Department of Economics Ph.D. Program
1. OVERVIEW
2. CURRICULUM
& PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
3. FINANCIAL
AID
4. APPLICATION
& ADMISSIONS INFORMATION
5. ADVISING
& CONTACT INFORMATION
6. RECENT
PLACEMENTS
7. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
***NOTICE:
Ph.D. applicants who would like to be considered for Fall 2014 admission with financial assistance should submit their on-line application to the University of Oklahoma by January 15th, 2013.
Applications received after this deadline will be considered as
enrollment and funding allows.***
OVERVIEW
The faculty of the Department of Economics at the University of Oklahoma has
a strong commitment to excellence in graduate education. The curriculum
provides a solid base of core theoretical and empirical skills and the
opportunity to pursue concentrated study in selected field areas. More than
150 Ph.D.s in Economics have been earned since the early 1950s. Many of our
graduates have gone on to distinguished careers in higher education,
government, and the private sector.
There are three structural elements of our Ph.D. program. The first element
is a rigorous and well-integrated core curriculum of economic theory and
statistical analysis. The second element consists of concentrated study in
selected fields, including development economics, industrial organization,
international economics, and public economics. The third element consists of
training designed to prepare students to undertake independent research. This
process culminates in a significant work of original research in the form of
a dissertation. Having completed all three elements, our graduates are
fully qualified to pursue academic, professional, or governmental careers.
APPLICATION
& ADMISSIONS INFORMATION
The Graduate
College of the University of Oklahoma has specific admission requirements of:
• A “B” average or better over the last 60 hours of undergraduate study
or the last 12 hours of graduate study.
• For non-native English speaking applicants,
a TOEFL score of 550 or higher (218 on computer test, 79 on IBT, or 6.5 on
IELS).
The Department of Economics does not have specific admissions
requirements. Instead, we evaluate each applicant individually and
admit those who have the aptitude, scholarship, and analytical skills
necessary to successfully complete an advanced degree in economics. The
admissions committee recommends admission on the basis of GRE scores, letters
of recommendation, and prior academic record.
To apply visit the OU Admissions
website for on-line application instructions or to obtain a hard copy of the
application form. You will need to
provide the following items to complete your application:
- Official transcripts
of all undergraduate and graduate coursework.
- Scores on the
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) aptitude test. (To insure that these
scores are current, the exam must have been taken in the last two
years.) Unofficial copies are sufficient for initial screening.
- Three (3)
confidential letters of recommendation. Note that the department
does not have special forms for letters of recommendation. A
letter or reference on regular stationary is sufficient. E-mail or Fax
letters are acceptable.
- Scores from the Test
of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or acceptable alternative for
applicants from non-English speaking nations. See the Graduate
College website for more information.
- Statement of purpose
Applications will not be considered unless ALL
items are provided. Send a copy of
your online application form or original application plus all required materials
directly to the Department of Economics (Attn: PHD Admissions, 308 Cate Center Drive, Room 158 Cate 1 (CCD1), Norman, OK 73071). Confidential financial documents should be
sent directly to Admissions.
FINANCIAL AID
Graduate Assistantships
Each year the Economics Department extends financial support in the form of
research and teaching assistantships for 6-10 incoming Ph.D. students.
For full consideration of financial aid, applicants should apply to the Ph.D.
program by January 15.
Students receiving a regular financial aid package will receive an
assistantship for four years of graduate work, conditional on satisfactory
progress in the Ph.D. program and satisfactory performance of assigned
duties. Additional support for the fifth year is typically available.
For the 2009-10 academic year, nine-month full time
assistantships have a stipend of $13,000 and include individual health
insurance, tuition waivers for up to the 90 credit hours of courses required
for degree completion. Conditionally
admitted students may request waivers for courses needed prior to beginning
the graduate coursework. Students are
responsible for associated fees. Family health insurance plans are also
offered through the University. For information on current resident and
non-resident and fees, please see the University of Oklahoma Bursar’s
website.
A student on a full time assistantship is expected to perform approximately
20 hours of work per week and is required to attend the department’s weekly
seminars. Duties include serving as research assistants and assisting
in the Department’s teaching mission. Accordingly, students are
expected to become certified to teach courses at the University of Oklahoma
by the English Assessment Program by
the end of their first year of study. English Language classes are
available at no cost to qualifying graduate students.
Scholarships
The Department has a generous scholarship funding provided by the Chong Liew Endowed Scholarship Fund. Beginning in 2007 we
have established several graduate student scholarships.
The Chong Liew Outstanding Graduate Student Award is available
for first year Ph.D. students. These are meant to support summer study
and allow students to devote more time to their studies in Norman. Each
year we will select 2-4 students based on first year coursework
performance. The awards range from $750 to $1000.
Chong Liew Summer Research Awards support dissertation
research, especially in the summer before students plan to go on the job
market. Students who have passed all of their required exams are
eligible to submit a research proposal outlining their summer research
plan. Proposals are selected based on merit and potential. Each
year this award will be given to 1-2 students. The awards range from $2000 to
$2500 each.
Travel
Support
Chong Liew Graduate Student Travel Scholarships
are available to support graduate student conference participation. Students
are required to apply for travel support from the Graduate College and
Graduate Student Senate prior to requesting Chong Liew
Travel support.
Supplemental Teaching
Graduate students who become certified to instruct at the University of
Oklahoma may request to teach courses during summer terms or between
semesters (Intersession). Students are chosen to teach these based on
teaching experience, teaching performance, and undergraduate demand for
courses.
Other
Financial Support
The University offers several outlets and opportunities to obtain tuition
assistance. Please explore the following links as they have helpful
links within their websites:
Graduate College – Funding Opportunities,
Financial Aid Office, Office of the Bursar.
CURRICULUM & PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Previous Coursework
Incoming Ph.D. students usually have a bachelor's degree in economics but
this is not required for admission to the program. Prerequisites include some
coursework in economics including intermediate micro and macroeconomics as
well as a good working knowledge of mathematics and basic statistics. The
minimum math requirements are at least two semesters of calculus and one
semester of basic statistics or their equivalents. A previous course in
linear algebra is strongly recommended.
Math Camp
All incoming economics Ph.D.
students are expected to attend Math Camp before beginning graduate coursework.
The non-credit, free camp consists of two-hour evening sessions offered
during the two weeks prior to the start of fall classes. Mathematical
techniques and applications needed in graduate economics courses will be
reviewed. Camp performance will be reported to the Graduate Program
Director, who will discuss appropriate measures with students who do not
successfully complete the camp.
Curriculum
The Ph.D. degree requires at least 90 hours beyond the Bachelor’s
degree. A minimum of 54 these hours must consist of formal coursework,
with the remainder comprised of dissertation research (ECON 6980).
Credit may be transferred in from prior graduate coursework. The
Graduate Program Director, in consultation with the Graduate College, will determine
which hours of previous coursework will be accepted for transfer.
The program is
also subject to all the requirements of the Graduate
College. For more specific information on required and elective
courses and a recommended program of study, please see the current Ph.D. Handbook.
Fields of Specialization
Fields of specialization are designed to develop an in-depth knowledge of the
theory and current literature in various areas of economics. The two
course sequences prepare students to become active researchers in the field
and to identify potential topics for dissertation research. Our
department offers four fields of specialization: Growth and Development
Economics, Industrial Organization, International/Macro Economics, and Public
Economics. For specifics on which courses can be taken for each field,
please see the current Ph.D. Handbook.
We offer depth in our four supported fields: each field
has several faculty members who are actively engaged
in research and are able to supervise dissertations. This is
supplemented with strong support in applied econometrics, including
time-series and panel data methods. Students who wish to
concentrate in fields not supported by our department should consider
applying to programs better match their research interests.
Qualifying Examinations
Students in the Ph.D. program must pass two qualifying examinations which
test their competency in various components of economic theory. The first
qualifying examination is based on the first year required classes and is
administered in late July/early August prior to the start of fall semester
classes. The purpose of this exam is to assure that students have mastered
the vital tools covered in first year courses prior to taking advanced
courses. The exam is in three parts: microeconomic theory (ECON 5123
and ECON
6213), macroeconomic theory (ECON 5163
and ECON
6313) and math, statistics and econometrics (ECON 5153
and ECON
5213).
The second qualifying examination is administered in late July/early August
prior to the start of third year classes. The purpose of this exam is to
assure students can master advanced material required to under take research.
The exam has two parts: econometrics (ECON 5243
and ECON
6343) and one of the department's four field sequences. Typically two of
the four field sequences will be offered each year, so students must take the
courses for one of the fields offered in their second year and then be tested
on those courses.
Students must
pass all parts of both qualifying exams to remain in the Ph.D. Program.
Students are allowed one opportunity to retake failed portions of qualifying
exams. Retakes are given in January during the week prior to the start of
spring semester classes. A student who fails to pass qualifying exams on the
second attempt is required to leave the Ph.D. program but can continue their
graduate studies in the Applied Economics Track of the M.A. program.
General Exam
In addition to the department's qualifying examinations, students must also
pass a General Examination as required by the Graduate College.
Students are expected to take the General Exam in the semester in which they
complete their formal course work. A student following a standard program of
study will take the General Exam in the Spring semester of the third year.
With special permission from the Graduate Program Director, the General Exam
may be taken during the semester following completion of coursework.
Prior to taking the General Exam, a student must form a Doctoral Committee,
consisting of at least five graduate faculty members, with one chosen from
outside the department within the University. The student’s Doctoral
Committee will hold an advisory conference to assess the student's program
and areas of specialization. Once a student's program is approved and
reported to the Graduate College, the
student can apply for permission to take the General Exam.
The General Exam consists of both a written and oral portion. The written
exam is designed by the student's Doctoral Committee to test the student's
mastery of her field of specialization and proposed dissertation topic.
Committee members will provide guidance as to the material covered by the
written exam. If the performance is adequate on the written exam, an oral
exam will be scheduled. The General Exam is completed when the oral exam has
been passed, at which point a student will be admitted to Candidacy for the
Ph.D. degree.
Students who do not perform satisfactory on either the written or oral exam
are given an opportunity to address inadequacies. By Graduate College rule, a student who fails
the General Examination a second time is disenrolled
from the Ph.D. program. The student may choose to complete the requirements
for the MA Degree/Applied Economics track.
Dissertation
In order to facilitate the transition from formal coursework to dissertation
research, students enroll in ECON 5960
during the spring semester of their third year. The course instructor
will be the faculty member who has agreed to chair the Doctoral Committee.
The course objective is to guide a student in defining a dissertation topic
and preparing a dissertation proposal.
Successful completion of ECON 5960
requires submission of a written dissertation proposal to the student's
Doctoral Committee and presentation of a seminar on the topic to the
Economics faculty and graduate students. The seminar enables the faculty to
share its collective knowledge with the candidate and to assure support for a
topic that can feasibly be developed into a dissertation. Copies of the
prospectus will be made available to the participants at least one week prior
to the seminar. After the seminar, the Doctoral Committee will meet to
approve either the original prospectus or a modified version of it.
The department requires that the dissertation be completed, accepted, and the
final oral examination be passed no later than five calendar years after
Admission to Candidacy. Failure to meet this deadline will result in
termination from Ph.D. Candidacy. Under extraordinary circumstances, the
Doctoral Committee, with the consent of the faculty and the Graduate Dean,
may extend the five-year deadline for a short period.
ADVISING & CONTACT INFORMATION
Advising
All Ph.D. students are advised by the Graduate Program Director (GPD) until
they form a Doctoral Committee. The GPD will advise students regarding
their field and elective course selections. In addition, the GPD has
final authority (within the rules of the Graduate College) over the
acceptance of transfer credit from a Master’s Degree Program in
Economics or other graduate program.
The Dissertation Committee, typically formed in the third year of the
program, will prepare and conduct the student’s General Examination and
supervise the preparation of the dissertation and conduct the final oral
examination over the dissertation.
Contact Information
Check the status of your application online using the Admissions website.
For questions
concerning your application after it has been processed by Admissions, please
contact Ms. Tami Kinsey, Phone (405) 325-2863, Email: tkinsey@ou.edu.
For questions about
the Ph.D. program requirements please contact Dr. Cynthia Rogers, E-mail: econphd@ou.edu
RECENT PHD PLACEMENTS
Yifei Ding (2011) PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ltd., Hong Kong
Norman Maynard (2011) Humboldt State University
Xuebing Yang (2009) Pennsylvania
State University-Altoona
Jie Shuai (2009) Nankai University
Jacob Dearmon ( 2008) Oklahoma City University
Luisa Blanco (2007) Pepperdine University
Haichun Ye (2007) Univ. of Colorado-Denver
Van Pham (2007) Salem State University
Xiaoyi Mu (2006) University of Dundee, UK
Shu Lin (2005) University of Colorado-Denver
Nicole Cornell-Sadowski (2005) York College
Jennifer Willeford Logan (2005) Southern
Arkansas University
Anuruddha Kankanamge
(2005) University of Peradeniya
Zhitao Sui (2005) Econ One
Mohammed Basyah (2003) PT Citra Van Titipan Kilat, Jakarta
Lori Bell (2003) Upper Iowa University
Chengte Hsiao (2003) Ming-Chuan University, Taiwan
Kodrat Wibowo (2002) Padjadjaran University, Indonesia
Deergha Adhikari (2002) U. of
Louisiana at Fayetteville
Dakshina DeSilva (2002) Texas
Tech University
Maha Shalaby (2002)
University of Central Oklahoma
Soon Cheul Lee (2002) Korea Institute for
Economic Policy
Rex Pjesky (2002) West Texas A&M
University
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