Doctor of Philosophy Program Components
The Ph.D. program in the Department of Economics at Western 麻豆传媒应用 University requires the completion of 75 credit hours. This includes 12 credit hours of doctoral dissertation.
Core requirements
You will be required to take a core of nine courses: four theory courses and five courses in quantitative economics. Seven of these courses are taken during your first year:
- ECON 5040鈥揗athematics for Economists (three credit hours)
- ECON 6190鈥揑ntroduction to Econometrics (three credit hours)
- ECON 6220鈥揈conomic Statistics (three credit hours)
- ECON 6650鈥揗icroeconomic Theory I (three credit hours)
- ECON 6660鈥揗icroeconomic Theory II (three credit hours)
- ECON 6750鈥揗acroeconomic Theory I (three credit hours)
- ECON 6760鈥揗acroeconomic Theory II (three credit hours)
- ECON 6700鈥揂dvanced Econometrics I (three credit hours)
Comprehensive examinations
After completing the first-year courses, you must pass comprehensive examinations in microeconomic theory and macroeconomic theory. You are given two opportunities to pass each examination. The first attempt is given in early July following your first year in the program. If you do not pass one or both of the exams, you must retake the examination(s) in late August. Students who have not passed both examinations by the start of the second year will be dismissed from the program.
Field requirements
You will be required to specialize in two of the following fields:
- Economic development
- Human resource economics
- International economics
- Monetary economics
Field qualifying examinations
To specialize in a particular area, take a sequence of two courses. You are required to pass a field qualifying examination in each specialization. You are given two opportunities to pass each examination. The first attempt is given in early July following your second year in the program. If you do not pass the exam, you must retake the examination(s) in late August. If you do not pass both of the field examinations by the start of the third year, you will be dismissed from the program.
Second-year curricula
Your second-year curricula is composed of four field courses plus:
- ECON 6700鈥揂dvanced Econometrics I (three credit hours)
- ECON 6710鈥揂dvanced Econometrics II (three credit hours)
- ECON 6990鈥揥orkshop (three credit hours)
Workshops, the internship and the dissertation
During your third and fourth years, you will devote your time to workshops, your dissertation and, in some cases, an internship.
Workshops
You are required to participate in workshops designed to deepen your understanding of theoretical and empirical economics by giving you the opportunity to discuss the research being conducted by the department's faculty and graduate students. These workshops teach students how to construct and execute a research project, to familiarize them with a great variety of applied economic research and to bridge economic theory and applied economic analysis. Because a workshop is intended as a forum for presenting ongoing and recently completed research, the faculty member in charge of the workshop facilitates a seminar-type discussion based on the presenter's work. Presenters include the students in the class, other Ph.D. students, and faculty involved in applied research. Students have the opportunity to become familiar with a great variety of applied economic research and make comparisons to their own projects.
Internships
In the third year, you may intern at a non-academic organization such as a state, county and local government agency; consulting or research firm; financial institution; business; and health care organization. You will be required to carry out an extensive analysis of a real-world economic problem and to prepare a report on the solution to that problem. The internship comes after you have completed your core courses in economic theory and methods and field courses, which contain a mixture of theory and applications. The internship provides you an opportunity to put what you have learned into practice and to gain practical experience. You work under the close scrutiny of a faculty advisor who approves the topic and provides primary supervision. Supervision is also provided by one or more individuals at the sponsoring organization. Internships will normally be within commuting distance of the University. Interns are typically unpaid and are expected to work approximately 20 hours per week on the internship project. Advisors and students are matched on the basis of mutual interest in the internship project.
An additional field may be taken in place of the internship; there is no qualifying examination over the additional field.
Dissertation
An original doctoral dissertation is the culminating experience for each student and is typically written during the third and fourth years in the program and is required in accordance with the Graduate College's regulations and the regulations established by the department.
Dissertations:
- Are based on economic theory
- Employ modern econometric methodology
- Focus on solving real-world problems
The defense of the dissertation will take the form of an oral examination that conforms to University policy. A satisfactory oral defense of the dissertation completes all the requirements of the Ph.D. degree.
Questions?
Contact Dr. Christine Moser, director of graduate programs, for more information.