This page briefly describes the year-by-year progression of the PhD educational program. For more detailed information please explore all the information contained in our whole PhD site.
The Ph.D. program in economics has about 100 students in residence and an entering class size of about 20 to 25 each year.
First Year
Prior to the start of academic year, we offer an intensive three-week mathematics course. Starting in late August, this course provides the proper mathematical background for new graduate students. It addresses topics to which even math majors may not have been exposed
During their first year, students take three all-year sequences in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics. Qualifying examinations in each sequence are held in late June.
Some students with weaker mathematical backgrounds also elect to take additional courses in math. A popular choice has been undergraduate or graduate courses in real analysis.
A common question concerns attrition rates from the program. Of the 225 students who entered our program during the past decade, 6% left the program during the course of the first year, usually for personal rather than academic reasons. Another 10% left after failing some or all of the qualifying examinations held at the end of the first year.
Second Year
In their second and third years, students take advanced courses, in at least three different fields, and a course in economic history. Students must take at least two courses in each of their fields.
Within the economics department, advanced courses are offered in economic theory, information economics, monetary and macroeconomics, economic history, development economics, public finance, labor economics, industrial organization, international economics, and econometrics. Students may plan their programs to integrate their work in economics with study in other social sciences, managerial economics, mathematics, and statistics.
Some students start to work with faculty as research assistants. Graduate students enjoy close contact with faculty. By the second year, most graduate students have office space adjacent to faculty offices.
Third Year
In their third year students generally begin to reduce their course load, and concentrate on research During the year they present two research papers at a special graduate student seminar series. They also start to attend the regular departmental research seminars. The economics department and the Kellogg School of Management offer as many as 10 different joint seminars and workshops each week. Visiting speakers continually bring the frontier of economic research to economics seminars.
Students also prepare a proposal for their doctoral research work. Typically, students form a dissertation committee of faculty, and defend their thesis proposal by the end of their third year.
Fourth Year
In consultation with their dissertation committee, students are working full-time on their thesis. The goal is to prepare a completed thesis chapter that can be used as a "job market paper."
Fifth Year
The majority of our students complete their thesis by the end of their fifth year. During the fall quarter, students assist in preparing a job market packet containing their paper(s), vitae, and faculty reference letters. Following initial interviews at the American Economic Association annual meetings in early January, students visit universities and other employers during the winter quarter, and typically conclude their job search by the end of March.
Overall, about 70% of our entering students are awarded a Ph.D., with a typical time to completion of five to six years.
Faculty
A listing of the Department's regular faculty and their research interests, along with links to their individual home pages can be found at:
www.econ.northwestern.edu/people/index.html.
Northwestern's economics community extends far beyond the department's 45 professors. Economists are also faculty members in the J.L. Kellogg School of Management, which is located in the same building as the department, and in other schools. You can find a listing at:
www.econ.northwestern.edu/people/community.html.
Back to Prospective PhD's
