School of Economics

The requirements a student must fulfill in order to obtain a doctoral degree are:

1. Pass the written preliminary exams: one exam for each first-year cluster.
2. Pass the second written preliminary exams: approved second- and third-year papers.
3. Pass the first oral examination: dissertation proposal defense.
4. Pass the final oral examination: dissertation defense.
5. Teach two undergraduate courses.

In order to continue in the program beyond the first year, a student must pass the preliminary examinations in Microeconomic Theory, Technological Innovation and Quantitative Methods in the summer following the first year. The contents of exams are the materials covered in the first year core courses. A student who fails an exam in June has the opportunity to retake the exam in August.

Besides the second-year-paper requirement, students must also fulfill the third-year-paper requirement. The third year paper is due in mid-March and should follow the structure of a journal article, describing why the topic is important, the relevant literature, the analysis, and a set of results. The expectation is that the third year paper represents a substantial improvement relative to the second year paper in terms of quality.

Every student must pass two oral examinations. The first is a dissertation proposal defense. This oral examination covers the breadth of the student’s main field of research, involving extensive questioning on the topic of the student’s dissertation proposal and related research. The second is the dissertation defense itself. The format of this second oral examination is the same as the first.

Every student must also teach two undergraduate courses. This is an integral component of Economics Ph.D. programs in the US. This teaching experience enhances the opportunities of students seeking teaching and research careers in academia.