Economics PhD

The doctoral program requires at least three years of fulltime study. Although the program has been completed in three years, most students remain in the program for four or five years.The basic coursework is usually completed in the first two years. Independent research begins during the third year, when students work on their thirdyear paper project. The thirdyear paper is often the start of a dissertation. Dissertations can take many forms, but they commonly consist of three or more related papers. Students' coursework prepares them to begin frontier research in economic science. The firstyear courses provide the necessary theoretical and quantitative base. The secondyear courses build on this base in a number of specialized fields.