what is a phd in economics

Doctoral Program

The Ph.D. program is a full time program leading to a Doctoral Degree in Economics.  Students specialize in various fields within Economics by enrolling in field courses and attending field specific lunches and seminars.  Students gain economic breadth by taking additional distribution courses outside of their selected fields of interest.

General requirements

Students  are required to complete 1 quarter of teaching experience. Teaching experience includes teaching assistantships within the Economics department or another department .

University's residency requirement

135 units of full-tuition residency are required for PhD students. After that, a student should have completed all course work and must request Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status.

Department degree requirements and student checklist

1. core course requirement.

Required: Core Microeconomics (202-203-204) Core Macroeconomics (210-211-212) Econometrics (270-271-272).  The Business School graduate microeconomics class series may be substituted for the Econ Micro Core.  Students wishing to waive out of any of the first year core, based on previous coverage of at least 90% of the material,  must submit a waiver request to the DGS at least two weeks prior to the start of the quarter.  A separate waiver request must be submitted for each course you are requesting to waive.  The waiver request must include a transcript and a syllabus from the prior course(s) taken.  

2.  Field Requirements

Required:  Two of the Following Fields Chosen as Major Fields (click on link for specific field requirements).  Field sequences must be passed with an overall grade average of B or better.  Individual courses require a letter grade of B- or better to pass unless otherwise noted.

Research fields and field requirements :

• Behavioral & Experimental
• Development Economics
• Econometric Methods with Causal Inference
• Econometrics
• Economic History
• Environmental, Resource and Energy Economics
• Industrial Organization
• International Trade & Finance
• Labor Economics
• Market Design
• Microeconomic Theory
• Macroeconomics
• Political Economy
• Public Economics

3.  Distribution

Required:  Four other graduate-level courses must be completed. One of these must be from the area of economic history (unless that field has already been selected above). These courses must be distributed in such a way that at least two fields not selected above are represented.  Distribution courses must be passed with a grade of B or better.

4.  Field Seminars/Workshops

Required:  Three quarters of two different field seminars or six quarters of the same field seminar from the list below.   

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Ph.D. in Economics

The Ph.D. program at Berkeley is designed for students interested in pursuing advanced study and conducting original research in Economics. The Ph.D. degree is awarded in recognition of the recipient's qualifications as a general economist and of the ability to make scholarly contributions in fields of specialization. Additionally, the Economics Ph.D. program is residential, there is no remote enrollment option. 

In advancing to the Ph.D. degree, students pass through two major stages:

• Preparation for candidacy typically takes two to three years. During the first two semesters, students take courses to achieve competence in econometric methods, methods of economic history and fundamentals of microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. During the next two years, students prepare for examination in two fields of specialization of their choosing, prepare a dissertation prospectus, and take an oral examination. When these steps are completed, students are advanced to candidacy.
• Completion of a dissertation after advancing to candidacy typically takes one to two years. The dissertation must be based on original research and represent a significant contribution to the body of Economic knowledge.

The entire process takes approximately five to six years, although some students are able to complete the program in less time. Below is an overview of the program requirements by year and other pertinent information.

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PhD Program

Year after year, our top-ranked PhD program sets the standard for graduate economics training across the country. Graduate students work closely with our world-class faculty to develop their own research and prepare to make impactful contributions to the field.

Our doctoral program enrolls 20-24 full-time students each year and students complete their degree in five to six years. Students undertake core coursework in microeconomic theory, macroeconomics, and econometrics, and are expected to complete two major and two minor fields in economics. Beyond the classroom, doctoral students work in close collaboration with faculty to develop their research capabilities, gaining hands-on experience in both theoretical and empirical projects.

How to apply

Students are admitted to the program once per year for entry in the fall. The online application opens on September 15 and closes on December 15.

Meet our students

Our PhD graduates go on to teach in leading economics departments, business schools, and schools of public policy, or pursue influential careers with organizations and businesses around the world. 

• College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

Graduate Program

Department of Economics

Front Desk: Teaching Unit 2, Room 104 4104 Martin Luther King Blvd. Houston, Texas 77204-5019 Phone: (713) 743-3800 Fax: (713) 743-3798 Mailing Address: Department of Economics Teaching Unit 2, Room 104 4104 Martin Luther King Blvd. Houston, Texas 77204-5019

Please note the new application deadline for the Ph.D. program is January 15 .

Updated information about the GRE on the Admissions and FAQ pages.

Questions and Answers

What are the characteristics of students who have been admitted and funded, how many students are admitted each year, how many students receive funding each year, do you provide partial funding, if i do not receive funding initially, can i be funded later, how much is the stipend, the doctoral program in economics.

The Department of Economics offers a program leading to the Ph.D. degree in Economics designed to provide students rigorous training in economic theory and quantitative skills as well as an intensive exposure to several specialized areas of Economics. The Ph.D. training provides skills needed in academic, government, or business careers.

Graduate students in the University of Houston Department of Economics are subject to all regulations of the Graduate School and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The rules are found in the University of Houston Graduate Catalog, which can be found online at http://www.uh.edu/grad_catalog/. The requirements discussed below are additional requirements that apply to graduate students in economics.

The new doctoral student begins a year of intensive course work in microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, statistics, and econometrics. During the summer after the first year, the student is required to take the economic theory comprehensive exam. Upon receiving a grade of "superior" in both the micro and macro parts of the exam, the student becomes a candidate for the Ph.D. degree.

More about the program

• Frequently asked questions about graduate programs in Economics
• Graduate Economics course descriptions
• How to apply for a competitive fellowship

PhD in Economics

The PhD in Economics program offers a thorough grounding in the basic tools of economics, statistics, and mathematics through a series of core courses followed by a series of well-defined seminars that cover areas of specialization within economics.

In addition to gaining basic analytical tools, candidates learn to develop economic intuition into economic problems and acquire the necessary mind-set to teach and conduct independent research as a university professor.

The curriculum consists of four components: required courses, an independent research paper, a comprehensive exam, and a dissertation.

The PhD in Business Administration consists of a core sequence of classes in a variety of business fields, and an area of concentration consisting of a minimum of 18 hours of classes within a particular field.

The Economics concentration consists of two semesters of microeconomic theory, two semesters of econometrics, one semester of macroeconomic theory, and one semester of mathematical economics. Students will take an additional two-semester seminar sequence in an area of specialization within economics.

Course requirements

Students complete a program of study that leads to competency in three areas: quantitative methods, economics, and a subfield of specialization within economics. The requirements of the program of study are typically satisfied by completing 18 courses in the first two and a half years of the program. Required courses include seven courses in quantitative methods and econometrics, six in economics, and several electives. In some cases, coursework prior to entering the program may be substituted for required courses.

Research paper

Students are expected to engage in research early in the program. All students work at least part-time as research assistants during the first two years of the program. By the end of their second year, students are required to submit a research paper as part of the ECON 9099: Doctoral Special Topics in Economics seminar.

Comprehensive examination

Satisfactory performance on a written comprehensive examination marks the student's transition from coursework to full-time thesis research. The examination is intended to allow the student to demonstrate substantial knowledge of economics, econometrics and quantitative methods.

The candidate will have completed most course work, including all economics coursework, and submitted a satisfactory research paper prior to taking the comprehensive examination.

Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation is expected to be a substantial, significant and original contribution to knowledge. It is prepared under the guidance of a thesis committee of three or more faculty members (including one from outside the Economics department) selected by the candidate in consultation with his or her thesis advisor. Early in the process, the candidate submits a thesis proposal. The proposal is presented in a seminar to which the economics faculty and doctoral students are invited. The purpose of the presentation is to give the student an opportunity to hear the suggestions and comments of members of the UC economics community while the research plan is still fluid.

A thesis-defense seminar, open to the entire University of Cincinnati academic community, is held when the research is completed.

Required coursework

*Many prerequisite courses can be waived for students with master’s degrees in business disciplines.

Required introductory courses

• Introduction to Research and Teaching: taken the first semester in the program.
• Business Core: if you do not have an MBA degree or you have not satisfied the Basic Business Knowledge (BBK) requirements, you are required to become familiar with the basic body of knowledge (e.g, marketing, management, and accounting). Many of these courses can be waived if you have a master's degree in a business discipline.

Core quantitative methods (five courses)

• Probability Models (BANA 7031)
• Statistical Models (BANA 7041)
• Econometrics I and II (9010 and 9011)
• Mathematical Economics (9018)

Typical PhD electives (five courses)

• Forecasting/Time Series Analysis
• Asset Pricing Theory
• Foundations of Finance
• Corporate Finance Theory
• Real Estate Analysis
• SAS Programming
• Data Mining
• Financial Mathematics I and II
• Applied Probability and Stochastic Processes
• Linear Algebra

Economics seminars (six courses):

ECON 9019: Advanced Macroeconomic Theory

• Macroeconomic theory taught at the PhD level. Three credit hours.

ECON 9020: Advanced Microeconomic Theory I

• Microeconomic theory taught at the PhD level. This course introduces students to consumer theory, producer theory, industrial organization, game theory, risk and uncertainty, general equilibrium analysis and welfare economics. Three credit hours.

ECON 9021: Advanced Microeconomic Theory II

• Microeconomic theory taught at the PhD level. A continuation of ECON 9020. Three credit hours.

ECON 9022: Advanced Topics in Econometrics I

• Econometric theory taught at the PhD level. This course covers the theory of econometrics including coverage of the empirical methodologies used in testing and investigating economics topics, and empirical examinations of important economic issues. Three credit hours.

ECON 9030: Advanced Topics in Economics I

• This course introduces students to current economic research. Each topic will be addressed in three respects: 1) commonly used empirical methodologies; 2) main empirical findings; and, 3) the relation between empirical research and theory. Three credit hours.

ECON 9031: Advanced Topics in Economics II

• This course covers a series of selected research topics that are not currently addressed within the department's other semester-length courses. Representative topics that may be covered include urban and regional economics, labor economics, industrial organization, real estate economics, and public finance. Three credit hours.

ECON 9099: Doctoral Special Topics in Economics

• Most students take this course during their second year in the program. In this colloquium the student develops an independent, original research idea under the supervision of one or more faculty mentors. During the course the student carries out all the theoretical analysis and empirical tests required to convert their research question into an original paper. The colloquium culminates with the circulation of the finished research paper and a professional presentation of the research to the entire faculty. Three credit hours.

Names of Lindner faculty appear in bold . Names of Lindner PhD candidates are underlined .

Cornwall Gary J., Jeffrey A. Mills , Beau Sauley , and Huibin Weng . “Predictive Testing for Granger Causality via Posterior Simulation and Cross Validation.” Advances in Econometrics, forthcoming.

Jeffrey Strawn , Jeffrey Mills , Gary Cornwall , Sarah Mossman, Sara Varney, Brooks Keeshin, Paul Croakin,  (2018). Buspirone in Children and Adolescents with Anxiety:  A Review and Bayesian Analysis of Abandoned Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology , 2-9.

Chang, L.V ., Shah, A.N., Hoefgen, E.R., Auger, K.A., Weng, H ., Simmons, J.M., Shah, S.S., Beck, A.F. (2018), “The economic burden of lost earnings and non-medical expenses of pediatric hospitalizations”, Pediatrics, Volume 142, number 3.

Strawn, J. R., Mills, J. A ., Sauley, B. A ., & Welge, J. A.. (2018) "The impact of antidepressant dose and class on treatment response in pediatric anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis." Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 57.4: 235-244.

Jeffrey Strawn, Eric Dobson, Jeffrey Mills , Gary Cornwall , Dara Salosky, Boris Birmaher, Scott Compton, John Piacentini,  (2017). Placebo Response in Pediatric Anxiety Disorders:  Results from the Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study. Journal Adolescent and Child Psychopharmacology, 501-508.

Cornwall, Gary , and Olivier Parent ,  (2017). Embracing Heterogeneity:  The Spatial Autoregressive Mixture Model. Regional Science and Urban Economics , 148-161.

Cornwall, Gary , Changjoo Kim, and Olivier Parent (2017). “At the Frontier Between Local and Global Interactions in Regional Sciences.” Regional Research Frontiers-Vol. 2, pp. 141-149. Springer, 2017.

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Economic Analysis & Policy

Our doctoral program in the field of economic analysis and policy prepares students for research careers in economics. The program offers rigorous training and has several distinct advantages:

Low Student-to-Faculty Ratio

First, enrollment in the program is small. This encourages close faculty-student contact and allows students to become involved in research very early. Students work first as assistants on faculty research projects and, as their interests and skills develop, on their own research. Students often begin their publishing careers before completing their degrees.

Flexible and Innovative Program

Second, the program is flexible and innovative; students can draw on both the school’s and the university’s distinguished faculty. In addition to the faculty in the economics group at Stanford GSB and in the university’s economics department, students have access to faculty in political and behavioral sciences; accounting and finance; mathematics, statistics, and computer science; and many other disciplines.

A Top-Ranked School

Third, the program is part of a top-ranked professional school. This setting allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the actual processes of business decision-making and public policy formulation.

Preparation and Qualifications

Students who enroll in this program have a substantial background in economics and mathematics. They are expected to have, minimally, mathematical skills at the level of one year of advanced calculus and one course each in linear algebra, analysis, probability, optimization, and statistics.

The faculty selects students based on predicted performance in the program. Evidence of substantial background or ability in the use of mathematical reasoning and statistical methods is important. Most successful applicants had quantitative undergraduate majors in economics, mathematics, or related sciences.

In addition to evidence of ability and letters of recommendation, the faculty considers carefully the applicant’s statement of purpose for pursuing the PhD degree. The successful applicant usually has clearly defined career goals that are compatible with those of the program.

Acceptance into the program is extremely competitive. Admitted applicants compare very favorably with students enrolled in the top economics departments of major universities.

Economic Analysis & Policy Faculty

Mohammad akbarpour, claudia allende santa cruz, susan athey, lanier benkard, jeremy i. bulow, modibo khane camara, sebastian di tella, rebecca diamond, yossi feinberg, guido w. imbens, charles i. jones, jonathan levin, michael ostrovsky, garth saloner, yuliy sannikov, kathryn shaw, andrzej skrzypacz, paulo somaini, juan carlos suárez serrato, takuo sugaya, christopher tonetti, shoshana vasserman, ali yurukoglu, weijie zhong, emeriti faculty, alain c. enthoven, robert j. flanagan, david m. kreps, peter c. reiss, john roberts, a. michael spence, robert wilson, recent publications in economic analysis & policy, trading stocks builds financial confidence and compresses the gender gap, drivers of public procurement prices: evidence from pharmaceutical markets, redistributive allocation mechanisms, recent insights by stanford business, if/then: why research matters, at what point do we decide ai’s risks outweigh its promise, nine stories to get you through tax season, placement director.

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PhD in Economics

PhD students take 16 courses, roughly half of which are spent acquiring the core analytic tools of the profession (microeconomics, macroeconomics, and quantitative methods), with the balance spent applying those tools in particular fields of specialization. All PhD students must complete a doctoral dissertation (thesis).

The PhD in Economics is a STEM designated degree program.

View the complete PhD Rules here

Program Requirements

Doctoral students must complete a minimum of 16 semester courses (64 credits). They are required to successfully complete the core courses by the end of the first year.

Theory and Quantitative Core Requirements

These core courses must be passed by the end of the first year with a grade of at least B- in each course.

• EC 701 Advanced Microeconomics I (4 credits)
• EC 702 Advanced Macroeconomics I (4 credits)
• EC 703 Advanced Microeconomics II (4 credits)
• EC 704 Advanced Macroeconomics II (4 credits)
• EC 707 Advanced Statistics for Economists (4 credits)
• EC 708 Advanced Econometrics I (4 credits)

Students must also take EC 705 Mathematical Economics in the first semester, unless a waiver is granted, and EC 709 Advanced Econometrics II (4 credits) in the third semester.

In addition, students must pass a qualifying examination in both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Students have at most three opportunities to take the qualifying examinations; failing may result in termination from the PhD program.

Field Requirements

All students must pass 2 2-course fields, each with a minimum grade average of B.

In addition, students must take at least 2 other courses. The following fields are generally offered each year:

• Development
• Econometrics
• Economic Theory
• Empirical Finance
• Financial Econometrics
• Industrial Organization
• International Economics
• Labor Economics
• Money/Macroeconomics
• Public Economics

GPA Requirements

All courses must be passed with a grade of B– or higher. An overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 must be attained in all courses taken after enrollment in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

Time Requirement

The PhD program is designed so that a typical student can complete all requirements within 5 to 6 years. International students may be subject to additional restrictions imposed by the terms of their visas, as governed by the International Students & Scholars Office (ISSO).

Students are expected to meet the following milestones each year:

By the end of the 1st year:

• Finish and pass all core first-year courses, as well as EC 705 (unless exempted through placement exam).
• Sit for the first attempt at the micro and macro qualifying exams in June. The second attempt, if necessary, is in August.

By the end of the 2nd year:

• Pass EC 709, a required course in Advanced Econometrics.
• Continue and, if possible, complete remaining coursework, including a two-course sequence in each of two fields. A B average (3.0) is required in each of the field course sequence.
• Achieve an overall GPA of at least 3.0.
• If both qualifiers are not passed, the third and final attempt is in June of the second year.
• Each student must prepare a research paper during the second year and the following summer. By April 1 of the second year, the student must ask a faculty member to serve as an advisor on this paper; have this faculty member agree to serve in this manner; and inform the DGS of the topic of the paper and the advisor’s name. The paper is due in the third year as described below.

By the end of the 3rd year:

• Submit the second-year paper by October 1. By October 15, the faculty advisor must provide (i) a grade for the paper; and (ii) a brief written evaluation the paper. These documents will be sent to the DGS and the student. A student must receive a passing grade on the research paper.
• Complete all coursework with GPA of at least 3.0.
• Continue work on research for the dissertation.
• Attend and present at least annually in one of the research workshops until completion of all degree requirements.

Years 4, 5, and (if necessary) 6:

• Student carries out thesis research, defending the thesis no later than the end of the sixth year.

Dissertation

Under the supervision of two faculty advisers, a student prepares a dissertation proposal for presentation at a proposal seminar. If the proposal is approved, the student proceeds to research and write the dissertation. When the dissertation is completed, the student must defend it at a final oral examination. The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences requires that the dissertation be completed within seven years of initial enrollment in the program.

For more details, view the complete PhD Rules here and check out our past PhD Placements here .

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• Administration

The department of Economics at Harvard University is committed to seeking out and mentoring scholars who wish to pursue a rigorous and rewarding career in economic research. Our graduates are trailblazers in their fields and contribute to a diverse alumni community in both the academic and non-academic sectors. We invite you to learn more about the PhD program in Economics . Have questions about applying? Please thoroughly check the GSAS admission website before emailing us at: [email protected] . 

Harvard does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, national origin, political beliefs, veteran status, or disability unrelated to job or course of study requirements, and we actively  seek applicants  from historically underrepresented communities. We hope you’ll consider applying. Immigration status does not factor into decisions about admissions and financial aid. For more information, see  Undocumented at Harvard . 

Apply to Economics @Harvard

Application Requirements

• Completed online application form (Must be completed by December 1st)
• Statement of Purpose
• Transcripts for all college/university degrees and courses Self-reported transcripts are accepted for both all programs at the application stage. Applicants must upload copies of his/her transcripts to the online application system. Hard copy transcripts will only be required if admitted to a program, prior to enrollment.
• Current GRE scores
• TOEFL or IELTS scores (non-native English speakers see details below)
• Three letters of recommendation (at least one from an academic source). Recommendation letters must be submitted online through the online application system. 
• Application fee 
• Writing sample (at least 15 pages in length)

All applicants are required to take the  General Test of the Graduate Record Examination  (GRE). Test scores are valid for five years (scores must be from no earlier than January 5, 2019 for Fall 2024 admission). Applicants are, however, advised to take the exam no later than mid-November. There is no minimum test score requirement. A department code is not required for score submission. Institution Codes for PhD Programs GRE: 3451

Financial Aid

All admitted students are awarded a financial package which includes tuition, single-person health insurance, living stipend for the first two years, teaching and research assistant stipends and a completion fellowship in the final year of the program.

International Applications

Adequate command of spoken and written English is required for admission. Applicants whose native language is other than English and who do not hold a Bachelor's degree or its equivalent from an institution at which English is the language of instruction must submit  TOEFL  or IELTS scores.

TOEFL/IELTS scores are valid for two years. (scores must be from no earlier than January 5, 2022 for Fall 2024 admission). The committee prefers scores of at least 100 on the internet-based test.  Institution Codes for Toefl score reports PhD programs: 3451

Reapplicants

Applicants who applied last year are considered reapplicants. Those reapplying must submit a completely new application. The new application must include all required documents to be provided by the applicant - we will not re-use material previously submitted. These materials include an updated statement of purpose, transcripts, test score reports, updated letters of recommendation, the application fee, and any other supporting materials

Please note, Harvard University will accept no more than three applications from any one individual over the course of his/her lifetime.

Applying to more than one Program

Harvard has several PhD programs that may also be of interest to students considering applying to the PhD program in economics. These include Business Economics, Political Economy and Government, Public Policy, and Health Policy.  Many students in these programs have considerable overlap in their coursework with courses offered to PhD students in economics.   Many also have dissertation committees that include faculty members of the economics department. Please refer to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for applicable program deadlines.  (Deadlines have already passed for some programs this year but not for others.) We encourage those with interest in any of those programs to also apply to those programs. The economics department will make admissions decisions independently, so application to or admission to other programs will not adversely affect admissions decisions within the Economics department. If you opt to apply, please note, the Graduate School will not accept more than three applications from any individual during the course of his or her academic career. 

Economics Mentoring Program

Many students interested in an economics PhD experience disparate degrees of support in the application process. The Economics Mentoring Program (EMP, formerly known as AAMP) aims to mitigate these gaps by helping students from underrepresented groups connect with graduate student mentors in the economics PhD programs at Duke, Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. These mentors can provide:

• Advice on graduate school and fellowship applications, including questions about the application process and feedback on application materials.
• Information about economics research, life as a PhD student or in an academic career, for students who are deciding whether a PhD in economics is the right choice for them.

The EMP aims to increase the pipeline of diverse talent in economics PhD programs and welcomes participation from all groups underrepresented in economics, including but not limited to: Black, Hispanic-Latin, Native American, low-income, and LGBTQ+ students, women, students with disabilities, and students who are the first in their families to go to college. The EMP welcomes participation among students at various stages of their economics studies, including undergraduates and college graduates. The EMP is open to students who are curious about the academic economics experience and interested in figuring out if it’s right for them.

Interested participants should fill out the application linked below. We will accept applications until July 22, 2024. Mentorship will begin over the summer and continue through Fall 2024. Mentees who prefer to meet for a single “coffee chat” may indicate their preference on the form. We will do our best to match all interested applicants with a mentor; however, demand may exceed the availability of mentors.

Please note that the EMP is a volunteer-based, student-run program. This program is not considered part of the admissions process for the economics PhD at Duke, Harvard, MIT, or Stanford nor will any student's participation in the EMP be considered by the graduate admissions committee at any school.

Please direct any questions to [email protected] . To join the program, please click the link below to fill out the form. For more information, please visit our website here

Website link: www.economicsmentoringprogram.com

EMP Application Form Link: https://forms.gle/tWvNRXRJQWEHhFn16

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The complete guide to getting into an economics PhD program

Back in May, Noah wrote about the amazingly good deal that is the PhD in economics. Why? Because:

• You get a job.
• You get autonomy.
• You get intellectual fulfillment.
• The risk is low.
• Unlike an MBA, law, or medical degree, you don’t have to worry about paying the sticker price for an econ PhD:  After the first year, most schools will give you teaching assistant positions that will pay for the next several years of graduate study, and some schools will take care of your tuition and expenses even in the first year. (See Miles’s companion post  for more about costs of graduate study and how econ PhD’s future earnings makes it worthwhile, even if you can’t get a full ride.)

Of course, such a good deal won’t last long now that the story is out, so you need to act fast! Since he wrote his post , Noah has received a large number of emails asking the obvious follow-up question: “How do I get into an econ PhD program?” And Miles has been asked the same thing many times by undergraduates and other students at the University of Michigan. So here, we present together our guide for how to break into the academic Elysium called Econ PhD Land:

(Note: This guide is mainly directed toward native English speakers, or those from countries whose graduate students are typically fluent in English, such as India and most European countries. Almost all highly-ranked graduate programs teach economics in English, and we find that students learn the subtle non-mathematical skills in economics better if English is second nature. If your nationality will make admissions committees wonder about your English skills, you can either get your bachelor’s degree at a—possibly foreign—college or university where almost all classes are taught in English, or you will have to compensate by being better on other dimensions. On the bright side, if you are a native English speaker, or from a country whose graduate students are typically fluent in English, you are already ahead in your quest to get into an economics PhD.)

Here is the not-very-surprising list of things that will help you get into a good econ PhD program:

• good grades, especially in whatever math and economics classes you take,
• a good score on the math GRE,
• some math classes and a statistics class on your transcript,
• research experience, and definitely at least one letter of recommendation from a researcher,
• a demonstrable interest in the field of economics.

Chances are, if you’re asking for advice, you probably feel unprepared in one of two ways. Either you don’t have a sterling math background, or you have quantitative skills but are new to the field of econ. Fortunately, we have advice for both types of applicant.

If you’re weak in math…

Fortunately, if you’re weak in math, we have good news:  Math is something you can learn . That may sound like a crazy claim to most Americans, who are raised to believe that math ability is in the genes. It may even sound like arrogance coming from two people who have never had to struggle with math. But we’ve both taught people math for many years, and we really believe that it’s true. Genes help a bit, but math is like a foreign language or a sport: effort will result in skill.

Here are the math classes you absolutely should take to get into a good econ program:

• Linear algebra
• Multivariable calculus

Here are the classes you should take, but can probably get away with studying on your own:

• Ordinary differential equations
• Real analysis

Linear algebra (matrices, vectors, and all that) is something that you’ll use all the time in econ, especially when doing work on a computer. Multivariable calculus also will be used a lot. And stats of course is absolutely key to almost everything economists do. Differential equations are something you will use once in a while. And real analysis—by far the hardest subject of the five—is something that you will probably never use in real econ research, but which the economics field has decided to use as a sort of general intelligence signaling device.

If you took some math classes but didn’t do very well, don’t worry.  Retake the classes . If you are worried about how that will look on your transcript, take the class the first time “off the books” at a different college (many community colleges have calculus classes) or online. Or if you have already gotten a bad grade, take it a second time off the books and then a third time for your transcript. If you work hard, every time you take the class you’ll do better. You will learn the math and be able to prove it by the grade you get. Not only will this help you get into an econ PhD program, once you get in, you’ll breeze through parts of grad school that would otherwise be agony.

Here’s another useful tip:  Get a book and study math on your own before taking the corresponding class for a grade. Reading math on your own is something you’re going to have to get used to doing in grad school anyway (especially during your dissertation!), so it’s good to get used to it now. Beyond course-related books, you can either pick up a subject-specific book (Miles learned much of his math from studying books in the Schaum’s outline series ), or get a “math for economists” book; regarding the latter, Miles recommends Mathematics for Economists  by Simon and Blume, while Noah swears by Mathematical Methods and Models for Economists  by de la Fuente. When you study on your own, the most important thing is to  work through a bunch of problems . That will give you practice for test-taking, and will be more interesting than just reading through derivations.

This will take some time, of course. That’s OK. That’s what summer is for (right?). If you’re late in your college career, you can always take a fifth year, do a gap year, etc.

When you get to grad school, you will have to take an intensive math course called “math camp” that will take up a good part of your summer. For how to get through math camp itself, see this guide by Jérémie Cohen-Setton .

One more piece of advice for the math-challenged:  Be a research assistant on something non-mathy . There are lots of economists doing relatively simple empirical work that requires only some basic statistics knowledge and the ability to use software like Stata. There are more and more experimental economists around, who are always looking for research assistants. Go find a prof and get involved! (If you are still in high school or otherwise haven’t yet chosen a college, you might want to choose one where some of the professors do experiments and so need research assistants—something that is easy to figure out by studying professors’ websites carefully, or by asking about it when you visit the college.)

If you’re new to econ…

If you’re a disillusioned physicist, a bored biostatistician, or a neuroscientist looking to escape that evil  Principal Investigator, don’t worry:  An econ background is not necessary . A lot of the best economists started out in other fields, while a lot of undergrad econ majors are headed for MBAs or jobs in banks. Econ PhD programs know this. They will probably not mind if you have never taken an econ class.

That said, you may still want to  take an econ class , just to verify that you actually like the subject, to start thinking about econ, and to prepare yourself for the concepts you’ll encounter. If you feel like doing this, you can probably skip Econ 101 and 102, and head straight for an Intermediate Micro or Intermediate Macro class.

Another good thing is to  read through an econ textbook . Although economics at the PhD level is mostly about the math and statistics and computer modeling (hopefully getting back to the real world somewhere along the way when you do your own research), you may also want to get the flavor of the less mathy parts of economics from one of the well-written lower-level textbooks (either one by Paul Krugman and Robin Wells , Greg Mankiw , or Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok ) and maybe one at a bit higher level as well, such as David Weil’s excellent book on economic growth ) or Varian’s Intermediate Microeconomics .

Remember to take a statistics class , if you haven’t already. Some technical fields don’t require statistics, so you may have missed this one. But to econ PhD programs, this will be a gaping hole in your resume. Go take stats!

One more thing you can do is research with an economist . Fortunately, economists are generally extremely welcoming to undergrad RAs from outside econ, who often bring extra skills. You’ll get great experience working with data if you don’t have it already. It’ll help you come up with some research ideas to put in your application essays. And of course you’ll get another all-important letter of recommendation.

And now for…

General tips for everyone

Here is the most important tip for everyone:  Don’t just apply to “top” schools . For some degrees—an MBA for example—people question whether it’s worthwhile to go to a non-top school. But for econ departments, there’s no question. Both Miles and Noah have marveled at the number of smart people working at non-top schools. That includes some well-known bloggers, by the way—Tyler Cowen teaches at George Mason University (ranked 64th ), Mark Thoma teaches at the University of Oregon (ranked 56th ), and Scott Sumner teaches at Bentley, for example. Additionally, a flood of new international students is expanding the supply of quality students. That means that the number of high-quality schools is increasing; tomorrow’s top 20 will be like today’s top 10, and tomorrow’s top 100 will be like today’s top 50.

Apply to schools outside of the top 20—any school in the top 100 is worth considering, especially if it is strong in areas you are interested in. If your classmates aren’t as elite as you would like, that just means that you will get more attention from the professors, who almost all came out of top programs themselves. When Noah said in his earlier post that econ PhD students are virtually guaranteed to get jobs in an econ-related field, that applied to schools far down in the ranking. Everyone participates in the legendary centrally managed econ job market . Very few people ever fall through the cracks.

Next—and this should go without saying— don’t be afraid to retake the GRE . If you want to get into a top 10 school, you probably need a perfect or near-perfect score on the math portion of the GRE. For schools lower down the rankings, a good GRE math score is still important. Fortunately, the GRE math section is relatively simple to study for—there are only a finite number of topics covered, and with a little work you can “overlearn” all of them, so you can do them even under time pressure and when you are nervous. In any case, you can keep retaking the test until you get a good score (especially if the early tries are practice tests from the GRE prep books and prep software), and then you’re OK!

Here’s one thing that may surprise you: Getting an econ master’s degree alone won’t help . Although master’s degrees in economics are common among international students who apply to econ PhD programs, American applicants do just fine without a master’s degree on their record. If you want that extra diploma, realize that once you are in a PhD program, you will get a master’s degree automatically after two years. And if you end up dropping out of the PhD program, that master’s degree will be worth more than a stand-alone master’s would. The one reason to get a master’s degree is if it can help you remedy a big deficiency in your record, say not having taken enough math or stats classes, not having taken any econ classes, or not having been able to get anyone whose name admissions committees would recognize to write you a letter of recommendation.

For getting into grad school, much more valuable than a master’s is a stint as a research assistant in the Federal Reserve System or at a think tank —though these days, such positions can often be as hard to get into as a PhD program!

Finally—and if you’re reading this, chances are you’re already doing this— read some econ blogs . (See Miles’s speculations about the future of the econ blogosphere here .) Econ blogs are no substitute for econ classes, but they’re a great complement. Blogs are good for picking up the lingo of academic economists, and learning to think like an economist. Don’t be afraid to  write  a blog either, even if no one ever reads it (you don’t have to be writing at the same level as Evan Soltas or Yichuan Wang );  you can still put it on your CV, or just practice writing down your thoughts. And when you write your dissertation, and do research later on in your career, you are going to have to think for yourself outside the context of a class . One way to practice thinking critically is by critiquing others’ blog posts, at least in your head.

Anyway, if you want to have intellectual stimulation and good work-life balance, and a near-guarantee of a well-paying job in your field of interest, an econ PhD could be just the thing for you. Don’t be scared of the math and the jargon. We’d love to have you.

Update:  Miles’s colleague Jeff Smith at the University of Michigan amplifies many of the things we say on his blog.  For a  complete  guide, be sure to see what Jeff has to say, too.

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Economics PhDs

By Roman Duda · Published June 2015

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On this page:

• Introduction
• 1 Research process
• 2 What is this career path?
• 3 Entry requirements
• 4.1 Doing high impact research
• 4.2 Advocacy potential
• 4.3 Other benefits
• 5 What are the downsides of doing an economics PhD?
• 6 Who should consider doing an economics PhD?
• 7 Next steps
• 8 Learn more
• 9 Get free, one-on-one career advice

An economics PhD is one of the most attractive graduate programs: if you get through, you have a high chance of landing an impactful research job in academia or policy. In particular, academic economics is one of the best ways of conducting and promoting global priorities research, one of our priority paths . You have back-up options in the corporate sector since the skills you learn are in-demand (unlike many PhD programs). You should especially consider an economics PhD if you want to go into research roles, are good at math (i.e. quant GRE score above 165) and have a proven interest in economics research.

• • Decent chance of entering economics academia, which has potential for highly valuable research (such as contributing to global priorities research) and the option of working on topics in related social sciences.
• • In demand by think-tanks, government departments and international organisations (e.g. IMF, World Bank).
• • Gain a broad set of tools for understanding how the social world works and evaluating causes and interventions.
• • High degree of autonomy when writing your dissertation.
• • Backup options in the corporate sector.
• • Takes a long time (5-7 years), with low pay.
• • Doing highly open-ended research provides little feedback which can be unmotivating.

Key facts on fit  

You can test your ability and interest by taking classes in economics, math and statistics either at your university or online. You don’t need an economics undergraduate degree to enter but proven math ability is required, so make sure you study quantitative subjects. See this guide to getting into an economics PhD program.

Get free, one-on-one career advice

We’ve helped hundreds of people compare between their options and introduced them to people who can help them with their career. If you’re interested in using an economics PhD to work on issues like global priorities research or artificial intelligence policy , apply for our free coaching service :

Apply for coaching

Recommended

If you are well suited to this career, it may be the best way for you to have a social impact.

Review status

Based on a shallow investigation 

Table of Contents

Research process

For this profile, we interviewed economist Robin Hanson and read the following sources. See all our research in our wiki .

What is this career path?

In this profile we focus on doing an Economics PhD in the US, which usually takes 5-7 years. 1 In the first two years you take classes and the remaining time is spent on writing a dissertation. You usually have to teach during your PhD. More detail on what you do in each phase is here . At the end, you usually apply for jobs through the centrally organised Job Openings for Economists , which is run by the American Economic Association, or you can apply for jobs independently.

Entry requirements

An economics major isn’t required but you need proven math ability and it helps to have taken mathematical economics classes.

You also need:

• A high score on the quantitative reasoning section of the GRE – 165 (90th percentile for all individuals taking the GRE) or higher for most programs. If your score is less than 160, your chances are very low. 2
• A high GPA (3.5+), especially in economics and mathematics. 3
• Excellent letters of recommendation from academics; ideally, those that are well-known.

Can you enter from a non-quantitative background? It’s possible, but difficult. You’ll need to spend one to three years retraining. See some advice on how to meet the entry requirements if you have a non-quantitative undergraduate degree .

Why should you do an economics PhD?

Doing high impact research.

Research in economics academia is a potentially very high impact option because you can work on priority cause areas, like global priorities research or AI policy . For example, to contribute to global priorities research you might work on the economics of existential risk and long-term trajectory change, while the macroeconomics, political economy and industrial organisation of AI will be important for developing informed AI policy.

Doing such research is a realistic option because Economics professors get a lot freedom to do research across a wide range of topics and disciplines. That also gives you great option value for future research. 4 You often even get a high degree of autonomy with your dissertation and aren’t forced to specialise narrowly in your advisor’s research interests, giving you freedom to pursue research topics that you most want to work on during your PhD itself (though we’ve heard that sometimes there is pressure to choose topics with higher publication and job market value).

If you do an economics PhD, you have a decent chance of getting a job as an academic: Data indicates that more than half of economics PhD’s get jobs in academia after their PhD. 5

Non-academic research

If you don’t get a job in academia, or if you don’t want to, there are other important sectors that explicitly hire economics PhD’s, including:

• Government (e.g. Federal Reserve, Treasury, Department of Justice)
• Nonprofit research organisations and think-tanks (e.g. RAND , National Bureau of Economic Research)
• International organisations (e.g. World Bank, International Monetary Fund)

The impact you can have in these jobs tends to be more direct and focused on specific issues than in academia. Many of these jobs are advertised on the Job Openings for Economists , which means you don’t have to apply for them separately from academic jobs.

Advocacy potential

Having an economics PhD also puts you in a position to build a public platform and become a public intellectual through journalism and writing books.

You can also influence policy through your research, though some claim that most of the time economists just provide arguments for people with pre-existing views. However there could be room for outsized influence if you provide policy recommendations on issues that are orthogonal to popular disputes, 6 and our guess is that in the long-run economists can change conventional wisdom about what is good policy. You might do this by engaging directly with policy or by conducting academic research on the most pressing problems in order to shift the research priorities of the economics community. Examples of organisations working on the latter are the Global Priorities Institute and the Forethought Foundation .

Other benefits

• You gain a broad set of tools for understanding how the social world works, which is helpful for evaluating causes and interventions. This may help you better evaluate your future career options to have more impact. A notable example of this in action is the founding of GiveDirectly (one of GiveWell’s top recommended charities), which was founded by economics PhD students.
• Excellent job prospects: You are nearly guaranteed a job. The unemployment rate for economics PhD’s is very low (0.8% in 2013) and data indicates that it has the lowest unemployment rate of all science and engineering PhD’s. 7 You also get the benefit of the centrally organised Job Openings for Economists , which allows you to apply to many different jobs in a short period of time and interview for them at the same time, in the same place.
• Academic salaries for economics PhD’s tend to be higher than other PhD’s. The median pay for those who gained economics PhD’s in 2013 and were in full-time employment at a university was $108,000, which is higher than all other science PhD’s. 8 Moreover, the jobs outside of academia which economics PhD’s get are higher paid than non-academic jobs other PhD’s get. 9

What are the downsides of doing an economics PhD?

• You have a relatively low income whilst doing your PhD and have to work very long hours.
• You spend 5-7 years getting exposure only to academia, making this option less good for exploration value.
• The high degree of autonomy you get means there is little external structure on your time, which can be stressful, and you get very little feedback about how well you are doing which can be demotivating.
• Many PhD economists end up in academic jobs where they spend a large portion of their time teaching, leaving less time for research. 10

Who should consider doing an economics PhD?

Commonly given advice is that you should only do an economics PhD if you:

• Are good at math and enjoy formal models in economics
• Are willing to study 50-80 hours per week (hours are particularly long in the first year)
• Love intellectual pursuits and have a strong drive to do self-directed research. 11

If you meet those conditions, then an economics PhD may be a good option for you if you want to go into economics academia or if you want to do high-level research at think-tanks or international organisations.

To get a sense of what academic research looks like, try reading published papers in major journals, such as the American Economic Review ( here is one paper ). You can then test your ability and interest by taking classes in economics, math and statistics either at your university or online.

If you are interested in global priorities research, read our problem profile on the topic, and the research agenda of the Global Priorities Institute.

There are many guides online to getting into an economics PhD. We recommend that you start by reading this one , and then read a few of the others . If you’re applying from a non-quantitative background, see these tips by one of our users.

• Ideas for research questions in economics
• Noah Smith – If you get a PhD, get an economics PhD
• All our articles on Economics PhD’s
• Publishing and Promotion in Economics: The Tyranny of the Top Five by James J. Heckman and Sidharth Moktan
• Podcast: Dr Eva Vivalt’s research suggests social science findings don’t generalize. So evidence-based development – what is it good for?
• Podcast: David Roodman on incarceration, geomagnetic storms, & becoming a world-class researcher
• Podcast: Rachel Glennerster on how “market shaping” could help solve climate change, pandemics, and other global problems
• Podcast: Prof Yew-Kwang Ng is a visionary economist who anticipated many key ideas in effective altruism decades ago. Here’s his take on ethics and how to create a much happier world.
• Podcast: Mushtaq Khan on using institutional economics to predict effective government reforms
• Podcast: Economist Bryan Caplan on whether lazy parenting is OK, what really helps workers, and betting on beliefs

Notes and references

• See our wiki. ↩
• GRE Guide Table 1a and A Guide for UCSB Undergraduates Considering a PhD in Economics ↩
• “An overall GPA of at least 3.5 is a prerequisite. It is not uncommon to see an almost perfect GPA among top candidates.” Tips on Applying to Top Graduate Programs in Economics ↩
• “What other profession gives you so much freedom to choose your research topics? Many economists now devote their careers to studying topics which an outsider would classify as political science, psychology, or sociology. Some economists even do work that basically amounts to history or philosophy, though they probably need to work on more conventional topics until they get tenure.” Bryan Caplan – Is the Econ Ph.D. a Free Lunch? ↩
• “Among the successful job seekers, 62.8 percent found employment in academic institutions as compared to 61.0 percent in the 2013-14 year.” Center for Business and Economic Research, University of Arkansas. SURVEY OF THE LABOR MARKET FOR NEW PH.D. HIRES IN ECONOMICS 2015-2016 See also National Science Foundation. TABLE 61. Statistical profile of postgraduation plans of doctorate recipients in social sciences fields, by sex and field of study: 2013 ↩
• “Economists rarely influence policy as advisors for people who haven’t made up their minds and want advice. Instead, people who favor a certain position generally seek policy advisors who they will expect will provide arguments favoring their position. So economists, and other policy advisors, often have influence mainly by providing ammunition for advocates of the views they support. There is more room for influence if you provide policy recommendations that are orthogonal to popular disputes.” The value of economics PhDs: A conversation with Robin Hanson ↩
• National Science Foundation. Table 4-1. Unemployment rate among doctoral scientists and engineers, by field of doctorate: 2013 ↩
• National Science Foundation. Table 54. Median annual salaries of full-time employed doctoral scientists and engineers, by field of doctorate and sector of employment: 2013 ↩
• In 2013 Economics PhD’s had the highest median starting salaries of all science doctorates in government ($137,000), nonprofits ($135,000), and for-profit private companies ($148,000). National Science Foundation. Table 54. Median annual salaries of full-time employed doctoral scientists and engineers, by field of doctorate and sector of employment: 2013 ↩
• “…many econ PhDs teach college level courses while conducting very little research.” A Guide for UCSB Undergraduates Considering a PhD in Economics ↩
• A Guide for UCSB Undergraduates Considering a PhD in Economics ↩

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PhD in Economics

• Advanced Diploma in Economics
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This is the most advanced programme of graduate studies in Economics at Cambridge. Upon its completion, candidates are awarded a PhD degree for producing a thesis of high-quality, original, and publishable research over a period of four years (full-time) and seven years (part-time).

A good number of our PhD students receive full or partial funding for their studies, from a variety of funding bodies, such as the ESRC and the Gates Foundation .

Our PhD students receive high quality training on a variety of research methods and are exposed to cutting edge research conducted by our own Faculty members, as well visitors to the Faculty (via the Cambridge-INET Institute , seminars, PhD workshops, locally organised conferences, etc.). Faculty members can supervise a wide range of topics from six broadly defined research areas: microeconomic theory, macroeconomics, econometrics, applied microeconomics, economic history and alternative approaches to economics.

PhD students in Cambridge benefit from a high faculty-to-student ratio and therefore form close relationships with many Faculty members. They also forge strong links with our post-doctoral researchers, and they actively participate in the Faculty’s vibrant research life. They have access to a wide range of facilities, such as their own desk/office space in the same building as regular Faculty members, computing equipment, a variety of software and access to a wide range of databases.

PhD students are encouraged to attend academic conferences and showcase their research work in a variety of ways. Upon completions of their studies, many of our PhD students become academics, or researchers at international or government research institutions (see recent job market placements here ).

Explore here the profiles of our current PhD students.

To obtain the degree of PhD in Economics, students need to:

1. Obtain the Certificate of Postgraduate Study (CPGS) . If accepted for the PhD degree, you will be registered initially for the Certificate of Postgraduate Study (CPGS) in Economics. Students registered for the CPGS are required to:

• Attend the 'How to do Economics' lecture course. Other postgraduate courses in research methods are organised by the Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Physical Sciences, and are available to all PhD students.  
• Undertake a minimum of four courses from PhD or MPhil Modules from at least two subject areas. You must achieve a pass mark (60%) on each component of the coursework. Students who fail any examinations will be called for a viva on the coursework.

• Write a research proposal (maximum length 10,000 words) that should include a review of the relevant literature, a research question, and outline of a research design and methods. The expectation is that this proposal will be for a piece of research that could form the basis of one chapter of a PhD dissertation. You will be given an oral examination on this piece of work and must perform to a satisfactory standard.  
• Attend (a) one of the three research workshops (on microeconomics, macroeconomics or econometrics) at which research students present both their own work and recent papers in the literature - assessment of workshops will be arranged by course organisers; (b) attend at least one of the Faculty's general seminars in which papers are given both by outside speakers and Faculty members;  
• To be registered for the PhD submit an acceptable piece of research (first year chapter) of not more than 20,000 words. The piece of research submitted must be of a standard that would enable it to form the basis of one-third of your eventual PhD thesis. This means that it must contain research that could be expanded upon to constitute one-third of the PhD thesis.

2. Once upgraded to PhD status, a student concentrates on her or his PhD dissertation. In general the thesis format is either in the form of a book divided into chapters, or of three or more connected articles; in either case, the Faculty has a strict limit of 60,000 words. As research progresses, there will be opportunities to present work in progress at research workshops attended by Faculty members and research students. PhD students will also be required to attend research seminars given by outside speakers and Faculty members. 

Upon completion and submission of the PhD thesis, students do an oral examination (viva) with two examiners, one internal to the University of Cambridge (not the supervisor or research advisor), and one external (from any other University in the UK or the rest of the world).

After a successful thesis defence, the examiners recommend awarding the degree of PhD.

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Phd in economics: requirements, salary, jobs, & career growth, what is phd in economics.

A PhD in Economics is a doctorate-level degree that focuses on advanced training and research in the field of economics. It is a research-oriented degree that prepares students to contribute to the field through original, in-depth research and analysis.

The program typically involves taking advanced coursework in economics, completing a research project, and writing a dissertation that presents original findings. The coursework and research topics covered in a PhD in Economics program can include microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, game theory, economic history, and various specialized areas within the field.

The PhD in Economics is ideal for individuals who are interested in pursuing careers in academia, government, international organizations, or research-focused organizations. Graduates of the program are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct independent research, analyze data, and develop innovative solutions to complex economic problems.

How much money do people make with a PhD in Economics?

The earning potential of individuals with a PhD in Economics can vary widely based on a number of factors such as their experience, location, and type of employer. On average, economists with a PhD can expect to earn a higher salary than those with a master’s degree or a bachelor’s degree in the field.

According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual salary for economists was $105,020 in May 2020. However, salaries can range from less than $60,000 for entry-level positions to over $150,000 for experienced economists in leadership positions.

In academia, assistant professors with a PhD in Economics can expect to earn a starting salary in the range of $70,000 to $90,000, while full professors can earn well over $100,000. In the government sector, economists with a PhD can earn salaries that range from $70,000 to $120,000 or more, depending on their level of experience and the type of agency they work for.

In the private sector, salaries for economists with a PhD can be even higher, particularly for those working in consulting, finance, or other high-paying industries. However, the earning potential in the private sector is highly dependent on the specific job and the location, with salaries in certain cities, such as New York or San Francisco, being significantly higher than those in other parts of the country.

It’s important to note that salaries can vary greatly based on factors such as the individual’s level of experience, the type of employer, and the location.

What is expected job growth with PhD in Economics?

The job growth for individuals with a PhD in Economics is expected to be relatively strong in the coming years. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of economists is projected to grow 6% from 2019 to 2029, which is about as fast as the average for all occupations.

Demand for economists is expected to remain strong, particularly in the government and private sectors, as organizations continue to seek individuals with expertise in analyzing data, developing economic models, and creating solutions to complex economic problems.

In the government sector, there is expected to be continued demand for economists who can analyze economic data and provide research and policy analysis to inform government decision-making.

In the private sector, economists with PhDs are expected to be in high demand in consulting firms, financial institutions, and other organizations that require advanced economic analysis and problem-solving skills.

In academia, opportunities for economists with PhDs are expected to remain strong, as universities continue to seek highly trained individuals to conduct research and teach the next generation of economists.

Overall, the job outlook for individuals with a PhD in Economics is positive, and they can expect to have a range of opportunities across various sectors and industries. However, as with any job market, there may be fluctuations in demand based on economic conditions and other factors.

What can you do with a PhD in Economics?

A PhD in Economics provides individuals with advanced training and research skills in the field of economics, preparing them for a variety of careers in academia, government, international organizations, the private sector, and non-profit organizations. Some of the most common career paths for individuals with a PhD in Economics include:

1. Academia: Many individuals with a PhD in Economics pursue careers in academia as university professors, where they conduct research, teach courses, and mentor students.

2. Government: Economists with a PhD can find careers in the government sector, working in agencies such as the Federal Reserve, the Department of Labor, or the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

3. International organizations: PhD economists can also find careers in international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, or the United Nations.

4. Private sector: Economists with PhDs can also find careers in the private sector, working for consulting firms, financial institutions, or other businesses that require advanced economic analysis.

5. Non-profit organizations: Economists with a PhD can also find careers in non-profit organizations, where they can use their expertise to address social and economic issues.

6. Research organizations: Economists with a PhD can also find careers in research organizations, where they can conduct independent research and publish their findings. 

What are the requirements for a PhD in Economics?

The requirements for a PhD in Economics can vary slightly depending on the specific program and university, but in general, most PhD programs in Economics require the following:

1. A bachelor’s or master’s degree in economics or a related field: Most PhD programs in Economics require applicants to have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in economics or a related field, such as mathematics, statistics, or finance.

2. Coursework: PhD programs in Economics typically require students to complete advanced coursework in economics, including microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, game theory, and other specialized areas of the field.

3. Examinations: Many PhD programs in Economics require students to pass written and oral comprehensive exams to demonstrate their mastery of the field.

4. Research project: PhD students in Economics are typically required to complete a research project, either independently or as part of a team, and present their findings in a written thesis or dissertation.

5. Teaching experience: Many PhD programs in Economics also require students to complete teaching experience, either as a teaching assistant in an undergraduate course or as the instructor of their own course.

Looking For Scholarship Programs? Click here

How long does it take to get a phd in economics.

The time it takes to complete a PhD in Economics can vary, but most programs take between 4 to 7 years on average. The exact duration of the program depends on a number of factors, including the specific program requirements, the student’s course load, and the amount of time they can dedicate to their studies.

Typically, the first 2 to 3 years of a PhD in Economics program are spent completing coursework and exams, while the remaining years are dedicated to research and writing a thesis or dissertation. During this time, PhD students are also typically required to complete teaching or research assistantships to gain practical experience in their field.

In some programs, students may be able to complete their PhD more quickly by taking a heavier course load, while in others, students may need to take more time to complete their research and writing.

It’s important to keep in mind that the length of a PhD program can vary significantly depending on the specific program and the student’s individual circumstances.

Some students may complete their PhD in as little as 4 years, while others may take 7 years or more. Additionally, some programs may allow students to take a leave of absence or pause their studies for personal or professional reasons, which can also impact the overall duration of the program.

Looking For Fully Funded PhD Programs? Click Here

Do you need a masters in economics to get a phd in economics.

Not all PhD programs in Economics require a master’s degree, but many do. A master’s degree in economics can provide students with a strong foundation in the field and help them prepare for the more advanced coursework and research required in a PhD program.

However, some PhD programs in Economics accept applicants with only a bachelor’s degree, particularly if they have strong academic performance and relevant work experience.

In some cases, PhD programs in Economics may offer a combined master’s and PhD program, allowing students to complete both degrees in a shorter amount of time. This can be a good option for students who are interested in pursuing a career in academia or research and want to obtain both degrees as quickly as possible.

What are the Best PhD in Economics Degree programs?

Harvard university, massachusetts institute of technology (mit), stanford university, university of chicago, princeton university, columbia university, new york university (nyu), university of california, berkeley (uc berkeley), university of pennsylvania, yale university, leave a comment cancel reply.

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What Can I Do with a PhD in Economics?

If a graduate degree in economics is on your mind, you may wonder why someone would pursue a doctorate degree in the field. After all, many master's degrees in economics are designed to prepare students like you for myriad economics careers. But while a master's degree will help you stand out against competitors in the job. market, a PhD can open even more doors.   

Earning a PhD in Economics means you have completed the highest level of education in the discipline, thereby creating nearly unlimited opportunities for any job in a related field. 

What does an Economics PhD do?

Economics PhDs specialize in areas like labor economics, macroeconomics,  industrial organization, or international economics and pursue careers within that specialization. For example, institutions like the World Trade Organization (WTO) — the international trade body —  the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the World Bank might seek to hire economists who have specialized in international economics.

The Federal Reserve Bank system hires lots of PhD macroeconomists. Government agencies like the Federal Trade Commission hire PhD economists specializing in industrial organization. The Census Bureau hires lots of PhD economists specializing in fields like labor economics.

These complex, high-profile positions are often found in the corporate sector or government and frequently involve exploring regulatory, strategic or public policies.

In addition to jobs in government and industry, academic economists play leading roles in the development of new ideas in economics and hold faculty positions in a variety of academic settings.

Industry Profile for Economists 

The need for candidates with extensive economic knowledge and an upper-level understanding of quantitative analysis continues to grow as the government and private corporations seek to understand international competition, predict consumer behaviors and apply analysis to a rapidly changing global environment. 

Industries With the Highest Levels of Employment in Economics

Nearly every entity relies on economists in some way to help research and advise, optimize results, interpret data and recommend solutions. Some of the top industries that employ economists include:

• Federal and state governments
• Management, scientific and technical consulting services
• Scientific research and development firms
• Finance and insurance companies 

How to Get a Doctorate in Economics: The Econ PhD Program at SMU

The PhD program in Economics at SMU is the oldest PhD program at the university and has been providing students with rigorous training in a broad range of fundamental methodologies for conducting economic research for more than 55 years. 

With a low student-to-faculty ratio in a relatively small program, the Economics PhD program at SMU allows for an open and friendly environment, careful supervision, quality contact time with faculty and individualized mentoring that can’t be matched elsewhere. 

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The Economy of Everything

Why you need a phd in economics.

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How to Become an Economist: PhD Required

Earning a PhD in Economics means you have completed the highest level of education in the discipline, thereby creating nearly unlimited opportunities for any job in a related field. 

As a PhD economist, you'll have the skills to analyze real-world economic data with rigorous statistical techniques, critically assess the economic implications of public policy, and understand the complex relationships behind key macroeconomic variables like GDP growth, interest rates and inflation. 

The Department of Economics at SMU is highly ranked among economics departments in the United States and has prepared PhD candidates for careers as economists in both academic and non-academic positions for more than 55 years. 

If you want to become a PhD Economist, this guide will help you understand SMU's unique approach to the study of economics and prepare you to apply to our PhD program with confidence. 

We'll email you a PDF of the eBook for your reference as you apply to graduate school.

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What can i do with a phd in economics.

Economics PhDs often work in complex, high-profile positions in the corporate sector or government and frequently explore regulatory, strategic or public policies. Our resource expands on both the academic and non-academic career paths for PhD economists.

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Is a PhD in Economics Worth It?

Pursuing a PhD in economics is a big investment. Even though you will have a full tuition waiver and a stipend to cover your cost of living, you must also consider the cost of lost wages during your education. This guide will help you calculate the ROI of your PhD in Economics and determine if it's the right choice for you compared to a master's in economics. 

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Ph.D. in Economics Top Colleges, Syllabus, Scope and Salary, 2024

Satyam Purwar

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Ph.D. in Economics is a three to five-year doctorate course. Eligibility for the course is a postgraduate course in Economics, candidates should also have Bachelor’s degree in Economics/Bachelor in Technology in Economics from a recognized University.

Top institutes which are offering Ph.D. in Economics courses are as follows:

• Indian Institute of Technology
• Indian Statistical Institute
• Loyola College
• Indian Institute of Management
• Lovely Professional University
• Fergusson College
• IFMR - Institute for Financial Management and Research

The average tuition fee for Ph.D. in Economics ranges between INR 80,000 to 6 Lacs for the span of 3 to 5 years.

Admissions to Ph.D. in Economics  courses are on the basis of counseling after clearing entrance tests depending on the colleges. Some of them are:

• JCECE (Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Exam)
• IIM Ph.D. test

Major subjects studied in Ph.D. in Economics course are  Agricultural Economics, Financial Economics, Labour Economics, Industrial Economics, International Economics, Business Economics, Banking Economics, Environmental Economics, Developmental Economics, Rural Economics and Rural Development and Econometrics etc.

Graduates with this degree have an opportunity in the industries like Coaching Centres, Economics Consultancies, Economics Department, Home Tuitions, Museums, Private Tuitions, Publishing House, Research and Development Agencies and Schools etc.

Some of the top companies hiring Ph.D. in Economics graduates are Bank of India, Bharat Forge, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, BSNL, Cognizant, Ericsson India, Flipkart, Future Group, Goldman Sachs, Grasim Honda Two Wheelers, Indian Oil, Infosys, JCB, Mahindra Engineering, Microsoft, ONGC, Reliance, Reliance Industries Limited, TATA, Tata Power, TCS etc. The average salary for Ph.D. in Economics graduates is around INR 2 to 8 Lacs but this can be higher on the basis of experience and other factors.

Ph.D. in Economics: Course Highlights

Listed below are some of the major highlights of the course.

Ph.D. in Economics: What is it About?

Ph.D. in Economics typically covers macroeconomics and microeconomics. However, this is a useful degree if you want to get a career in teaching or formally researching economic subjects. Once the proposal is approved and the oral exam passed, the final years of enrollment are dedicated towards the research, writing, and defense of a dissertation.

Many students are interested in pursuing higher studies in this subject. The major opportunity which lies in the field of Economics is that it is mainly involved in the field of Research. A Ph.D. degree should only be taken if a person has ample interests in research-oriented works. Mostly the PhDs are taken by people who are involved in the Academics field. This may result in better understanding of the particular field or subject in a better manner.

This could involve admissions in prestigious institutions and placements in blue-chip companies. Many of them have also been engaged in diverse fields ranging from civil society to policy making through their education, research, field action, and extension. 

Students would be able to understand a wide range of theoretical debates in economics and business, analyze economic problems and evaluate the implications for economic policy and business planning & strategy after completing Ph.D. in Economics course

A master’s degree or Ph.D. in Economics is required for most economist jobs. An advanced degree is sometimes required for advancement to higher level positions.

Ph.D. in Economics: Top Institutes

Ph.D. in Economics: Eligibility

To pursue a Ph.D. in Economics course, the candidate should have Masters or M.Phil. degree in Economics from a recognized university. Also the masters in Biology/Pharmacy and Economics or the relevant stream with an aggregate of 55% marks and also with valid Ph.D. entrance test along with the interview. For admission to the Ph.D. programme in Economics department, a minimum requirement is Master’s degree in Economics.

If you have taken admission to M.Phil degree through an entrance examination, you may not need to give any entrance exam at Ph.D. level. Some Universities also admit students on basis of National Eligibility Test (NET).  Final Admission is given on the basis of Interview round conducted nearly a month before the commencement of the semester. 

Usually, Ph.D. course admission is done after Masters or M.Phil degree, but if you happen to be one of the toppers in UG BE/B.Tech course from a reputed university, you may be eligible for direct admission to the Ph.D. course. Such candidates require 75% marks in qualifying examination along with a valid GATE score. 

Ph.D. in Economics: Admission Process 

In India, universities have rights to set their own procedure and standards for the Ph.D. programme admissions. But the set of requirements for the application are similar. These should include a research proposal, detailing the proposed outline of your Ph.D. project, and explaining the methodology you plan to employ.

This is referred to as the National Eligibility Test (NET) and is administered by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for most subjects, with the exception of Science and Engineering which are covered by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Entrance Exams are:

Although an undergraduate degree or a master's degree in economics may be helpful for admission, most programs only require prospective students to have completed a year or more of college-level economics. Additionally, many programs require applicants to have completed several semesters of calculus. While not required, some programs also recommend that students complete courses in statistical analysis before applying.

In addition, most programs require applicants to submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and letters of recommendation. Many economics departments require that prospective candidates also provide a statement of purpose. The statement should outline the student's goals and also indicate possible research areas, like international economics or income distribution.

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Ph.D. in Economics: Syllabus and Course Description

Ph.D. in Economics: Career Prospects

The students can opt in for the various specializations which are available such as:

• Applied Economics
• Econometrics
• Business economics etc.

The candidates can clear NET conducted by UGC for lecture posts. The remuneration in this field is pretty good when compared to others.

A Ph.D. degree will help a person to get into the research-oriented teaching profession.The candidates can also get employed in Research labs etc. After Ph.D. one can also apply for the Junior Fellowship exams. Hence the course of Economics in is in higher demand among the students nowadays.

The career prospects for Ph.D. in Economics graduates are many. Numerous fields are waiting for economic graduates both in the public as well as the private sectors. The average salary is Rs 4 to 8 lakh per annum.

Ph.D. in Economics ? Employment Opportunities

The various fields are offering better job opportunity after passing Masters or M.Phil. in Economics.

• Banking and Finance
• Insurance Investment
• Stock Broker
• Media Analyst
• Manufacturing
• Advertising
• Communication
• Education and Research
• System Analysis

Postsecondary economics teachers and economists are two careers in which a Ph.D. in Economics is helpful.

Different Fields of Economics

There are various fields of economics. Some of the important disciplines are given here.

• Agricultural Economics
• Financial Economics
• Labour Economics
• Industrial Economics
• International Economics
• Business Economics
• Banking Economics
• Environmental Economics
• Developmental Economics
• Rural Economics and Rural Development

You can apply to Indian Economic Services.

Read about more Ph.D. in commerce courses

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6 Reviews found

A backbenchers take on Jadavpur University!

Campus life.

Campus Life is pretty fun. Because of the large size of the campus many fests are organized from time to time along with a host of other events. The arts department, science department and engineering department each has their own fests spanning over 2-3 days each. There are mainly two types of libraries: departmental library and central library. One can also get their hands on research papers through computer rooms (each department has one). But the quality of computers are a bit lagging with out of date hardware and softwares being used. Other than that it's pretty good. Now, coming to clubs there are many choices ranging from dramatics to sports club. Each club organises their own event from time to time over a year.

I faced an interview process where I had to present by research proposal. One can prepare a PPT and present it infront of the interviewers. Questions will be asked from the topic presented. The interviewee has to defend the proposal put forward by him/her. In order to defend a proposal one has to be adequately be versed in the topic being presented. For that, one has to devote a good amount of time in finding out as to why such a research is needed and what can be contributed in research literature through such a topic.

Davangere University

The Davangera University is situated in Karnataka. This University is UGC as well as AICTE discerned. My experience at this university was enormous. This university is famous for its Post Graduation courses as well as for Bed. You will get all the facilities such as Hostel, canteen, bank, etc inside the University Campus.

I was a student of PhD in economics at this university. You can get the admission in PhD on the basis of entrance test. Another criterion to get the admission in PhD is that you must hold a Master degree of any recognized University with 55% marks.

My experience in this college has been amazing

The college has various well-equipped labs, enormous sports ground, where a variety of sports tournaments are hosted and a variety of college events like national day celebrations, college fests, inter-college competitions etc are held.

Fee Structure And Facilities

The fee is a little expensive, but it is lesser than various colleges providing the same course and the same facilities. The fee for my course is around INR 75,000 and for the entire three-year course, the fee is around INR 225,000.

Durg College Review

Placement experience.

Our Placement Cell was highly driven to match the reputation and the merit that the college stands for. The country's top companies like Axis Bank, Policy Bazaar, Decathlon, Vivo, Just Dial, L& T Finance etc., were all frequently visited.

Course Curriculum Overview

Ph.D in Economics is a very common course a lot of people will do. While the research work was going on we were asked to submit six month progress reports and was asked to give atleast two Presentations. It was not a tedious process.

Sardar Patel Institute of Economic and Social Research - [SPIER]

The course curriculum is structured beautifully and will be taken well by the students aspiring to take up research as their career especially in the field of economics. The syllabus is good in terms of excellent exposure to many interesting research areas.

College Events

We have most of our focus on the seminars an educational conferences based on the economic subject. Many good things and useful information is taught to us in those seminars. Other than that there are no other events celebrated as such.

Gurukul of India.

Campus life is full of creative,enthusiasts, smart peoples and critics. The culture of campus is full of art lovers, such as of theater, singing, dancing, photographers, sculptures , linguists ,and more. The university team almost every year brings National prizes in the inter-university youth competitions. In sports the university reaches state and national levels too, and have also brought few national prizes in women basketball, men football , chess etc,

The faculty of the college are learned, well qualified and friendly. The student teacher ratio is very good. The teachers are dedicated towards the teaching as well as very much devoted to their own research interests. The department is blessed with a variety of teachers affiliated to different field of study on the subject. The departmental faculty academic culture is heterogenous in nature and both mainstream as well as radicals belong here.

Ph.D. (Economics) : 5 answered questions

Ques. is it really difficult to get into phd economics programs of universities like dse, isi or jnu with an m.a. economics degree from ignou.

● Top Answer By Aarushi Kumar on 03 Nov 22

Ques. I have completed my MBA With specialization in rural development am I eligible for phd economics

● Top Answer By Tithi Aggrawal on 16 Sept 23

Ques. Between JNU and Delhi School Of Economics, which option will be the best to pursue a PhD in economics for an individual?

● Top Answer By Tithi Aggrawal on 04 Jul 23

Ques. Which institute is better for a PhD in economics (in terms of exposure, curriculum, study methods, etc.), IIM Ahmedabad or IIM Bangalore?

● Top Answer By Pratik Parikh on 20 Oct 23

Ques. How good are your chances to get into PhD economics at MIT/Harvard/Stanford after completing MA economics from DSE or MSQE from ISI Delhi/Kolkata?

● Top Answer By Debarghya Sanyal on 04 Sept 21

Ph.D. (English)

Ph.d. (history), m.phil. (english), ph.d. (hindi), ph.d. (sociology), ph.d. (economics) colleges in india.

IIT Madras - Indian Institute of Technology - [IITM]

IIM Bangalore - Indian Institute of Management

IIMC - Indian Institute of Management

IIT Bombay - Indian Institute of Technology - [IITB]

IIML - Indian Institute of Management

IIT Kanpur - Indian Institute of Technology - [IITK]

IIFT Delhi Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay - [SJMSOM]

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PhD Programs

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Students in our PhD programs are encouraged from day one to think of this experience as their first job in business academia—a training ground for a challenging and rewarding career generating rigorous, relevant research that influences practice.

Our doctoral students work with faculty and access resources throughout HBS and Harvard University. The PhD program curriculum requires coursework at HBS and other Harvard discipline departments, and with HBS and Harvard faculty on advisory committees. Faculty throughout Harvard guide the programs through their participation on advisory committees.

How do I know which program is right for me?

There are many paths, but we are one HBS. Our PhD students draw on diverse personal and professional backgrounds to pursue an ever-expanding range of research topics. Explore more here about each program’s requirements & curriculum, read student profiles for each discipline as well as student research , and placement information.

The PhD in Business Administration grounds students in the disciplinary theories and research methods that form the foundation of an academic career. Jointly administered by HBS and GSAS, the program has four areas of study: Accounting and Management , Marketing , Strategy , and Technology and Operations Management . All areas of study involve roughly two years of coursework culminating in a field exam. The remaining years of the program are spent conducting independent research, working on co-authored publications, and writing the dissertation. Students join these programs from a wide range of backgrounds, from consulting to engineering. Many applicants possess liberal arts degrees, as there is not a requirement to possess a business degree before joining the program

The PhD in Business Economics provides students the opportunity to study in both Harvard’s world-class Economics Department and Harvard Business School. Throughout the program, coursework includes exploration of microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, probability and statistics, and econometrics. While some students join the Business Economics program directly from undergraduate or masters programs, others have worked in economic consulting firms or as research assistants at universities or intergovernmental organizations.

The PhD program in Health Policy (Management) is rooted in data-driven research on the managerial, operational, and strategic issues facing a wide range of organizations. Coursework includes the study of microeconomic theory, management, research methods, and statistics. The backgrounds of students in this program are quite varied, with some coming from public health or the healthcare industry, while others arrive at the program with a background in disciplinary research

The PhD program in Organizational Behavior offers two tracks: either a micro or macro approach. In the micro track, students focus on the study of interpersonal relationships within organizations and the effects that groups have on individuals. Students in the macro track use sociological methods to examine organizations, groups, and markets as a whole, including topics such as the influence of individuals on organizational change, or the relationship between social missions and financial objectives. Jointly administered by HBS and GSAS, the program includes core disciplinary training in sociology or psychology, as well as additional coursework in organizational behavior.

Accounting & Management  

Business economics  , health policy (management)  , marketing  , organizational behavior  , strategy  , technology & operations management  .

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Is an Economics PhD Worth It? The PhD Pay Premium

Read a summary or generate practice questions using the INOMICS AI tool

Economics students may often wonder if doing a PhD is the right move for them. After all, you can still get a good job in economics with just a Master’s degree. We’ve covered different angles of this topic before with helpful advice about what degree you’ll need as an economist , asking whether you should do a PhD , and even asking what kinds of economists are paid the most . Thanks to INOMICS Salary Report 2023 data, we can look more closely at the pay benefit for an economics PhD in today’s job market. This will help you decide if doing an economics PhD will be worth it for your own career.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the typical PhD in economics earns more than the typical economist with “only” a Master’s degree. But how much more? Is doing an economics PhD program worth it in the long term?

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The short answer: yes. INOMICS Salary Report data shows that in 2023, economics PhDs earned on average 96% more than economists with a Master’s degree. These are worldwide statistics taken from the full breadth of the INOMICS Salary Survey data.

The benefit to doing a PhD in economics varies by region. Figure 1 compares the “earnings premium” that an economics PhD has over economists with a Master’s degree across the world, using 2023 INOMICS Salary Survey data.

Figure 1: Regional Premiums in economics PhD pay compared to a Master’s

Clearly, in most regions acquiring a PhD in economics offers quite the premium. Some results may stand out as surprising, however.

First, in North America in particular, the premium for earning a PhD in economics seems smaller than expected. If a PhD only earns an economist an extra 36% increase in wages, ignoring a PhD and continuing to work might seem like a preferred option in this high-wage region.

In the Caribbean, South & Central America and Africa, PhD earnings are below Master’s earnings. This unexpected result appears to be the case due to the distribution of survey respondents. In both regions, the amount of industry economist respondents is much larger than academic respondents, and Master’s-degree-holding economists outnumber PhD economists in Government, Central & International Bank, and private business roles. These three categories of employer tend to pay more highly than others. This suggests that in these two regions, acquiring a PhD may not be necessary to have a well-compensated industry career. Further, it seems more realistic for Master’s-degree-holding economists to attain high-paying roles in these sectors without a PhD, as opposed to many other regions where a PhD would be considered a requirement.

As the previous discussion just showed, Figure 1 doesn’t account for the different sectors that economists work in. In general, economists who work in industry tend to earn very high wages, while economists who work in academia earn noticeably less until they are finally promoted to a full Professor of Economics. Then, academic economist pay catches up to industry pay. This is a trend noted in multiple editions of the INOMICS Salary Report.

This is particularly true in North America, the highest-paying region on average. Economists working in industry can earn high wages with only a Master’s degree. This is also true of Western Europe & Scandinavia and East Asia & Australasia, the second and third highest-paying regions identified by the Report.

Some other regions of the world feature much more of a premium for PhD economists. Part of the reason for this is clear. Since high-paying regions like Western Europe and Australasia pay higher salaries to begin with due to the higher cost of living, a high pay increase in these regions represents a lower percentage of overall pay.

This fact is supported by the graph; North America is the highest-paying region and features the lowest positive percentage increase in pay for PhDs. Western Europe, which pays the second most on average, features a slightly higher percentage increase. Readers should make no mistake; a 35.6% increase from a base salary of $100,833 (the average Master’s degree economist salary in North America) is a massive increase in pay. Comparably, the almost 120% increase in pay in the Middle East, Central Asia & North Africa region is an increase from an average Master’s degree salary of $17,321 to almost $40,000. In percentage terms, this is obviously enormous, but in cash terms less than the difference in North America.

Additionally, however, the high percentage premium for PhD economists in lower-paying regions may suggest that in these regions (i.e., South Asia, Middle East) there are more opportunities for economists without a PhD to find meaningful employment, so fewer individuals elect to study for a PhD. If this is true, those who do complete a PhD enjoy a high pay premium over their economist peers since economics PhDs are more rare in those regions.

Academic economists need a PhD

Economics students should keep in mind that academic jobs will almost certainly require a PhD in economics. Economics students interested in a career in academia should therefore be strongly encouraged to pursue an economics PhD, regardless of differences in pay. The following Figure 2 shows the pay premium for economists employed at universities, by region:

Figure 2: Regional Premiums in economics PhD pay compared to a Master’s (Academic only)

The pay premiums for economics PhDs tells the story quite clearly: across the board, in every world region, economics PhDs in academia earn much more than their counterparts without a PhD.

Readers might note that this graph is likely skewed because economics PhDs are probably more senior economists than economists without a PhD in academic settings, and likely hold higher-level positions; but this skewness supports the point. Economists interested in a serious career in academia must strongly consider getting a PhD, or have a specific reason to not need one. It is very difficult to earn a Professor of Economics position without a PhD in most of the world. Figure 3 below provides evidence to support this point.

Figure 3: % of Master’s degree economists in Professor roles by region

Figure 3 shows very clearly that burgeoning economists should expect to earn a PhD if they wish to work as a Professor of Economics in the future. Every world region has very few Professors with just a Master’s degree. Even in South Asia, which has by far the largest representation for Professors with a Master’s degree in our data, only 20% of Professors have a Master’s while 80% have a PhD.

Industry economist roles

It’s clear that academic economists usually need a PhD, but this isn’t necessarily the case in industry. However, readers may be curious to repeat the above breakdowns in industry roles, which can be instructive. Figure 4 thus shows the pay premium for PhD economists in industry roles by region:

Figure 4: Regional Premiums in economics PhD pay compared to a Master’s (Industry only)

Figure 4 shows that PhD economists out-earn Master’s-holding economists in industry jobs by a substantial amount in most regions. The lower industry PhD economist pay compared to Master’s degree economists was already discussed above for Africa and the Caribbean. In summary, Master’s degree holding economists outnumber PhD economists in Government, Central & International Bank, and private business roles in these two regions. Since these three categories of employer tend to pay more highly than others, it may slightly skew the graph in favor of Master’s degree holders. However, this suggests that in these two regions, acquiring a PhD may not be necessary to have a well-compensated industry career.

In North America, part of the reason for a lower than expected premium is likely the fact that in this high-paying region, high base salaries mean that salary increases will be lower percentage-wise. This was discussed above as well. Average years of experience are quite comparable for industry economists in North America (about 12 for Master’s degree holders and 15 for PhD holders), and the employer distribution is relatively balanced.

Figure 4 suggests that industry economists with a Master’s degree in North America ought to consider their career path and whether a PhD is right for them before going back to school. A PhD opens up some employment opportunities in the private sector that aren’t available to Master’s degree holders, and will increase pay, but whether or not that is necessary or desired is likely up to the individual.

Keep in mind that specific non-academic employers – especially governments, central banks like the Federal Reserve, institutions seeking economics researchers, NGOs like the World Bank, and even increasingly consulting firms – are likely to require an econ PhD for some higher-level positions. Be sure to check job listings for economics jobs that you’re interested in to see if a PhD might help you reach them in your career.

Comparing previous years: PhD earnings on the rise again

Using past years of INOMICS survey data, we can examine how the benefit to doing an economics PhD has changed over time. It appears that the premium in pay that economics PhDs enjoy is recovering after a slight dip during the pandemic years. See below Figure 5 below:

Figure 5: How much more PhD economists earn vs. Master’s economists by year, INOMICS data

Figure 5 shows that earnings for economics PhDs are once again rising relative to pay for economists without a PhD. It’s worth noting that pay for economists with both degree types has increased this year. According to the latest INOMICS Salary Report, economists with a Master’s as their highest degree experienced a 3.2% increase in pay on average since 2022, while those with a PhD have experienced a 35.9% increase. This has widened the earnings premium between the two categories from 80% in 2022 to 91% in 2023.

The dip in pay that economists experienced in 2022 may be partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And PhD pay is not the only factor that appears to be improving since COVID. The post-pandemic recovery of the economics jobs market has already been discussed by INOMICS, showing that earnings for economists with Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees recovered sharply after the first waves of the pandemic.

So, is doing a PhD in economics right for you? According to the data, in most cases it will be. However, you must weigh the tradeoffs yourself. You may not need a PhD to have a fulfilling career in economics, particularly if you plan to work in a non-governmental and non-central bank role in industry, and particularly in certain countries and regions.

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• B.S. in Economics

B.S. in Economics Major (EN31)

The Bachelor of Science in Economics (EN 31) is our most comprehensive degree as it provides the highest level of combined technical and applied training of all our major programs. 

The major builds the core toolkits of economics,  how individuals, firms, organizations, and governments make choices, with emphasis on economic incentives and strategic interactions. The core courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics teach students how economies function and how to extract insights from data; full-year sequences in microeconomics and econometrics provide advanced quantitative and analytical training. The wide range of elective courses in the Economics major apply the tools to topics in finance; strategic management; business operations; trade; labor markets; energy, climate, and the environment; taxation; government; inequality; international development; and more. The major requires students to choose at least two advanced electives, which provide strong analytical training in students’ preferred fields.

The Economics B.S. is STEM-certified and highly valued by employers. With the Economics B.S., students have access to a broad range of careers in business, finance, government, health, law, energy, technology, education, non-profits, international organizations, and many more.  The degree also provides a solid foundation for students who are thinking about graduate study.

To receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics:

• Students must have a minimum 2.0 major GPA in order to graduate.
• All major requirements, both lower division and upper division, must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a C- or better. 
• All upper division major requirements must be at least 4 units. Classes lower than 4 units will not count toward your upper division major requirements. 
• You must remain within the residency requirement for this major, which is: No more than four upper-division courses taken externally from UC San Diego can be counted toward the major. 

Note: F-1 students with an EN25 major are eligible to apply for STEM OPT and extend the employment authorization benefits. Current F-1 regulations allow for 12 months of OPT and an additional 24 months (total of 36 months) of OPT for those in STEM qualified fields. Visit the OPT webpage for details and updates.  EN31 falls under the category of Econometrics and Quantitative Economics.

Focus of the Major

• Emphasizes tools of economics analysis and their applications to contemporary problems and government policies.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the Economics major, students will be able to:

• Apply the formal methods used by statisticians to analyze data to learn about the real world
• Use basic economic methods to quantify uncertainty with confidence intervals; use regression to infer causal relationships; and use regressions for prediction
• Critically interpret empirical studies
• Set up, solve, and analyze optimization models
• Apply optimization models to consumer, producer, and market theories
• Use game theory to analyze the strategic behavior of individuals and firms
• Build macroeconomic models
• Apply macroeconomic models to understand current issues

The UC San Diego WASC Inventory of Effectiveness Indicators for the bachelor of science in economics will be posted soon.

Requirements

• Major requirements checklist ( PDF )

Four Year Plan

• First Years ( PDF )

Two Year Plan

• Transfer Students ( PDF )
• Electives by Interest
• Honors Program
• Career Paths
• Program FAQs
• Double Majors