These regulations for the doctoral program in Economics supplement the regulations of the Graduate School. Students should check with the Graduate School concerning other requirements that may affect the process of obtaining the doctoral degree.
Credits:
Candidates for the Ph.D. must complete 36 graduate course credits, of which 12 credits must be in 700- or 800-level courses. Of the 36 credits, 21 must be taken within the Economics Department. Inaddition,15dissertationcreditsarerequired;thesemaybetakenatanytime, and it is advisable to take them when you have a tuition waiver.
Performance Standards:
All required courses must be passed with a B- or better.
By the end of the first year, students must have achieved a 'B-' or better in at least two of the required courses, and by the end of the second year in at least four of them. A studentwho fails to meet this requirement must obtain the permission of the Graduate Program Director to continue in the graduate program.
An Incomplete course which is not completed during the following semester becomes an IF (incomplete failure) on the student's record. Any student with more than two IFs on their record at the beginning of a registration period will be required to reduce their course load to a maximum of two courses other than dissertation credits or Independent Studies. If the student fails to complete at least one of the IFs with a grade of B- or better by the beginning of the following semester, the student will suffer academic suspension and not be allowed to register. The student will be reinstated only upon successful completion of allIFs.
Core Course Requirement:
The following eight courses are required for the Ph.D. degree in economics and should be taken within the first two years. A student may request that an equivalent course from another institution or department be accepted in place of a required course. Such requests will be evaluated on the basis of the comparability of the course with courses offered by the Economics Department.
Macroeconomics: Econ. 705
Microeconomics: two courses, including one from group A and one from group B. Group A includes Econ. 701 (Theory of Consumers, Firms, and Markets) and a course in General Equilibrium and Welfare Analysis. Group B includes Econ. 700 (Microeconomics of Coordination and Conflict) and Econ. 702 (Game Theory).
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Political Economy: one course, either Econ. 708 or 709
Economic History: Econ. 703
Econometrics: two courses from among the following three: Resource Economics 702, Resource Economics 703, and Econ. 753. The usual sequence for a student with no previous graduate level econometrics would be Resource Economics 702 followed by either Resource Economics 703 or Econ. 753, but students have the option of taking any 2 of the above 3 courses to satisfy this requirement.
Mathematical Methods: Econ. 751 Coursework Field Requirement:
Students are required to complete two courses in each of two fields. The graduate faculty in each field, in conjunction with the Graduate Program Committee, designates the appropriate courses from which students may choose.
Courses used to satisfy the Core Course Requirement may not be used to satisfy a field requirement.
Courses used to prepare for the comp exam in any of the three core theory fields (Micro, Macro, PE) may not be used to satisfy the field requirement in that field. In practice, students completing a field requirement in a core theory field in which they’ve taken a comp exam will need a total of at least four courses in that field:
Micro: two core courses (comp is based on the core courses) + two field courses Macro & PE: one core course + one comp course + two field courses
Other Course Requirement:
Dissertation Credits: Econ 899 (15 credits, total, taken across several terms. Limit of 9 credits in a single term.)
Course Sequence:
The choice of the sequence of courses rests with the student. A recommended sequence, which the department will endeavor to make possible through its scheduling of courses, is the following:
1st semester - Introduction to Economic History Math Methods
Political Economy I
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2nd semester - 3rd semester - 4th semester -
5th Semester -
6th semester -
Macroeconomics I
Microeconomics I
Econometrics or Political Economy II
Microeconomics Econometrics Open/Field Course
Econometrics (if not taken previously) Open/Field Course
Open/Field Course
Dissertation credits
Open/Field Course Dissertation credits
Dissertation Workshop Dissertation credits
These recommendations leave room for choices regarding which particular Micro, Political
Economy, and Econometrics courses are taken to satisfy the requirements. These choices will, however, be limited by course offerings and therefore require careful planning.
Comprehensive Examinations:
Students are required to pass two comprehensive examinations. One of the exams must be in one of three economic theory fields (the "Core Theory" or "First Comp"). The second may be in another economic theory field or an applied economics field (the "SecondComp").
The Core Theory Comp must be taken during the second year. The Second Comp must be taken by the end of the third year. Students are strongly advised to take it by the end of their second year.
Comprehensive Examinations will be offered in the following fields: Core Economic Theory Fields (offered once a year in January)
Macroeconomics Microeconomics Political Economy
Other Theory and Applied Fields (most are offered at students’ request)
Comparative Economic Systems
Development Economics (offered every summer) Economic History
Environmental Economics
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Feminist Economics International Economics Labor Economics
Marxian Economic Theory
The comprehensive examinations will be based onliterature contained in the Comprehensive Reading Lists, which, for many exams, will represent the syllabus readings from two relevant 700- or 800-level Economics courses.
The comprehensive exam is normally a 4-hour written, closed-book exam, with possible extra time for students whose native language is not English or who have a certified learning disability that calls for extra time on exams. For the second comp, there is an option of doing a comp paper instead of the usual type of comp exam. Two or more members of the faculty must agree to form a comp committee. They and the student must then agree on the nature of the paper and a deadline for its completion. Ninety days after the comp committee approves the undertaking is the standard deadline; a later deadline requires justification. An oral exam of the comp paper is required after its completion. See the special rules governing comp papers: (http://www.umass.edu/economics/sites/default/files/Comp_paper_option.pdf)
A student who fails a comp is allowed one retake of the exam in that field. The Doctoral Dissertation:
Students should begin thinking about possible dissertation areas and topics as soon as they arrive and keep a file of interesting ideas that come up during the first two years of course work. A doctoral student is expected to begin work on a dissertation prospectus during the third year of graduate study. Students will be matched with faculty Pre-Dissertation Advisors (PDAs) in the fall of their second year, to assist in thinking about possible dissertation topics.
Several memos discussing the prospectus may be found on the Department’s website (http://www.umass.edu/economics/sites/default/files/Prospectus.pdf). An important step in the process will be the choice, made in consultation with the PDA, of a Prospectus Chair (possibly the PDA) and Committee. In most cases the Prospectus Committee will be the Dissertation Committee, though changes to the Dissertation Committee after the prospectus defense are permitted.
The Dissertation Committee must include a Dissertation Chair from the Department of Economics, a second Member from the Department of Economics, plus one Outside Member. The Outside Member is faculty at UMass who is not in the Economics Department. There can be additional members on the committee. A faculty member at another university may, with the approval of the Graduate Program Director and the Dean of the Graduate School, serve as a Member—but not Outside Member—on a dissertation committee. A fuller discussion of committees and defenses is available from the Graduate Program Assistant.
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Before their prospectus defense, and before the end of their 4th year, students are required to make a public presentation of their prospectus research. All students are strongly encouraged to enroll in the Dissertation Workshop which is designed to assist in the transition between formal coursework and independent research.
The prospectus defense is an open meeting of the committee, with all members present, at which the dissertation prospectus is presented for approval. The dissertation prospectus must be approved by the Economics Department at least seven months prior to the final oral examination in defense of the Ph.D. dissertation.
At about this time the Graduate Program Director formally recommends the student’s dissertation committee to the Dean of the Graduate School.
The candidate must then prepare a dissertation satisfactory to members of the dissertation committee, and pass an oral examination (defense) conducted by members of the dissertation committee. All members of the dissertation committee must be present at the final oral examination.
Standard Timeline for Completion of the Doctoral Program
The standard timeline for completing the Economics doctoral program is by end of...
year 3, complete course work and comps
year 4, present pre-prospectus research and defend prospectus year 6, defend dissertation
This timeline will be viewed as a standard or norm. However, it is understood that some students will not progress at the rate specified in the standard timeline for justifiable academic or other reasons.
Statute of Limitations:
The Graduate School assigns entering doctoral students an initial Statute of Limitations (SOL) of six years. Students in the spring of their 6th year will be reminded by the Graduate School of the approaching deadline. The Graduate Program Director (GPD) can directly extend the initial SOL for 1 or 2 years. Additional extensions after the first one may, with the recommendation of the GPD, be granted by the Graduate Dean. All students seeking SOL extensions, both initial and additional, are required to submit a form, available from the GPD’s assistant, documenting progress toward the degree, and including the advisor’s comments and evaluation.
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