PhD in Economics

The Department of Economics emphasizes both teaching and research and sees them as mutually reinforcing. Faculty members are encouraged to engage in important research that leads to publication in leading international journals. Faculty members are also encouraged to apply rigorous methodologies to local economic issues that are of high academic value.

Faculty members in the Department are highly regarded and their accomplishments are formally recognized in several studies of productivity in economics research. In 2012, the Academic Ranking of World Universities, conducted by Shanghai Jiaotong University, ranked the Department as No. 1 in Asia and No. 48 in the world. Also in 2012, the EDUNIVERSAL Best Masters Ranking rated the Department as No. 1 in Far East Asia.

The Center for Economic Development was established in 1995 with support from the Department. Its goals are to support research on the process of economic development, with an emphasis on economic development in Greater China and the Asia-Pacific region. Some of the department’s members are active in the School's multidisciplinary Center for Experimental Business Research.

The Ph.D. program is a research-oriented degree program. It is designed to enable students to concentrate in a specialized field and to provide them with the opportunity to do original, fundamental research in that field. The program prepares students for teaching and/or research career in universities, research institutions, businesses, and the government.

The Ph.D. program focuses on original research by the student, but also requires coursework. Doctoral students proceed from admission to the program to candidacy for the degree, and then to the defense of the thesis. Each has a thesis supervisor who oversees the student's research. Students obtain candidacy by successfully completing a qualifying examination. A full-time student making good progress is expected to be able to complete the Ph.D. degree in four years. The first two years of the program will normally be devoted to coursework, leading to the major field examination and a research paper. After that, the student will begin to write the thesis.