ECON-PHD - Economics (PhD)

Students who completed graduate coursework at another institution are strongly encouraged to transfer course units in the winter quarter of their first year of doctoral study. The Registrar will evaluate the transfer of units on a course-by-course basis. Graduate work accepted for transfer of residency does not automatically exempt a student from having to complete a course requirement for the degree.

The Department of Economics is committed to academic advising to support graduate students’ scholarly and professional development. When most effective, this advising relationship entails collaborative and sustained engagement by the advisor and the advisee. As a best practice, advising expectations should be periodically discussed and reviewed to ensure mutual understanding. Both the advisor and the advisee are expected to maintain professionalism and integrity.

Faculty advisors guide students in critical areas such as selecting courses, designing and conducting research, developing teaching pedagogy, navigating policies and degree requirements, and exploring academic opportunities and professional pathways.

Graduate students are active contributors to the advising relationship, proactively seeking academic and professional guidance and taking responsibility for informing themselves of policies and degree requirements for their graduate program. Outlined below is a list of specific responsibilities of the various advising relationships, year by year:

First Year

First-year students are assigned to an advisor in groups of four or five students, so there are only a handful of first-year advisors. First-year advisors meet with students early in the autumn quarter and offer to help with any questions as the year progresses. Students have various information sources, including the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), Assistant Director of Student Services, student mentors, study groups, core course instructors, and the first-year seminar series. The advisor is another person the students can turn to for basic and broad advice about the program.

Second-Year Research Assistantship

The second-year RA-ship is an opportunity for students to gain experience with research, where students are centrally matched with a second-year mentor who becomes their advisor for the year.

Third-Year Advising

The third-year seminar helps shepherd students through the transition to dissertation research; however, it is not a substitute for an advisor but rather a complement.

The advisor of the second-year paper and the student are responsible for ensuring that they meet regularly and have set a clear timeline and goals for their research.  

At the end of the third year, students meet with the DGS and present a form signed by a faculty member agreeing to advise their dissertation research, and they should have plans for a dissertation and a dissertation reading committee. If a faculty member is advising a student during the third year and does not plan to continue that relationship, the faculty member is responsible for informing the student early enough so that they may find a new advisor going forward. Occasionally, students getting substantial advice from more than one person may wish to designate co-primary advisors, but at least one advisor must be in the Economics department.

Fourth Year and Beyond

Advisors and students should meet regularly and have a clear plan and timeline for completing dissertation research and going on the market. The advisor’s role includes guiding, designing, implementing, conducting, writing, presenting, submitting (where, how, etc.), and revising their research. The advisor should meet regularly with the student and inform the DGS if they are languishing or falling behind in their research.  

Advisors should be very clear with students about how their research is progressing and what they need to do to improve. Students are responsible for being broadly engaged, keeping their advisor regularly informed of their progress, seeking advice from several faculty, attending and participating in conferences, regularly attending seminars, talking with other students, and, more generally, being regularly involved in research-related activities. 

Students need to become self-sufficient; most of these aspects of conducting and disseminating research are not learned via courses or readings, but coupled with timely advice.