Economics Program
General Structure
The PhD program in economics consists of 4 semesters of course work and extends over 4 to 5 years overall. During the first 2 semesters the student must take the compulsory courses in Mathematics, Microeconomics I, II and III, Macroeconomics I, II and III, Econometrics I, II and III. In the 3rd and 4th semester, students choose a number of field courses, and write a thesis proposal.
From the 3rd semester on students are required to participate in the weekly CDSE doctoral seminar and the weekly faculty seminar. In the 5th semester students take the program's English Academic Writing Course and a bridge course in the Center for Doctoral Studies in Business or the Center for Doctoral Studies in Social and Behavioral Sciences.
The 3rd, 4th, and 5th year of the program are mainly devoted to the writing of the doctoral thesis.
Students decide about their thesis supervisor and topic in the 4th semester. The other members of the doctoral committee can be selected later.
Overview
| admission | ||||||
| 1st year (fall) | core: advanced microeconomics (8 ECTS credits) | core: advanced macroeconomics (8 ECTS credits) | core: advanced econometrics (8 ECTS credits) | core: mathematics (6 ECTS credits) | ||
| 1st year (spring) | core: advanced microeconomics II (5 ECTS credits) | core: advanced macroeconomics II (5 ECTS credits) | core: advanced econometrics II (5 ECTS credits) | core: advanced microeconomics III (5 ECTS credits) | core: advanced macroeconomics III (5 ECTS credits) | core: advanced econometrics III (5 ECTS credits) |
| 2nd year (fall) | electives (30 ECTS credits) | CDSE seminar | research colloquium | |||
| 2nd year (spring) | electives (10 ECTS credits) | dissertation proposal (20 ECTS credits) | CDSE seminar | research colloquium | ||
| 3rd year (fall) | bridge course (CDSB, CDSS, 5 ECTS credits) electives (10 ECTS credits) academic writing course (3 ECTS credits) | thesis work (7,5 ECTS credits) | CDSE seminar (3 ECTS credits) | research colloquium | ||
| 3rd year (spring) | thesis work (7,5 ECTS credits) | CDSE seminar (3 ECTS credits) | research colloquium | |||
| summer workshops | ||||||
| 4th year (fall) | thesis work (7,5 ECTS credits) | CDSE seminar (3 ECTS credits) | research colloquium | |||
| 4th year (spring) | thesis work (7,5 ECTS credits) | CDSE seminar (3 ECTS credits) | research colloquium | |||
Requirements:
- Exams in all 10 core courses.
- First semester: pass grade in all courses and average grade of 2.5.
- Second semester: average grade of 2.5 from 5 out of the 6 core courses.
- 5 electives in year 2.
- Research paper with dissertation proposal at the end of year 2.
- In year 3, one bridge course in the CDSB or the CDSS, the English Academic Writing Course, and two further electives.
- Participation in the Faculty Research Seminar (research colloquium) and the Dissertation Workshop (CDSE seminar) from year 2 on.
| In the past, field courses have been offered, among others, in the following fields: | |
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Degree requirements
- Completion of the course program
- Completion, submission and acceptance of the thesis
- Thesis defense
- Degree: Dr. rer. pol.
See also program rules and Ph.D. regulations of the departments of economics and of business administration (only in German).
