The Ph.D. program prepares the student for academic and other professional careers by training students to do advanced research in economics. Extensive training in the core areas of economics is essential to professional development.

Core Courses

There are ten core courses (30 semester hours) for the Ph.D.; three each in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and quantitative methods, and one course in History of Economic Thought. A typical schedule for completion of the core courses is provided below. Students with prior graduate work may, with approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, choose to follow a course schedule different from the one suggested.

Fall

Spring

Summer

Fall

Preliminary Examinations

Following completion of the first two core courses in microeconomics and macroeconomics, students are expected to demonstrate their competence by passing doctoral core examinations. These exams are offered in August, with an opportunity to retake the exam in January. Both core exams must be taken together, and they must precede any attempt at the field exams. See student guide for details.

Fields of Specialization

The Department regularly offers seven fields of specialization. These fields are: Applied Econometrics, Financial and Monetary Economics, Labor Economics, Industrial Organization and Regulation, International Economics and Development, Population Economics, and Public Economics. Other fields may be offered if sufficient interest exists. Students must select at least two fields of specialization, and pass a competency exam in each area. One of the field areas, but not both, may be drawn from outside the Department, subject to the prior approval of the Graduate Committee and the host department.

Elective Courses

A Ph.D. student must complete at least 54 semester hours of graduate-level coursework. The ten courses in the core account for 30 hours while field courses generally account for another 12. The remaining hours are elective. To apply to the 54 hours, an elective course must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies in advance. No more than six hours of Directed Individual Study (DIS) or Graduate tutorial course work may count toward the 54 hour requirement.

Supervised research and teaching (ECO 5914 and 5940) do not contribute to the required 54 semester hours. Likewise, dissertation credits (ECO 6980) and preliminary preparation hours (ECO 6960) do not count toward satisfying this requirement. However, graduate hours earned at FSU or elsewhere leading to the Master's degree in economics and/or accepted graduate-level transfer credits may be applied to the 54-hour course work minimum for the Ph.D., with prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.

The Dissertation

An individual must complete at least 24 semester hours of dissertation credit (ECO 6980) although the total number of credits carried should be commensurate with the time a student and the faculty devote to the project. At least one year of full-time work is customarily spent on the dissertation, hence a student should expect to enroll for a total of 30 or more dissertation hours. This standard complies with University guidelines. Registration for dissertation credit cannot occur until the term in which the fourth preliminary examination is passed. All dissertation hours must be approved in advance by the Director of Graduate Studies; hours that have not been approved will not be counted in calculating total dissertation credits.

Residency

According to University rules, a Ph.D. student must maintain residency by registering for a total of 24 credit hours in any period of twelve consecutive months. Undergraduate courses and courses such as supervised research which carry credit hours but which do not apply to the Ph.D. hours requirement can be used to satisfy residency. Summer courses can be counted as well. The student, however, cannot begin to fulfill residency until completing 30 hours of graduate work or receiving a Master's degree. Dissertation credits provide the most convenient way to earn residency, especially for students holding assistantships.

Normal Progress

Normal progress requires that the core preliminary examinations be completed no later than the Spring semester of the student's second academic year in the program. In accordance with University regulations, each graduate student in the Ph.D. program must cooperate in a written evaluation of progress annually, late in the Spring term. Two "unsatisfactory" progress evaluations will result in the student’s being terminated from the program.

Time Limit

All requirements for the doctoral degree must be completed within five calendar years after the preliminary examinations are passed. Failure to meet this deadline means that the preliminary exams must be retaken and passed for a student to continue in the program.

Transfer Credit

Formally, the University will accept for transfer a maximum of six semester hours of graduate credit. However, the Department will waive up to thirty semester hours of its 54 semester hour course work requirement for the Ph.D. in consideration of a Master's degree or graduate credit (with grades of at least B) in economics or closely related disciplines from accredited institutions.

Student Guide

The information on this page provides a brief summary of our program. The complete set of regulations that govern the program is provided by the Student Guide ( PDF).