• Admission and retention
• Residency requirement
• Progress toward the degree
  • Qualifying examinations
• Typical sequence of courses for Ph.D. degree
• Field specializations and examinations
  • Fields of specialization offered
• Other course requirements
• Admission to candidacy
• Dissertation
• Final examination

Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Admission and Retention

Admission to the Ph.D. program in Economics may be achieved with a master's degree or its equivalent and a grade point average of 3.25 (A=4.0) or better for all graduate level work. Students with bachelor's degrees and a grade point average of 2.7 or better will be admitted as master's students. Upon passage of the qualifying exams in Economic Theory, the student will then be admitted into the doctoral program.

Residency Requirements

The residency requirement for the Ph.D. must be fulfilled after admission to the Ph.D. program but before formal admission into Ph.D. candidacy. In general the equivalent of one year's work at SIUC is required. However, this requirement can be fulfilled in a variety of ways. For the various options available see the Graduate Catalog.

Progress Toward the Ph.D

In the student's progress toward the Ph.D. the student must meet the following basic requirements: the qualifying examinations; field specializations and examination; the acquisition of research tools and other course requirements; and a dissertation. An outline of the typical progress is shown below.

The Qualifying Examinations

The purpose of the qualifying examinations is to inform both the student and the faculty whether the student is making satisfactory progress towards the Ph.D. degree. For a student who fails these examinations the Qualifying Examination Committee will normally consider two alternatives: (1) retaking all or part of the examination or (2) encouraging the student to withdraw from the Ph.D. program.

The qualifying examination in microeconomics and macroeconomics will be based primarily on materials in microeconomic theory (ECON 540a, 540b) and macroeconomic theory (ECON 541a, 541b), respectively.

Students must complete the appropriate course work before qualifying and field exams may be taken. The substitution of course work completed elsewhere must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. A graduate student will be allowed to take qualifying exams (micro and macro) at most two times.

All students must notify the Director of Graduate Studies one month prior to taking qualifying or field exams. The qualifying examinations are offered twice a year, i.e. in the second week of June (prior to the beginning of the Summer semester) and the second week of August (prior to the beginning of the Fall semester). Students are expected to take these examinations immediately upon completion of the course work of study, except under unusual circumstances, and any delay must be approved in advance by the Director of Graduate Studies. Students receiving financial assistance should note that taking and passing the Qualifying Examinations is a prime consideration in determining whether the student is making the required "satisfactory progress."

Field Specializations and Examinations

The student will be required to take two fields prior to the admission of candidacy. In addition, the student will be required to pass a written examination in one specialized field at the end of the second year. Field examinations are given in the second week of June (prior to the beginning of the Summer semester) and in the second week of August (prior to the beginning of the Fall semester).

The fields must come from the list below. Each field consists of a minimum of two courses. Unless otherwise arranged in advance with the Director of Graduate Studies, students must take the courses listed as constituting a field for credit before taking a field examination.

A graduate student will be allowed to take the field exam at most two times.

Current Fields of Specialization and Courses

• Economic Development
  • Economics 520a, Economic Development: Theory and Policy (a)
  • Economics 520b, Economic Development: Theory and Policy (b)
• International Economics
  • Economics 530, Foreign Trade
  • Economics 531, International Finance
• Monetary Theory and Policy
  • Economics 517, Monetary Theory and Policy I
  • Economics 518, Monetary Theory and Policy II
• Applied Microeconomics
  • Economics 580a, Performance Measurement
  • Economics 580b, Welfare Measurement
• Advanced Economic Theory (Any Two)
  • Economics 566, Advanced Mathematical Economics
  • Economics 570, Seminar in Contemporary Microeconomic Theory
  • Economics 571, Seminar in Contemporary Macroeconomic Theory
• Finance
  • Courses selected in consultation with Director of Graduate Studies

Other Course Requirements

In addition, students are required to pass:

• Economics 465, Mathematical Economics I
• Economics 511, Mathematical Economics II
• Economics 540c, Microeconomic Theory III
• Economics 541c, Macroeconomic Theory III
• Economics 567a, Econometrics I
• Economics 567b, Econometrics II
• Economics 567c, Econometrics III

Admission to Candidacy

The student will be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. after completing the requirements listed above, including passing the qualifying examinations in theory and the field examination. The Graduate School stipulates that the Ph.D. degree may not be conferred in fewer than six months after admission to candidacy except upon approval of the Dean of the Graduate School. These regulations further state that the candidate must fulfill all requirements for the degree within a five-year period after admission to candidacy. If completion of requirements is delayed beyond five years, a student may be required to take another field examination and be admitted to candidacy a second time. The form certifying admission to candidacy should be filed with the Graduate School as soon as all requirements are met. This form can be obtained in the Department of Economics office and must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

Dissertation

Following admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree, the student may register for Economics 600 (Dissertation). The candidate, in consultation with the dissertation chairman must form a committee with four other graduate faculty members, one of whom must be from a department other than Economics. The candidate must then gain approval of a dissertation topic by (1) writing a proposal which will be approved in writing by each member of his/her committee and (2) presenting a seminar dealing with his/her dissertation topic as part of Economics 590 (Economics Seminar). A form used in the documentation of these steps should be obtained from the Director of Graduate Studies and will become a permanent part of the student's record. A dissertation showing high attainment in independent, original, scholarship will be submitted toward the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. While working on his/her dissertation the student must register for a minimum of 24 hours of Economics 600 credit. The student is required to submit two copies of the approved dissertation to the Graduate School, along with an abstract of 600 words or less. For the various fees (microfilming, copyright, etc.) see the Graduate Catalog. In addition, one copy is to be submitted to the Department of Economics.

Final Examination

There will be a final oral examination administered by the student's doctoral dissertation committee. The examination will cover the subject of the dissertation and other matters related to the discipline. Any member of the graduate faculty may attend the final oral examination and may participate in questioning and discussion, subject to reasonable limitations imposed by the chairman of the committee. Only members of the committee may vote or make recommendations concerning acceptance of the dissertation and final examination. A student will be recommended for the degree only if the members of the committee, with at most one exception, judge both the dissertation and the performance at the final oral examination to be satisfactory.