Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in the field of Economics and a Major Concentration in Economics and Finance
Program Learning Outcomes for the PhD Degree in the field of Economics and a Major Concentration in Economics and Finance
Upon completing the PhD degree in the field of Economics and a major concentration in Economics and Finance, students will be able to:
- Carry out independent research in economics and finance, using mathematical, statistical, econometric, and computational tools.
- Write an independent and original thesis that is of sufficient quality to merit publication in a top economics or finance journal.
- Conduct a focused review of the literature and develop a research design to carry out independent research.
- Defend their research design and modeling choices by presenting their paper in a seminar environment.
- Communicate their research effectively by writing clearly, concisely, and cogently.
- Read critically and assess research manuscripts related to their field of study and in other fields.
Requirements for the MA and PhD Degrees in the field of Economics
MA Degree Program
The MA degree is a non-thesis master's degree. For general university requirements for non-thesis masters degrees, please see Non-Thesis Master's Degrees. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. Although students are not normally admitted to study for an MA, graduate students may earn the MA along the way to the PhD. In order to obtain the MA Degree in the field of Economics, students must:
- Pass the first year core courses with a grade point average of 2.67 or better.
- Complete 6 field courses with passing grades.
- Earn a satisfactory grade in ECON 700 in the last two semesters before graduation.
Students pursuing the PhD degree in the field of Economics, or a PhD degree in the field of Statistics, have the opportunity to also earn a Master of Arts (MA) degree in either the fields of Statistics or Economics, respectively. For additional information, see the Opportunities tab.
The requirements listed in the General Announcements (GA) satisfy the minimum requirements for this degree program. In certain instances, courses (or requirements) not officially listed here may be substituted upon approval of the program's academic advisor, or where applicable, the department or program's Director of Graduate Studies. Course substitutions or any exceptions to the stated official curricular requirements must be approved by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.
Summary
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Credit Hours Required for the MA Degree in the field of Economics | 30 | |
Requirements for the PhD Degree in the field of Economics
PhD Degree Program
For general university requirements, please see Doctoral Degrees. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. Candidates for the PhD usually spend from 2 to 2-1/2 years in full-time coursework and at least 1 year writing the thesis; 5 years is a reasonable goal for completing the program. For the PhD degree in the field of Economics, students must:
- Attend the online Statistics and Mathematics camps (hosted by the Economics department and Rice Online Learning) before starting their first year courses.
- Complete an approved program of at least 18 courses (including approved courses in other departments), no more than 4 of which are research workshops. At least 2 years of full-time study must be in residence at Rice.
- Perform satisfactorily on the required coursework.
- Write a research paper proposal before the start of their third year.
- Write and present a research paper before the end of their third year.
- Choose a thesis advisor by the end of their seventh semester.
- Attend a research workshop every semester after their first year and present their own research in a workshop once every semester after their second year.
- Submit a written progress report in every semester they register for ECON 800.
- Submit a thesis progress report every year starting with their fourth year.
- Defend their thesis proposal to the faculty and students in a seminar during the spring semester of their fourth year.
The requirements listed in the General Announcements (GA) satisfy the minimum requirements for this degree program. In certain instances, courses (or requirements) not officially listed here may be substituted upon approval of the program's academic advisor, or where applicable, the department or program's Director of Graduate Studies. Course substitutions or any exceptions to the stated official curricular requirements must be approved by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.
Summary
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Credit Hours Required for the PhD Degree in the field of Economics | 90 | |
Requirements for the Major Concentration: Economics and Finance
Students pursuing the PhD degree program in the field of Economics and a major concentration in Economics and Finance must:
- Achieve a minimum grade of B (3.00 grade points) in each of the 10 required courses (32 credit hours), including Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics, Real Analysis, Computational Economics, and Financial Economics.
- Successfully complete Corporate Finance and Empirical Methods in Finance.
- Successfully complete 6 credit hours of elective requirements from the following courses: BUSI 524,BUSI 525, BUSI 526, and BUSI 527.
- Successfully pass a comprehensive exam on Asset Pricing, Corporate Finance, and Empirical Methods administered by the Finance faculty at the end of the Fall semester of the second year.
- Write and present a paper in the third year of the program. The paper and its presentation must be approved by two faculty advisors, one of whom must be in the Economics department and one of whom must be a member of the Finance group in the Business school.
- Write and defend a thesis. The thesis committee must include at least one member from the Economics department and at least one member from the Finance group in the Business School.
Summary
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Credit Hours Required for the Major Concentration: Economics and Finance | 38 | |
Degree Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements 1 | ||
| ECON 501 | MICROECONOMICS I | 3 |
| ECON 502 | MACROECONOMICS | 3 |
| ECON 504 / STAT 604 | COMPUTATIONAL ECONOMICS | 3 |
| ECON 505 / BUSI 521 | FINANCIAL ECONOMICS I | 3 |
| ECON 508 | MICROECONOMICS II | 5 |
| ECON 510 / STAT 610 | ECONOMETRICS I | 3 |
| ECON 511 / STAT 611 | ECONOMETRICS II | 3 |
| MATH 321 | INTRODUCTION TO ANALYSIS I | 3 |
| BUSI 522 | CORPORATE FINANCE | 3 |
| BUSI 523 | EMPIRICAL METHODS IN FINANCE | 3 |
| Elective Requirements | ||
| Select a minimum of 6 credit hours from the following: | 6 | |
| FINANCE: SPECIAL TOPICS I | ||
| FINANCE: SPECIAL TOPICS II | ||
| FINANCE: SPECIAL TOPICS III | ||
| FINANCE: SPECIAL TOPICS IV | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 38 | |
Footnotes and Additional Information
| 1 | Each of the 10 core requirements (32 credit hours) must be completed with a minimum grade of B (3.00 grade points) or above. |
Policies for the PhD Degree in the field of Economics
Department of Economics Graduate Program Handbook
The General Announcements (GA) is the official Rice curriculum. As an additional resource for students, the department of Economics publishes a graduate program handbook, which can be found here: https://gradhandbooks.rice.edu/2023_24/Economics_PhD_Graduate_Handbook.pdf
Admission
Preparation for PhD Program: Applicants to the PhD program should have a strong background in mathematics and statistics. All applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).
Transfer Credit
For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities.
Departmental Transfer Credit Guidelines
Students pursuing the PhD degree in the field of Economics should be aware of the following departmental transfer credit guidelines:
- Requests for transfer credit will be considered by the program director on an individual case-by-case basis.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Economics website: https://economics.rice.edu/
Opportunities for the PhD Degree in the field of Economics
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Economics website: https://economics.rice.edu/