Duke University - Economics

Ph.D. Degree Requirements

The Graduate School determines the Ph.D. Requirements, but in many cases those are made specific by the department. Below, the requirements are divided into those which are particular to the graduate school and those which coincide with departmental requirements.

Graduate School Requirements

Departmental Requirements

Specifics

Appeals and Grievances

Graduate School Requirements

1. Payment of 6 semesters of full-time tuition and continuation fee for every semester (except summers) until graduation (provided by the department).
2. A minimum of one academic year of full-time registration.
3. Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training . For students in the social sciences a total of 12 hours of training must be completed. Half of this requirement (6 hours) is satisfied by participating in a mandatory orientation during the fall of the first year. The remaining 6 hours of training must be completed by attending three RCR forums (a schedule is provided at the beginning of each semester) by the end of the student's third year.
4. Enrollment in English language proficiency courses during the first year for international students whose native language is not English. This requirement may be waived if a student can demonstrate competency in English by successfully completing a diagnostic exam (distinct from the TOEFL) the week prior to fall semester classes in the first year. Otherwise, the course requirements will be determined by the exam results. For more information, visit the English for International Students (EIS) website.
5. Must pass all classes.  A failing grade in a class results in immediate removal from the program.

Departmental Requirements

1. Enroll in ECON 300/700/Mathematics for Economists during the month of August preceding the first year.
2. Enroll in and pass the six core courses:
   • Fall semester, ECON 301D/701D (Microeconomics I), ECON 320D/702D (Macroeconomics I) and ECON 341D/703D (Econometrics I)
   • Spring semester, ECON 302D/705D (Microeconomics II), ECON 322D/706D (Macroeconomics II) and ECON 342D/707D (Econometrics II)
   In rare circumstances, students may place out of one of these courses, but only with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. In this case, students may register for additional courses in applied economics, statistics, business, mathematics or other fields of interest. The student's cumulative GPA in the six core courses must be 3.0 or higher at the end of the first year and a grade of B+ or higher must have been received in at least two of the core courses. For each core course in which a student did not attain at least a grade of B+, competency must be demonstrated by passing a written examination during the summer following the first year.
3. Enroll in two additional courses (beyond ECON 300/700 Mathematics for Economists and the six core courses), bringing the total number of first year credits to 30. EIS courses suffice for international students with a language requirement; otherwise first year students must enroll in ECON 380.10/704 (First Year Research Workshop) during the fall and during the spring of the first year.
4. Complete a total of 18 graded credits during the second year (yielding a total of 48 graded credits), maintaining a 3.0 minimum GPA.
5. Complete at least two courses in a major field, with a 3.0 minimum grade average and no single grade lower than a B-, and two courses in a minor field, with a 3.0 minimum grade average. Note: to major or minor in Econometrics, students must complete Econometrics III. Also, one module = 1.5 credits and two modules = 1 course.
6. Enroll in a lunch group and workshop every semester beginning in the Spring semester of the second year.
7. After satisfying the course requirements for a major field, pass a field exam in that field by deadline established by that field.
8. Pass a preliminary examination, which consists of an oral defense of a written dissertation prospectus to an approved supervisory committee, by the end of the third year.  Please see Specifics below.  If granted by the Graduate School and Director of Graduate Studies, this deadline may be extended to the end of first semester of the fourth year. Note: a student must be registered during the semester in which the preliminary examination is attempted.
9. Prepare and present a preliminary job market paper during the spring of the fourth year.  The presentation should be scheduled during lunch group.  Two faculty reviewers, including the student's primary advisor, must evaluate the paper and presentation favorably.
10. Pass a final examination, which consists of an oral defense of a dissertation to an approved supervisory committee. This is typically completed by the end of the fifth year and is required to be completed within four years of the preliminary examination. Note: a student must be registered during the semester in which the final examination is attempted.

Specifics

Field Examination

A student who does not meet the relevant grade requirements will not be permitted to take a field exam or submit a paper for major certification. A student who has not met the certification requirements in one major field and one minor field will not be permitted to defend their dissertation prospectus unless written authorization is obtained from the Director of Graduate Studies.

If a student fails a field exam/paper, then he or she may retake or resubmit it once, at the next available opportunity. Students may only attempt the field requirement twice, regardless of the field in which the exam/paper is attempted.  Students are required to sign up for field exams/papers with the Assistant DGS by the posted date. All field papers must be submitted directly to the Assistant DGS who will record the submission and distribute the paper to the relevant field committee for evaluation.

Preliminary Examination and Thesis Proposal Seminar

By the last day of graduate final exams in the spring semester of the third year, the student must successfully present a thesis prospectus to their supervisory committee. The prospectus is a paper that discusses in detail what the student plans to present in the dissertation, including preliminary results.  The prospectus should show promise of further development into the student's dissertation.  It will be posted online prior to the presentation.  The prospectus and the presentation, which is often given at a departmental workshop, is the preliminary examination as specified in the Graduate Bulletin. The committee is nominated by the Director of Graduate Studies in consultation with the candidate's thesis supervisor; it is comprised of at least four, and often five, faculty members who help the student define the program of research and administer the seminar. One of the committee members must be from either outside the department or from a field within the department that is clearly differentiated from that of the candidate. The student must submit the list of their committee members to the Director of Graduate Studies for approval by the last day of graduate classes in the fall semester of the student's third year (note: there is a mandatory two month waiting period between the Associate Dean's approval of a student's committee and the student's preliminary defense). In the event of failure, the student may request that the thesis prospectus and preliminary examination be retaken one additional time as indicated in the Graduate School Bulletin.  In this case, no summer funding will be provided to the student in summer three.

PhD Dissertation

Students should select a topic and a dissertation advisor as early as possible in their graduate program.

Once the student and the advisor are in agreement about the topic and the proposed methodology, additional faculty members should be asked by the student to form a committee to review and evaluate the student's work.

By the last day of graduate classes in the spring semester of the third year, students must present their dissertation proposal to their committee and other interested faculty. At the end of the presentation, the committee will examine the student orally on the proposal and any related material pertinent to successful completion of the project. The dissertation chairperson shall notify the Director of Graduate Studies of approval or failure of the proposed study and make additional recommendations regarding deficiencies. Again, as with other requirements, students with deficiencies who must take remedial courses are required to meet this deadline but with a one year lag from matriculation.

When the dissertation is completed, it must be submitted to the Graduate School for a format check a minimum of one week before the scheduled defense examination, and the chairman of the student's advisory committee should schedule an examination for the student based on the dissertation. This examination usually lasts two hours and is an oral examination. The entire graduate faculty of the Department of Economics is invited to attend this examination. In actual practice, this examination is usually attended only by the members of the committee.

Appeals and Grievances

Required Courses: A student may petition the Director of Graduate Studies for permission to substitute coursework taken elsewhere for courses required by the department.

The Thesis Prospectus/Preliminary Examination: This examination is subject to Graduate School rules, specified in the Bulletin, regarding both the requirement that it be taken within three years of matriculation and the procedure for a petition for a second attempt in case of failure on the first.

Appeals and grievances on other matters can be made by written appeal to the full faculty, either through the Director of Graduate Studies or the Chairman of the Department. For further grievance procedures, see the Bulletin.