You do not formally register for Economics 401 which is held prior to the start of the Fall Quarter. For the other courses you must register for a letter grade.

The Director of Graduate Studies may waive some of these courses for students who believe that they have already mastered the material. Before you do this, you should discuss this with your advisor and the instructor of the course. Bear in mind that you CANNOT "place out" of the associated Preliminary Examinations, which are based on the material covered in the core courses. For this reason, few students elect to skip any core courses.

Additional Math Training

Registering for Economics 410, 411 and 480 each quarter is sufficient for you to be regarded as a full time student. However, we recommend that students who have not taken math through real analysis before entering Northwestern should serious consider taking an additional math course. For those who feel they need to take an additional course to improve their mathematical skills, the Department strongly recommends taking the Math Department's Real Analysis course (Math 321-1) as a fourth course in the fall quarter. This course is designed primarily for graduate students, and continues in the winter and spring quarters. This is a matter to discuss with your Advisor. Students with stronger mathematical backgrounds might consider the graduate level Introduction to Modern Analysis (Math 412-1). Some students have found that the optimization classes in the Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences Department (such as MECS 460-1) are useful. You can elect to take these courses using the pass/no credit (P/N) option, providing the course allows this option.

Written Preliminary Examinations

The written preliminary examinations are held at the end of June of the student's first year, and again for those who must retake parts of it, either just before or just after Labor Day prior to the start of the second year. Students must pass each part of the examination to continue in the Ph.D. program. Results from the June siting are announced by August 1st, and the September siting before the start of the Fall Quarter.

There are three parts to the written preliminary exams, one each in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics.

For the purposes of the Ph.D. degree, three grades are possible on each part of the written preliminary examination: (1) Pass with Distinction, (2) Pass, and (3) Fail. A student must Pass each one in order to continue in the Ph.D. program. A fourth grade, an "M.A. Pass," is also obtainable; it is sufficient for a Masters Degree if the Economics 410, 411 and 480 sequences have been completed with a B average, but it is not sufficient for staying in the Ph.D. program.

The Department has a formal policy on the number of times you can take the preliminary examinations, and the conditions under which you can do so.

If you have an especially strong background in one or more subjects and old examinations (available in the Graduate Secretary's Office) look easy, coinsider taking one or more exams immediately on your arrival. The examinations are scheduled immediately prior to or just after Labor Day. Just sign up in the Graduate Secretary's Office. Taking a preliminary examination immediately on arrival does not affect how many times you may take the examinations later on.

Language Requirement

The primary source of funding for graduate students in the second through fifth years is as a Teaching Assistant (TA). The University requires that foreign students from countries where English is not the native language must achieve a score of at least 26 on the speaking section of the internet-based TOEFL exam or at least 50 on the Test of Spoken English (TSE) to be eligible to be a Teaching Assistant. This is a rigid Graduate School requirement, beyond the Department's control. The Department has a policy of not asking for waivers of this requirement, neither will it support students requesting alternative forms of testing. Otherwise qualified students have been denied funding in the past because they have not passed the language requirement. If required, take the test early and often. Leaving it until next summer is not a good idea. Indeed if the Department has not received notification of a TSE or TOEFL pass by July 31, at the end of the first year, the student will probably not receive departmental funding for any part of the second year.

Even students who are expecting to receive outside funding in their second year (for example, from a foreign government) are advised to meet the TOEFL or TSE requirement as soon as possible during the first year. Outside funding rarely lasts for a student's full career at Northwestern, and passing the TSE is a prerequisite for asking for Departmental financial aid in future years.

Policy on Written Qualifying Examinations

There are three parts to the written preliminary examination, one each on microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometric theory. A student must pass each one in order to continue in the Ph.D. program. It is not necessary to pass all three examinations at the same sitting. Students can retake any parts of the examination that they failed at an earlier sitting without needing to retake any parts that they had previously passed. This policy statement deals with the rules on how many attempts are permitted.

Exam "attempts" occur sequentially, beginning with the June sitting following a student's first year. Each time the exams are offered counts as an attempt for that student, whether she or he sits for the exam or not. The taking of academic leave of absence does not alter this requirement. However, an entering first year student with a strong background may take part(s) of the exam in the September before their first year without having it count as an "attempt" under these guidelines.

Second Attempt (September at start of second year)

All students will be allowed to make a second attempt at parts of the exam at the September sitting before the start of their second year from the date of entry into the program regardless of their performance in the June examinations.

Third Attempt (June at end of second year)

Students will be allowed to make a third attempt at parts of the exam in the June at the end of their second year from the date of entry into the program if:

• EITHER, a total of two exams had been passed as a result of their first two attempts
• OR, they achieved "good grades" during their first year. For purposes of this policy (and consistent with our funding guidelines) the term "good grades" refers to a first year record with no grade of B- or below in any of the core sequences.

Fourth Attempt (September at start of third year)

Students will be allowed to make a fourth attempt at parts of the exam in the September before the start of their third year from date of entry into the program only if a total of two exams have been passed as a result of their first three attempts, AND they have completed at least one approved Economics 501 paper by the July 31st deadline.

Fifth Attempts

Fifth attempts (at the end of the third year from date of entry into the program) will not be permitted.

Exceptions

Exceptions to these rules will be granted only upon petition to the Economics Faculty, followed by an approval vote of 2/3 of those present and voting.

Implications

An implication of these provisions is that:

• to enter the second year (from date of entry into the program), students must have passed at least two parts of the exam or earned "good grades.".
• to enter the third year (from date of entry into the program), students must have passed all parts of the written qualifying examination.
• students will only be permitted to take academic leave of absence if they have met these criteria. In addition students taking leave of absence in their second year, who have yet to pass all three parts of the exam, must return the following summer to attempt their remaining preliminary examinations.