Economic Analysis & Policy Requirements

I. Preparation in Economics & Quantitative Methods

Economics

Admitted students are assumed to have a substantial background in economics. An undergraduate major in economics or mathematics or a graduate degree in economics or business administration suffices in most cases.

Quantitative Methods

All students are required to have, or to obtain in the first year, skill in the use of the following mathematical methods:

II. Course Requirements

All required courses must be taken for a grade (not pass/fail or credit/no credit). Exceptions are made if the required course is offered pass/fail or credit/no credit only. Each course must be passed with a grade of P or B- or better. Substitutions of required courses require approval from the faculty liaison. Waiving a course requirement based on similar doctoral level course completed elsewhere requires the approval of the course instructor, faculty liaison, and the PhD Program Office.

III. Practicum

Students do not need to sign up for practica in year 1. In years 2 through 5, students sign up for MGTECON 699 with the faculty liaison or the faculty advisor (after one is chosen) as a one unit pass/fail course in every quarter. Students must regularly attend and participate in one of the seminar series at Stanford GSB. With the faculty liaison’s approval, students may attend a non-Stanford GSB seminar series, in lieu of a seminar series at Stanford GSB.

IV. Field Examination

Students take two field exams in the summer after the first year in the program: theory and metrics. Students must pass both exams in order to successfully complete the requirement. Successful completion of the field exams is required for advancement to candidacy.

V. Summer Research Paper

Each student is required to submit a research paper and present it in the Fall quarter of their third year in the program at the time announced by the liaison. The paper has to be an original and novel body of work. Students should discuss the scope and expectations for the paper with their faculty advisor and liaison. The papers and presentations will be graded by the faculty with a Pass/Fail grade. A student who fails will be provided with a second opportunity to complete this requirement (paper and presentation) in the spring of the third year. Successful completion of the research paper is required for advancement to candidacy.

VI. Teaching Requirement

One quarter of course assistantship or teaching practicum. Requirement must be completed prior to graduation.

VII. Candidacy

Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree is a judgment by the faculty of the student’s potential to successfully complete the requirements of the degree program. Students are required to advance to candidacy by September 1 before the start of their fourth year in the program.

VIII. University Oral Exam

The oral examination is a defense of the dissertation work in progress. The student orally presents and defends the thesis work in progress at a stage when it is one-half to two-thirds complete. The oral examination committee tests the student on the theory and methodology underlying the research, the areas of application and portions of the major field to which the research is relevant, and the significance of the dissertation research. Students are required to successfully complete the oral exams by September 1 before the start of their fifth year in the program

IX. Doctoral Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation is expected to be an original contribution to scholarship or scientific knowledge, to exemplify the highest standards of the discipline, and to be of lasting value to the intellectual community.  The Econ faculty defer to the student’s Dissertation Reading Committee to provide general guidelines (e.g. number of chapters, length of dissertation) on the dissertation.