
5. Dissertation
A satisfactory doctoral dissertation must be presented by each candidate.
6. Final Examination
The final examination is an oral defense of the dissertation. Graduate School regulations require that the Final Exam cannot be held until at least one academic year has elapsed since the student was admitted to candidacy (i.e., passed the General Exams).
7. Other Requirements of the PhD Program.
-
Residence
The minimum residence requirement for the doctorate is three full years of graduate study following receipt of a Bachelor's degree. At least one of these years must follow the General Examination.>
- Time Limit
No less than one academic year must elapse between the passing of the General Examination and completion of all requirements for the PhD. In addition, the student must complete all PhD requirements within seven calendar years of being classified as a student in the doctoral program. If this time period is exceeded, the student must retake the General Exam (i.e. retake both the macro and micro qualifying exams), and this can be allowed only under the discretion of the Economics Graduate Committee.
8. Fields and Course Descriptions
Courses available for graduate students are in the General Catalog and Graduate Bulletin.
9. Minors in Economics
A Minor in economics requires the following 12 hours of coursework:
- ECON 7700,
- ECON 7710,
- any ECON 7000 elective, and
- any ECON 4000-level or above elective other than 4710 and 4720.
A minimum of a 3.0 average across these four courses is required. If the student fails to maintain a 3.0 average across these four, he or she has two options: 1. pass the MS Comprehensive Examination in Economics; 2. take ECON 4000-level courses other than 4710 and 4720 or take Econ 7000-level courses until the average in 4000-level or above Economics coursework is at least 3.0.
A second minor option is to obtain a Specialization in Econometrics. This requires earning a minimum of a 3.0 average in 4 courses from among:
- ECON 7610
- ECON 7630
- ECON 7631
- ECON 7632
- ECON 7633
|
