Program Overview

Program Overview

The Doctor of Philosophy in Economics is a 75 semester credit hour program that provides a cutting-edge education in economic theory, mathematical and econometric techniques, and various research areas in economics. The mission of the program is to educate students to think critically about economic problems and contribute to the knowledge base of the discipline.

Program Faculty

The program faculty includes:

• Professors: Daniel G. Arce, Kurt J. Beron, Dong Li, Todd Sandler, Donggyu Sul
  • Associate Professors: Seth Giertz, Xin (Sherry) Li, Susan Williams McElroy, Kevin Siqueira, Victor Valcarcel
  • Assistant Professors: Rodney Andrews, Asli Leblebicioglu

Facilities

Students have access to computing facilities in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences and the University's computer labs. The school has four computing laboratories with network-linked computers equipped with major social science software packages, including EViews, R, RATS, SPSS, and Stata. A computerized geographic information system, the LexisNexis database, and Westlaw are also available for student use.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must meet the University's general admission requirements, which include:

• A bachelor's degree from an institution of higher education
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• A grade average of 3.25 or better in upper-division and graduate course work in economics and related courses
• Submission of official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, with a minimum quantitative score of 158
• Three letters of recommendation
• A one-page essay outlining the applicant's background, reasons for choosing the program, prior educational experiences, and personal objectives

Prerequisites

Students who lack the necessary background to start the program are advised to take courses to strengthen their preparation. The following courses may be used to gain prerequisite knowledge:

• ECON 3310 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
• ECON 3311 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
• ECON 4351 Mathematical Economics
• EPPS 7316 Regression and Multivariate Analysis or ECON 4355 Econometrics
• EPPS 7313 Descriptive and Inferential Statistics or equivalent It is also necessary to have had undergraduate courses in calculus and matrix or linear algebra. Additional math courses, such as differential equations, mathematical statistics, and real analysis, are useful.

Degree Requirements

Students seeking the PhD in Economics must complete 75 graduate semester credit hours and meet the following requirements:

• Complete core courses with an average GPA of 3.00
• Pass comprehensive exams in micro- and macroeconomic theory and in econometrics
• Submit an acceptable research paper by the beginning of the fourth year of study
• Be certified in two research areas within the science of Economics
• Submit an approved dissertation

Core Courses

Students are required to complete the following core courses:

• ECON 6301 Microeconomics Theory I
• ECON 7301 Microeconomics Theory II
• ECON 7303 Microeconomics Theory III
• ECON 6302 Macroeconomics Theory I
• ECON 7302 Macroeconomics Theory II
• ECON 6305 Mathematical Economics
• ECON 6309 Econometrics I
• ECON 7309 Econometrics II
• ECON 8V01 Dissertation Seminar

Research Area Certification

The student must select two research areas, preferably during the second year of study, and advise the Director of Graduate Studies of the selection. The general guidelines for certification consist of an average of B+ or better in two courses within each area. Examples of field areas include:

• Labor economics
• Public economics
• Experimental/behavioral economics
• Economics of education
• Econometrics
• Applied microeconomics
• Applied econometrics
• Macroeconomics
• Game theory
• Industrial organizations
• Geospatial information science

Dissertation

The submission of an approved dissertation will complete the course of study for the PhD degree in Economics. The procedure for approval of the dissertation is outlined in the UT Dallas Graduate Catalog. By the end of a PhD student's 8th semester, the student must present an economics seminar at UTD on original work that has been supervised by the student's advisor. This requirement is waived for any student that successfully defends their dissertation proposal prior to the completion of the student's 8th semester.