Doctor of Philosophy (Economics)

Introduction Program Structure Application Procedures

Introduction

The Economics Department at NUS is recognized as a world leading department (ranking 1st in Asia and among the top 20 in the world). We have more than 50 faculty members whose areas of expertise span all the major areas in economics, including microeconomic theory, macroeconomics, econometrics, behavioral and experimental economics, development economics, economic history, environmental economics, industrial organization, international trade and finance, labor economics, political economy, and public economics.

Although we are a large department, we have a strong community culture that emphasizes close interactions between students and faculty members. Our students have access to regular discussions, workshops, and seminars with faculty and fellow students sharing similar interests. We also have internal seminars where students can present their work and receive feedback, so they may develop their research ideas and acquire essential skills for the job market.

The PhD program admits 10–15 students each year. For admission, a student should have a good undergraduate honors degree (first class or high second upper class equivalent) or a master’s degree, either in economics or another quantitative subject (such as mathematics, statistics, physics, engineering, or operations research). The Application Procedures tab has more detailed admissions information.

All students who are admitted to the program can expect full financial support (covering both fees and living expenses) for five years. This support is conditional on satisfactory academic progress and will typically require some teaching duties. Funding in the first four years comes in the form of NUS Research Scholarships, and the fifth year’s funding comes from the department. The department also provides each student with a generous research allowance that can be used for overseas travel and other research purposes.

Graduates of the NUS doctoral program go on to establish promising careers both within and outside academia.

To encourage good teaching among graduate students, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences gives out Graduate Student Teaching Awards each semester. One of the winners for the first semester of the 2023-2024 academic year is Zheng Zhongxi, who joined our doctoral program in 2022. Zhongxi is from Shenzhen, China; his research is in macroeconomics.

Teh Tat-How completed his doctoral studies in 2019 and stayed on as a postdoctoral research fellow. His research focuses on platform and digital economics, and industrial organization more generally. He joined the Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) as an assistant professor in economics in August 2023. Before that, he worked at the Chinese University of Hong Kong at Shenzhen.

Program Structure

The first year of the PhD program is devoted to coursework, with research becoming increasingly significant in subsequent years. In the first year, students take eight core courses according to the following table.

Semester 1	Semester 2
EC5101 Microeconomic Theory	EC6101 Advanced Microeconomic Theory
EC5102 Macroeconomic Theory	EC6102 Advanced Macroeconomic Theory
EC5103 Econometric Modelling and Applications I	EC6103 Econometric Modelling and Applications II
EC5104 Mathematics for Economists	EC6104 Advanced Mathematics for Economists OR EC6883 Advanced Topics in Applied Economics

From the second year onwards, in addition to beginning work on their thesis, students are required to take five elective courses. Three of the electives must be at the EC6000 level (here are this year's course offerings). In the second year, students also have to take the Graduate Research Seminar (EC6770), which is a general course that discusses research ethics, dissertation writing, and critical analysis of economic research.

The first year PhD students of 2024

Students have to pass the Qualifying Examinations to confirm their PhD candidacy. These examinations, which are typically completed within the first two years of student admission, have two principal requirements: passing the comprehensive written examinations and the oral defense of a thesis proposal.

The comprehensive examinations consist of two exam papers, one each in micro- and macroeconomics. Students normally take the exams at the beginning of the long summer break at the end of the first year; those who fail either exam paper will have one opportunity to retake that exam paper within six months of the first attempt.

The oral defense of the PhD thesis proposal, which involves a presentation to the student’s thesis committee, normally takes place in the latter half of the second year.

Students who fail the Qualifying Examinations may be permitted to transfer to the Master of Social Sciences program; relevant course credits earned in the doctoral program would also be transferred.

From the third year onwards, most students would devote the bulk of their attention to research on their doctoral thesis. It typically takes another two to four years to complete the thesis. In this phase of studies, each student will be part of a research group and is expected to actively participate in their research group's activities, which include presenting their own research and attending regular seminars and workshops.

Language and Writing Requirements Students who have graduated from universities where English is not the medium of instruction may be required to undergo a Graduate English Course. In addition, all students are required to attend and pass a short course on academic writing in the second year of the doctoral program.

Application Procedures

There are two deadlines after which the committee will review the applications. All applicants receiving offers will be interviewed.

The first application deadline is September 30th, with interviews expected to be around the end of October or early November, and early offers will be made by the end of November. Some applicants interviewed in this early round may be short-listed and have decisions on them made together with applicants from the next deadline.

The main application deadline is December 1st, with interviews expected to take place in January. All application outcomes will be made known by the end of March.

The online application system is available here.

FAQ

What is the required academic background for admission?
The applicant should have a good undergraduate honors degree (first class or high second upper class equivalent) or a master’s degree, either in economics or another quantitative subject (such as mathematics, statistics, physics, engineering, or operations research).

For English, is there any requirement in admission or training during the program?
Our program follows the same requirement specified in the general application procedure for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Admitted students who have graduated from universities where English is not the medium of instruction may be required to undergo a Graduate English Course.

Are there any other information sources if I have questions not covered in this webpage?
Information on general application procedures can be found here. For questions specific to the economics program, we encourage you to connect with us through telephone +65 6516 4878 or email econ-phd@nus.edu.sg.

Graduate Teaching Assistant Zhao Wenbo trying to get the attention of his students on the core micro course EC5101.