Ph.D. in Economics

APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 1

The Department of Economics welcomes student applications with the following materials. Additional details are found on the department website.

1. Complete the Graduate School’s Online Application.
2. Pay the application fee ($50).
3. Submit official transcripts.
4. Submit GRE scores.
5. International applicants whose first language is not English may be required to submit scores from an acceptable English language proficiency test.
6. Upload Supplemental Application materials for the Department of Economics to the online application.

• Statement of purpose. The two page statement should describe your background, interest in economics, and interest in the graduate program at UM.
• Three letters of recommendation: provide contact information for three recommenders 

The Graduate School requires a minimum 3.0 undergraduate GPA. The Department of Economics welcomes students from any academic background, but expects students to be prepared for the rigors of graduate study in economics. When the Admissions Committee reviews an applicant’s transcript, it looks at the overall performance and specific performance in economics or economics-related courses and quantitative courses (math, statistics).

Students in the Ph.D. in Economics complete at least 54 credit hours of graduate courses beyond the bachelor’s degree or at least 30 approved graduate hours beyond the master’s degree.

Students must meet the core requirements for the M.A. degree: 

• Econ 604: Applied Statistical Techniques in Econ (or 629 Statistical Methods for Economics)
• Econ 605: Microeconomics I
• Econ 606: Macroeconomics I
• Econ 609: Mathematics for Economists

Ph.D. students select two subfields chosen from applied microeconomics, applied macroeconomics, and econometrics. They complete the following courses:

• Econ 614: Microeconomics II
• Econ 628: Macroeconomics II
• Econ 629: Statistical Methods for Economics
• Econ 630: Econometrics I
• Econ 631: Econometrics II
• 9 credit hours in subfield 1
• 9 credit hours in subfield 2 or in approved area outside economics

Each student must successfully pass a written examination in macroeconomics, microeconomics, and econometrics. 

After passing the comprehensive exams, students must successfully defend a dissertation proposal. After the dissertation is written, a final oral defense culminates the student’s doctoral program at the university.

All our Ph.D. students receive an assistantship which are currently $20,000 for 9 months. Assistantships require the student to work as a teaching/research assistant to departmental faculty, or as a graduate instructor. 

Students with a graduate assistantship receive a scholarship that covers some or all of the tuition and non-residency fee, if applicable, for regular semesters and subsidized health insurance.

In addition, the Lewis Smith Scholarship is awarded annually to a full-time Ph.D. student who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement in economics.   

The Graduate School’s financial aid webpage lists a variety of funding possibilities, including summer support and a recruiting fellowship program that promotes academic excellence and access to graduate education to groups who are historically underrepresented.  

The university also has the Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research.