Ph.D. in Economics

The learning goal of Economics Cluster is to equip students with the expertise to independently conduct economic research and the professional know-how to provide economic consultations and policy recommendations for government or private sector. To achieve the goal, the program offers both theoretically and practically oriented curriculum in which economic theories, institutional framework, and analytic tools are introduced. The cluster assists in enhancing professional and highly technical skills needed at leading institutions as well as agencies in developing and emerging countries faced with consistently changing economic circumstances.

In order to accomplish the objectives stipulated in the IUJ Graduate School Regulations, as well as the mission of GSIR, Economics Cluster defines the degree requirements and learning objectives which are necessary to Ph.D. in Economics as follows:

Degree Requirements

• Enrollment Requirements
  Students are required to enroll for a minimum of three years (nine terms).

• Course/Credit Requirements
  Students are required to complete a necessary number of credits designated by Economics Cluster. Credits will be given to students who have completed all activities related to the assessment specified in the course syllabus and have a final evaluation score of 60 points or above (out of 100).Moreover, students are required to sit the comprehensive examination at the end of the first year and only those who pass the examination is eligible to proceed with doctoral candidacy.　The comprehensive examination is conducted by a written examination.
• Ph.D. Dissertation Requirements
  Students are required to complete and submit an acceptable Ph.D. dissertation under the guidance of the supervisory committee comprised of a supervisor and two advisors. A part of the dissertation must be accepted by an international peer refereed journal in advance.

• Ph.D. Dissertation Examination Requirements
  Students are required to pass a Ph.D. Dissertation Examination conducted orally by an examining committee comprised of the supervisory committee (a supervisor and two advisors) and an external examiner.

Learning Objectives

The students in the degree program of Ph.D. in Economics are required to:

Knowledge

• Have advanced level of knowledge in micro and macroeconomic theories and their application in performing professional theoretical researches;
• With advanced level of knowledge of statistics, econometrics and other data analysis skills, and their application in performing professional empirical researches;
• With sufficient knowledge in quantitative skills and their application for evaluating economic and public policies; and
• Capable to learn and apply advanced research methods in economic research, including formulating academic thesis and papers.

Skills

• Demonstrate the ability of applying both theoretical and empirical knowledge of economics to conduct research on critical economic issues;
• Equipped with professional economics knowledge for analyzing economic problems and evaluating government policies;
• Equipped with leading-edged mathematical and statistical skills for performing advanced statistical analysis of data;
• With proficient presentation skills for economic seminars, providing professional economic advices to both government and private sector stakeholders on economic and public issues; and
• With the ability of critical reviewing and writing skills for serious academic papers and thesis, showing the competence in accomplishing an academic research.

Attitudes

• Being able to think and work independently for tackling on economic or public issues;
• Persistently committed on reviewing academic journals and papers and on acquiring knowledge from high quality researches;
• Constantly make contributions to economic policy evaluation and formulation; and
• Appreciate multi-disciplinary co-operation for academic researches.