ECON-PHD - Economics (PhD)

The department's purpose is to acquaint students with the economic aspects of modern society, to familiarize them with techniques for the analysis of contemporary economic problems, and to develop in them an ability to exercise judgment in evaluating public policy. There is training for the general student as well as for those who plan careers as economists in civil service, private enterprise, teaching, or research.

The department's curriculum is an integral part of Stanford's programs in International Relations, Public Policy, and Urban Studies.

The faculty interests and research cover a wide spectrum of topics in most fields of economics, including behavioral economics, comparative institutional analysis, econometrics, economic development, economic history, experimental economics, industrial organization, international trade, labor, macro- and microeconomic theory, mathematical economics, environmental economics, and public finance.

The primary objective of the graduate program is to educate students as research economists. In the process, students also acquire the background and skills necessary for careers as university teachers and as practitioners of economics. The curriculum includes a comprehensive treatment of modern theory and empirical techniques. Currently, 20 to 25 students are admitted each year.

Graduate programs in economics are designed to ensure that students receive a thorough grounding in the methodology of theoretical and empirical economics, while at the same time providing specialized training in a wide variety of subfields and a broad understanding of associated institutional structures. Toward these ends, the program is arranged so that the student has little choice in the curriculum at the outset but considerable latitude later on.

Students admitted to graduate standing in the department are expected to have a strong background in college-level economics, mathematics, and statistics. Preparation ordinarily consists of a college major in economics, a year-long calculus sequence that includes multivariate analysis, a course in linear algebra, and a rigorous course in probability and statistics. 

Students who completed graduate coursework at another institution are strongly encouraged or required to begin the process of transferring course units in the Winter quarter of their first year of doctoral study. Transfer of units will be evaluated by the Director of Graduate Studies 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. University policies related to transfer of  credit for graduate work done elsewhere is located in G.AP 3.2.1 Residency Policy for Graduate Students.

For a statement of University policy on graduate advising, see the "Graduate Advising" section of this bulletin.

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

Faculty advisers guide students in key areas such as selecting courses, designing and conducting research, developing of 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 are a list of specific responsibilities of the various advising relationships, year by year:

First Year

First-year students are assigned to an adviser in groups of four or five students, so that there are only a handful of first-year advisers.  First-year advisers meet with students early in Autumn Quarter and offer to help with any questions as the year progresses. Including the DGS, Ph.D. administrator, student mentors, study groups, core course instructors, and the first-year seminar series, students have a variety of information sources. The adviser is simply another person to whom the students can turn to for basic and broad advice about the program.

Second-Year RAship

The second-year RA-ship is an opportunity for students to gain experience with research. Students are centrally matched with a second year mentor. The RA-ship is subsidized by the department and averages 15 hours/week (rather than the 20 for standard RAships in later years) for the entire second year (and surrounding summers). Students are advised to ensure that it is as educational as possible. Some students have fellowships and thus do not need RA support, but should still seek advisers and should be given the same attention to ensure that their research is progressing.  

Second-Year Paper

The second-year paper is due by August 31 of the second summer, and students have to arrange with a faculty member to oversee that paper by the end of the Spring Quarter of the second year.   

An adviser on a second-year paper should make sure that the student is progressing on the paper during the Summer by setting a timeline and meeting with them at key points. It is essential that this be finished on time so that students can move on to new projects or to further develop it during the third year. Students are encouraged to talk to multiple faculty, but the person who signs their paper should take responsibility. The student also has a responsibility to be seeking advice and communicating regularly with their adviser, both about progress and unexpected setbacks, both of which are inevitable in research. Note that second-year papers can be co-authored with other students and/or faculty.  

Third-Year Advising

The third-year seminar helps shepherd students through the transition to dissertation research; however, it is not a substitute for an adviser but rather a complement. Students should clear their slides for their third-year presentations with their advisers before the presentations.  

The adviser and student are both responsible for ensuring that they meet regularly and have set a clear a timeline and goals for their research.  

At the end of the third year, students meet with the DGS and present a form signed by someone 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 letting the student know early enough so that s/he can find a new adviser going forward. Occasionally, students who are getting substantial advice from more than one person may wish to designate co-primary advisers. This involves a serious commitment in terms of time and attention from all of the primary advisers, and should involve more than window-dressing.

Fourth Year and Beyond

Advisers and students should be meeting regularly and have a clear plan and timeline for completion of a dissertation research and going on the market.  The adviser’s role includes providing guidance concerning designing, implementing, conducting, writing, presenting, submitting (where, how, etc.), and revising their research. The adviser should meet regularly with the student and inform the DGS if a student is languishing or falling behind in their research.  

Advisers 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 adviser regularly informed of their progress, and 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. 

Faculty who are on a student’s dissertation committee must discuss the student’s job market prospects with him or her well in advance of the job market. It is essential to calibrate students’ expectations appropriately. If the student aspires to jobs for which a committee member feels s/he cannot write supportive letters, that faculty must make that fact absolutely clear to the student well in advance. The faculty member must also confer with other committee members to determine whether they are in agreement concerning the student’s progress, job market plans, and likely prospects. A dissertation committee member whose assessment of a student is out of line with the rest of the committee has an obligation to make their views known to the committee well before the student enters to job market, and should be willing to withdraw from the committee if it is in the student’s best interest. Committee members should therefore compare their assessments, at the latest, by the start of  the Autumn Quarter during which the student enters the job market. 

Students need to become self-sufficient; most of these aspects of conducting and disseminating research are not learned via courses or readings, but by doing coupled with timely advice. It is the most important, and rewarding, part of the Ph.D. program.

The Ph.D. is conferred upon candidates who have demonstrated substantial scholarship and the ability to conduct independent research and analysis in Economics. Through completion of advanced course work and rigorous skills training, the doctoral program prepares students to make original contributions to the knowledge of Economics and to interpret and present the results of such research.