College of Arts and Sciences

Departmental E-mail: rcunning [at] indiana [dot] edu

Departmental URL: https://economics.indiana.edu/

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Curriculum

Degrees Offered

Master of Arts, Master of Arts for Teachers, Doctor of Philoso­phy in economics, and Doctor of Philosophy in economics and business (in cooperation with the Kelley School of Business)

Special Departmental Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

Admission Requirements

Twenty-five (25) credit hours of social science and business, including intermediate economic analysis. First-year differential and integral calculus and one semester of linear algebra are required for the Ph.D. and the M.A. Deficiencies in economics must be removed without graduate credit. Graduate Record Examination General Test required.

Grades

At least a B (3.0) average in work taken for an advanced degree.

Master of Arts Degree

(The department currently is not accepting students in this program.)

Course Requirements

A minimum of 30 credit hours, 24 of which must be taken in the Department of Economics, including 9 credits of theory and 6 credits of statistics. A minimum of 18 credit hours of course work in economics must be numbered E500 or above. Consult the Director of Graduate Studies for specific courses. Up to 6 credit hours are allowable for a thesis. In lieu of writing a thesis, a student may complete 6 credit hours of course work (beyond the required 30 credit hours) in one of the following research skills: operations and decision technologies, computer science, mathematics, or econometrics beyond E572. Courses used to fulfill a research skill requirement do not carry graduate credit.

Master of Arts for Teachers Degree

(The department currently is not accepting students in this program.)

An individual study program of 36 credit hours will be devel­oped for each student, normally including only courses that may be taken for graduate credit.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Fields of Study

Choices of fields offered for qualifying examinations must be approved by the Graduate Studies Committee. Fields of study currently available within the department are advanced eco­nomic theory, development economics, development and tran­sition economics, econometrics, games and experimental methods, growth theory, industrial organization, international trade, macroeconomics, monetary economics, and public economics. In addition, a field in finance is avail­able in partnership with the Kelley School of Business. Fields of study in the Kelley School of Business that are available for the joint Ph.D. degree are accounting, finance, operations manage­ment, marketing, and operations and decision technologies. Information about other fields may be obtained from the Direc­tor of Graduate Studies.

Course Requirements

A total of 90 credit hours, including the theory sequence E520, E521, E522, E621, E622, and the econometrics-statistics sequence E571, E572, E671. All Ph.D. students join a workshop after passing their core theory exams. In addition, starting in their third year, students have to formally enroll in a workshop course for three semesters. There is a minimum requirement of 60 credit hours of course work. A minimum of 57 credit hours must be taken in economics.

Research-Skill Requirement

Proficiency in mathematics, operations and decision technolo­gies, computer science, or econometrics/applied statistics. Courses used to fulfill a research skill requirement do not carry graduate credit.

Core Theory Examination

Core theory examinations in macroeconomics and microeco­nomics are taken at the end of the first year in residence. A maximum of two attempts will be permitted on each section. The exams are given in May, and retakes are administered later in the summer.

Qualifying Field Examinations

The Ph.D. candidate must successfully complete at least three fields: one primary field and two supporting (secondary) fields. One of these fields may be taken outside the Department of Economics. A qualifying examination must be taken in the primary field; courses in supporting fields must be passed with grades of B or better. Consult the economics department’s Graduate Study Guide for further information.

Third-Year Paper Requirement

Ph.D. students are required to write a substantial research paper before the end of the spring semester of their third year. The paper will be presented at a departmental conference at the end of April or the beginning of May of the third year. The goal should be that this paper is of sufficient quality to be the first essay of the dissertation.

Dissertation Proposal

The proposed research for the dissertation must be approved by the research committee and presented at a department workshop.

Final Examination

Oral defense of the dissertation.