Economics, PhD

The doctoral program in economics offers a firm grounding in the theory and tools of economics as well as in a variety of fields of specialization. Facilities within the department include faculty and student offices, a library of core materials, and a computer center. The size of the department, the breadth of specialties represented among the faculty, the abundance of research workshops and research facilities, and the related programs of other university departments combine to provide an unusually supportive atmosphere for study and research.

Admissions

Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online.

• Fall Deadline: December 5
• Spring Deadline: The program does not admit in the spring.
• Summer Deadline: The program does not admit in the summer.
• GRE (Graduate Record Examinations): Required.
• English Proficiency Test: Refer to the Graduate School: Minimum Requirements for Admission policy.
• Other Test(s) (e.g., GMAT, MCAT): n/a
• Letters of Recommendation Required: 3

Applicants to the doctoral program receive full funding consideration if the application form is submitted and graduate school application fee is paid by the deadline for fall term admission.

Doctoral admission requirements include a bachelor's degree, plus three semesters of calculus, a semester of linear algebra, and a semester of mathematical statistics, which must be completed before entering the program. Mathematics preparation should include multivariate calculus, elementary probability, and regression analysis. Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation and Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores.

Funding

Graduate School Resources

The Bursars Office provides information about tuition and fees associated with being a graduate student. Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.

Program Resources

Applicants to the doctoral program receive full funding consideration if the application form is submitted and graduate school application fee paid by December 5. The department offers a number of financial support packages for the first year of study to incoming doctoral students with outstanding records. These packages guarantee support for five years of study and take the form of fellowship, teaching assistantship, research assistantship, or a combination of the three. All continuing support is based on the condition that a student is making good progress in the program.

Requirements

Mode of Instruction

• Face to Face: Yes
• Evening/Weekend: No
• Online: No
• Hybrid: No
• Accelerated: No

Curricular Requirements

• Minimum Credit Requirement: 51 credits
• Minimum Residence Credit Requirement: 32 credits
• Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement: 26 credits must be graduate-level coursework.
• Overall Graduate GPA Requirement: 3.00 GPA required.
• Other Grade Requirements: Students must earn a B average in the first year econometrics courses; retaking the applicable course(s) during the second year if the two-course GPA average is less than 3.0.
• Assessments and Examinations: The micro and macro theory preliminary examinations must be taken in early summer following the first year of graduate study. Students who do not pass both exams on this first attempt must retake the exam(s) they did not pass in late summer. A third attempt is granted only if the student has passed one exam after the second attempt.

To maintain satisfactory progress through the program, each student must have the field paper approved by the students major field by December 15 of the third year of study and must complete a three-signature dissertation proposal by December 15 of the fourth year of study.

• Language Requirements: No language requirements.
• Graduate School Breadth Requirement: All doctoral students are required to complete a doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate.

Required Courses

• First Year Course Requirements:
  • ECON 711: Economic Theory-Microeconomics Sequence (3 credits)
  • ECON 712: Economic Theory-Macroeconomics Sequence (3 credits)
  • ECON 713: Economic Theory: Microeconomics Sequence (3 credits)
  • ECON 714: Economic Theory; Macroeconomics Sequence (3 credits)
  • ECON 703: Mathematical Economics I (3 credits)
  • ECON 709: Economic Statistics and Econometrics I (3 credits)
  • ECON 710: Economic Statistics and Econometrics II (3 credits)
• PhD Course Requirements:
  • Breadth: 9-12 credits
  • Major Field Coursework: 12 credits
  • Additional Credits: 6-9 credits

Fields of Concentration

The department offers seven fields of concentration:

1. Econometrics: Concerned with the methods for empirical analysis in economics. The program provides strong preparation and training for students interested in econometric methods and theory, as well as for students whose primary interest lies in applied economics.
2. Industrial Organization: For students planning to write a dissertation in industrial organization, the field requirement is a paper to be completed during the summer of the second year. The graduate program in industrial organization equips students to conduct research in this field through a variety of advanced courses.
3. International Economics: Divided into the trade side and the macroeconomics side. The trade side considers the causes and consequences of international trade and of policies that alter trade patterns. The macroeconomics side puts special focus on the role of financial markets and monetary variables in open economies.
4. Labor Economics: Has a long and distinguished history of scholarly research and the application of this research to policy issues. Students majoring in this field are expected to understand relevant institutional features of labor markets, sources of data and econometric techniques needed to draw inferences from these data, and the models of rational economic behavior needed to organize coherent economic thinking about labor markets.
5. Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics: Emphasizes research on dynamic stochastic environments, as these seem central to understanding private sector and policy determinants of growth, business cycles, income distribution, and other central topics.
6. Microeconomic Theory: A broad area that examines foundational issues in economic modeling and provides tools for applied economic research. The field includes partial and general equilibrium theory, game theory, the economics of incentives and information, and decision theory.
7. Public Economics: The study of the government's role in the economy, particularly through tax and expenditure policy. Scholars in public economics examine a wide range of issues, including the behavioral effects of taxation, social insurance, savings, altruism, anti-poverty policy, education, peer effects, income distribution, and issues in health economics.

Policies

Prior Coursework

• Graduate coursework from other institutions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the faculty graduate committee in the Department of Economics.
• With graduate committee approval, students are allowed to transfer no more than 15 credits of graduate coursework from other institutions.
• Credits earned ten years or more prior to admission to a doctoral degree are not allowed to satisfy requirements.

Probation

Refer to the Graduate School: Probation policy.

Advisor / Committee

Refer to the Graduate School: Advisor and Graduate School: Committees (Doctoral/Masters/MFA) policies.

Credits Per Term Allowed

15 credit maximum. Refer to the Graduate School: Maximum Credit Loads and Overload Requests policy.

Time Limits

Students must complete the final oral exam by May 15 of the seventh year of study.

Grievances and Appeals

These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:

• Bias or Hate Reporting
• Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
• Hostile and Intimidating Behavior Policies and Procedures
• Office of the Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs
• Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
• Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
• Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
• Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
• Office Student Assistance and Support (OSAS) (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
• Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
• Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
• Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)

Professional Development

Placement

The department has a well-organized placement service. Each year a faculty member functions as the placement officer. He or she is assisted by the placement assistant who coordinates the sending of CVs and letters of recommendation, makes available job vacancy information, and provides resources and general guidance to ensure students are prepared for the job market.

Many graduates accept research positions in academia, while others gain employment with international organizations, government, private consulting, or tech firms. Between 2010 and 2021, placements at U.S. universities have included positions as assistant professors at the University of CaliforniaSan Diego, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Oregon, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Rochester, Ohio State University, University of Florida, and University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz.

Learning Outcomes

1. Establishes a firm grounding in economic theory.
2. Exhibits expert depth of knowledge in one of the fields of specialization in the Economics department.
3. Demonstrates command of the tools needed to conduct and assess empirical research in economics.
4. Creates and presents research that makes a substantive contribution to the field.
5. Follows ethical principles of the discipline in using sources in research.

Outline:

• Fields of Concentration:
Econometrics, industrial organization, international economics, labor economics, macroeconomics, microeconomic theory, and public economics.
• Curriculum:
• First year: Economic theory and statistics courses, plus seminars for first-year doctoral students featuring faculty presentations.
• Second year: Students choose a field of concentration and take advanced courses in that field.
• Course Schedule:
• Econometrics:
• Economic Statistics and Econometrics I
• Economic Statistics and Econometrics II
• Econometric Methods
• Econometric Methods
• Topics in Applied Econometrics
• Economic Statistics and Econometrics III
• Industrial Organization:
• Overview of the field
• Details of how to estimate industrial organization models
• Recent developments in the field
• International Economics:
• Core of the real side of international economics
• Macroeconomics side of international economics
• Advanced topics and treatments in international economics
• Labor Economics:
• Labor Economics
• Survey of Institutional Aspects of Labor Economics
• Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics:
• Macroeconomic theory
• Empirical methods in macroeconomics
• Theory and econometrics of environments comprised of interacting agents
• Monetary and financial theory
• Methods of modeling and coping with uncertainty, imperfect information, and private information
• Computational or econometric methods
• Topics in macroeconomics
• Microeconomic Theory:
• Partial and general equilibrium theory
• Game theory
• Economics of incentives and information
• Decision theory
• Public Economics:
• Theory of Public Finance and Fiscal Policy
• Applied econometrics or field topics course
• Individual Modules:
• Doctoral Minor or Graduate/Professional Certificate:
All doctoral students are required to complete a doctoral minor or Graduate/Professional certificate. Students completing an Option B (Distributed) minor are recommended to complete four courses from inside and outside the Economics department.

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Assessment:

• Micro and macro theory preliminary examinations:
Must be taken in early summer following the first year of graduate study.
• Econometrics courses:
Students must earn a B average in the first-year econometrics courses; retaking the applicable course(s) during the second year if the two-course GPA average is less than 3.0.

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Careers:

• Academia:
Assistant professors at University of California–San Diego, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Oregon, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Rochester, Ohio State University, University of Florida, and University of California–Santa Cruz.
• Non-US Universities:
University College London, London School of Economics, McMaster University, National Taiwan University, University of Mannheim, University of Warwick, National University of Singapore, Peking University, and Tsinghua University.
• Non-Academic Employment:
Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the International Monetary Fund, US Treasury Department, RAND Corporation, the Korea Development Institute, NERA Economics Consulting, Amazon, and Mathematica Policy Research Institute.

University of Wisconsin–Madison

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Overview:

University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin. It is known for its strong academic programs, extensive research enterprise, and vibrant campus life. The university is guided by the Wisconsin Idea, a philosophy that emphasizes the importance of using knowledge to improve the lives of people beyond the campus.

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Services Offered:

The university offers a wide range of services to students, including:

Academic Support:

Academic advising, tutoring, writing centers, and career services.

Student Life:

Student organizations, recreational facilities, cultural events, and health services.

Technology:

Access to computer labs, online resources, and software.

Housing:

On-campus residence halls and off-campus housing options.

Financial Aid:

Scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study programs.

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Student Life and Campus Experience:

Students at UW–Madison can expect a vibrant and engaging campus experience. The university boasts a diverse student body, a wide range of student organizations, and a lively social scene. The city of Madison offers a variety of cultural attractions, restaurants, and entertainment options.

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Key Reasons to Study There:

Strong Academic Programs:

UW–Madison is home to a wide range of academic programs, including highly ranked programs in engineering, business, medicine, and the humanities.

Research Opportunities:

The university is a leading research institution, offering students opportunities to participate in groundbreaking research projects.

Wisconsin Idea:

The university's commitment to public service provides students with opportunities to make a positive impact on the world.

Vibrant Campus Life:

UW–Madison offers a lively and engaging campus experience with a diverse student body, a wide range of student organizations, and a variety of cultural events.

Location:

Madison is a beautiful and vibrant city with a strong sense of community.

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Academic Programs:

UW–Madison offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs across various disciplines, including:

Engineering:

The College of Engineering is highly ranked and offers programs in areas such as computer science, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering.

Business:

The Wisconsin School of Business is known for its strong programs in finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

Medicine:

The School of Medicine and Public Health is a leading institution in medical research and education.

Humanities:

The university offers a wide range of programs in the humanities, including English, history, philosophy, and art history.

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Other:

Athletics:

UW–Madison is a member of the Big Ten Conference and has a strong athletic tradition.

Alumni Network:

The university has a large and active alumni network, providing students with valuable connections after graduation.

Sustainability:

UW–Madison is committed to sustainability and has a number of initiatives to reduce its environmental impact.