1. Economics
  2. Fields of Study

Fields of Study

The Ph.D. Program in Economics emphasizes six fields: 

Other fields can be substituted with the approval of the Executive Officer. Dissertations can be written in any of these six fields, or in any other area in which students and professors find a mutual interest.

Notes on Course Offerings:

Note that not all courses are offered every year. Some courses are offered every other year; a few courses are offered only occasionally. The courses page contains the course schedule for the current academic year.

  • Students should advise the Executive Officer regarding electives in which they are interested.
  • Advanced students may take reading courses by arrangement with a faculty member and the approval of the Executive Officer.
  • Courses may be audited with the instructor’s approval.
  • The Applied Economics Seminar may be repeated once for credit. In order to repeat the Applied Economics Seminar a second time, students must receive approval from the Executive Officer.
  • All required courses except for the Applied Economics Seminar must be completed with a letter grade. This includes field courses that are needed to fulfill the Second Examination requirements. The Applied Economics Seminar is graded on a Pass/Fail basis. In regard to any other non-required electives, students have the option to complete such courses with a letter grade or a Pass/Fail grade.
  • Students should check with each of their professors proir to the beginning of each course to see whether they have all of the necessary prerequisites.
  • Although 700-level courses are traditionally first-year courses and 800-level courses are advanced, there is little operational difference in the Economics program. The 60-credit requirement has no specific division between the number of 700 and 800-level credits.
  • From time to time the program is able to offer special courses or seminars in certain fields. These occasions arise because of the short-term availability of scholars from elsewhere or because of special research interests of students and faculty. This provides flexibility to “experiment” with a course or seminar without committing the program to a continued offering. If results suggest that the offering be continued, it will be added to the Bulletin listings.