Mar 28, 2024  
School of Graduate Studies Calendar, 2017-2018 
    
School of Graduate Studies Calendar, 2017-2018 [-ARCHIVED CALENDAR-]

Economics, Ph.D


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Admission


The minimum standard for admission to the Ph.D. program is a Master’s degree from a recognized university, with a B+ average. Admission is competitive: not all applicants who meet the minimum standard will be offered admission.

Requirements


There are three phases of  doctoral studies:

Phase 1


The first is passing the comprehensive exams in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. Students must complete the following courses:

Additional Information


ECON 761   may be waived if equivalent work has already been completed by the student at another university. A student’s claim to have completed equivalent work will be tested by examination at the beginning of the academic year.

Phase 2


The second phase is passing the comprehensive exams in two areas of specialization. Certain courses, selected at the discretion of the field examination committee, must be completed before attempting these exams. The areas of specialization, and typical course requirement for each of them, are:

Phase 3


The third phase is the thesis. A student may choose to take additional courses at this stage if the courses are germane to the student’s proposed research. Up to four half courses may be taken outside of the department with the approval of the Graduate Chair. A student at this stage is required to complete the following seminar courses. Doctoral students typically take a total of 12-14 graduate courses at this university.

Co-op Option in the Ph.D. Degree


Students in the Ph.D. program who have successfully completed the comprehensive examinations may apply for the co-op option associated with this degree program. The number of students who will be accepted will be small and will depend on available placements. To receive the Ph.D. co-op designation, the student must work a total of eight months in either one or two placements and successfully complete both ECON 796  Economics Co-op Work Term I and ECON 797  Economics Co-op Work Term II. A student may, however, chose to only work for four months in a co-op placement and successfully complete only ECON 796.


Students must register in ECON 796 for the first four months while working at a co-op placement and in ECON 797 for the second four months. Both of these courses are not for credit. Registration in these courses will be restricted to students who have a co-op placement that has been approved by the student’s supervisor and the Department. A placement must  include a significant research opportunity. At the completion of four months of a co-op placement, the student must write a report discussing the work undertaken in light of his/her academic studies and append a letter of evaluation by the employer. This report must be judged satisfactory by the student’s supervisor and the Department to successfully complete either ECON 796 or ECON 797. Successful completion of these courses will be indicated on the student’s transcript. In the event the report is judged unsatisfactory or the student does not complete the full four months of a co-op placement, the student’s transcript will indicate that either ECON 796 or ECON 797 was not completed.

While registered in either ECON 796 or ECON 797, a PhD student will be considered as a full-time student, but will pay discounted fees and the student’s term count will be rolled back at the end of the co-op placement(s).

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