Program Overview

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.

Curriculum & Coursework

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 coursework, 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

The Economics PhD program required coursework includes:

• Prerequisites (one to five courses)
  • Introduction to Research and Teaching
  • Basic Business Knowledge Courses:
    • Foundations in Accounting (ACCT 7000)
    • Foundations in Finance (FIN 7000)
    • Organization (MGMT 7000)
    • Foundations in Marketing (MKTG 7000)
    • Data Visualization (BANA 6037)
• Core:
  • Probability Models (BANA 7031)
  • Statistical Models (BANA 7041)
  • Econometrics I and II (ECON 9010 and 9011)
  • Mathematical Economics (ECON 9018)
• Elective options (choose 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 (choose six courses):
  • Advanced Macroeconomic Theory (ECON 9019)
  • Advanced Microeconomic Theory I (ECON 9020)
  • Advanced Microeconomic Theory II (ECON 9021)
  • Advanced Topics in Econometrics I (ECON 9022)
  • Advanced Topics in Economics I (ECON 9030)
  • Advanced Topics in Economics II (ECON 9031)
  • Doctoral Special Topics in Economics (ECON 9099)

PhD Student Publications

• 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.