About PhD Program,
Through a series of forward-looking initiatives, Duke Economics has transformed itself into a department that focuses on a distinctive intellectual vision of our discipline, a vision that combines methodological rigor with intellectual breadth and diversity — and an insistence on real-world relevance. As a student of our Ph.D. program, you are joining a community of economists that aspires to transform conventional assumptions and venture into areas of inquiry that transcend the traditional boundaries within the field of economics and between disciplines. There are many opportunities for interaction with related disciplines, including environmental economics in conjunction with the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, finance and regulation through the Fuqua School of Business, law and economics through the School of Law, public policy through the Sanford Institute of Public Policy, and statistics through the Statistical Sciences.
We strongly believe our graduate students will go on to become the next generation of intellectual leaders. To that end, most graduate-level classes — with the exception of the core courses — are sufficiently small so that each student gets individual faculty attention, and we offer countless opportunities for interaction with leading scholars from around the world.
Duke University offers a world-class doctoral program in economics, featuring a vibrant faculty of exceptional scholars and teachers along with superior research facilities. The faculty is dedicated to anchoring all teaching and research firmly in the core disciplines of microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics. The first year of the program lays the critical foundation necessary for later work in field courses and dissertation-level research.
PhD Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
- Attend 3-week Math Campduring the summer preceding the first year (usually begins in late July)
- Minimum of 45 graded, graduate credits
- Two semesters of ECON 704 First-Year Research Workshop (6 credits)
- Qualify in each of the first-year core sequences in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Econometrics
- Two semesters of ECON 801Writing and Presenting in Economics (6 credits), to be taken Spring Semester of the second year, and Fall Semester of the third year
- 15 credits of field courses/modules, (typically ECON 880-888) to be completed by the end of the third year
- Certification in one major and one minor field, see below for details
- Fields:
- Applied Microeconomics
- Econometrics
- History of Political Economy
- Macroeconomics and International Economics
- Microeconomic Theory
- Major field requirement: 6 credits (four modules ORtwo courses) in the field, and a field exam, to be completed by the end of the second year. Field Paper to be completed by the end of the first semester of the third year.
- Minor field requirement: 6 credits (four modules ORtwo courses) in the field to be completed by the end of the third year
- Participation in a seminar/lunch group and workshop every semesterbeginning in the third year
- Seminar/Lunch Group course series: ECON 950-959 (1.5 credits per semester)
- Workshop course series: ECON 900-909 (3 credits per semester)
- Additional course credits as approved by the director of graduate studies
- Pass thepreliminary examination by the end of the third year
- Present a preliminary job market papereach year after the third year until the job market year
- Present ajob market paper during the fall semester of the job market year
- Dissertation
- Pass a final examinationby the end of the fifth or sixth year; required to be completed within four years of the preliminary examination
- Responsible Conduct of Research Training
Graduate students who wish to enroll in courses below the 500 level must get approval from their director of graduate studies and from The Graduate School’s associate dean for academic affairs by submitting a permission form. These courses will not count toward graduate credit or GPA.
PhD Funding Coverage,
The Duke University Graduate School and the Economics Department provide full funding for PhD students through the fifth year, including tuition, mandatory fees, health and dental insurance, and 12-month stipends. Of the approximately 17 new Economics Ph.D. students each year, 90 percent or more are fully funded for a sixth year, so long as they remain in good academic standing, and the remainder are either supported by external funding sources or are self-supported. The department often offers partial employment for self-supported students through hourly payment for grading papers, tutoring, etc. Loans may be available to Ph.D. students in years beyond funding and for whom limited departmental or institutional aid does not meet the cost of attendance budget.
See the Cost to Attend page of the Graduate School website for further details about tuition, mandatory fees, and estimated living expenses. Additional funding opportunities include conference travel fellowships, dissertation research fellowships, and others. See the Find Funding page for a searchable list of funding opportunities for graduate students.
Application Requirement,
Required Documents and Information
English language proficiency test scores (if English is not your first language)
Supplemental application requirements
Application Deadline,
Jan 04, 2025
Application Fee,
The Duke University Graduate School application fee is $95.
