Graduate Programs

Director's Note

Welcome to our Graduate Program in Economics at the University of Washington. We offer a program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in economics. The PhD program is designed for students interested in pursuing advanced study and doing original research in economics. This program develops professional economists for a variety of careers in teaching, in government, in industry, or with international agencies in the United States and abroad.

Quan Wen
Professor, Graduate Program Director

You can direct questions to Michelle Foshee, the graduate program advisor at econphd@uw.edu.

Program Overview

The PhD program in economics consists of three phases:

  • One year of core courses, followed by core examinations in microeconomics and macroeconomics
  • Approximately one year of elective courses, followed by examinations in the student’s fields of specialization
  • Successful completion of a dissertation

There is no foreign-language requirement for the doctorate in economics.

Phase 1: Core Courses and Examinations

Doctoral students spend the first year completing a set of core courses in microeconomics (Econ 500, 501, and 508), macroeconomics (Econ 502, 503, and 509), and econometrics (Econ 580, 581, and 582). Course description are available in the UW Course Catalogue.

Students are expected to pass core examinations in microeconomics and macroeconomics. These exams are scheduled one to two weeks before the second year in the program. We expect students to review and integrate material from the first-year courses in preparation for the exams.

Phase 2: Field Courses and Examinations

Field Coursework: Beginning in the second year of the program, students focus on field specialization. The goal is satisfactorily complete at least eight elective field courses in economics at the graduate level. At least one of these must be in advanced microeconomics or advanced macroeconomics, and at least three must be in applied areas.

Field Requirement: Field coursework prepares students to satisfy the requirements for two fields of specialization. The requirement is completed in one of two ways:

  1. Pass one field exam and earn an average grade of at least 3.8 in the coursework corresponding to a second field
  2. Pass exams in two fields of specialization

Phase 3: Dissertation Research

The doctoral dissertation is the final major requirement for the PhD degree (see a list of completed dissertations since 2010). After completing the core and field requirements, the student identifies a dissertation topic and forms a doctoral supervisory committee. Students are encouraged to discuss potential dissertation topics with faculty members early in their graduate studies.

The Department offers three ongoing workshops in the areas of macro and international economics, labor and development economics, and natural resource economics. Students and faculty use these workshops to present work in progress as well. Attending and presenting at workshops helps students identify and develop dissertation topics. 

After the supervisory committee has been appointed and a dissertation topic has been developed, the student takes the general examination. This examination is an oral defense of the formal dissertation proposal. When the dissertation is completed, the student takes the final examination, which is an oral defense of the completed dissertation.

Student typically complete the program in 5-6 years.

Affiliated Units

Graduate Student Resources

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