Timeline for Completion of the Ph.D.

The Department of Economics Ph.D. Program at New York University

Active graduate students are either "in good standing" or on "academic probation". To be in good standing, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) requires that students maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 and successfully complete 66% of credits attempted while at NYU, not including the current semester. Courses with grades of IP, N, W, and F are not considered successfully completed.

In addition to the GSAS criteria, the Department of Economics requires that:

• All qualifying and field examinations be passed within the appropriate time period, and that
• The third year paper be satisfactorily completed and presented before the last day of the spring semester of the third year of the student.

If a student fails to meet any of these requirements, the Graduate Committee will review the case and decide whether or not to place the student on academic probation. Students placed on probation will have one (1) semester to satisfy the conditions set by the Committee. This time limit may be modified if there are circumstances beyond the student's control, such as the setting and grading of makeup examinations.

Note that satisfaction of the above criteria does not guarantee automatic continuation in the program, though normally it will permit continuation. [For instance, excessively unbalanced grades could trigger a review of performance by the Graduate Committee.]

Depending on the extent to which a student fails to meet requirements, financial aid from NYU may be suspended during the period of probation, or even terminated altogether.

The following "Road Map" indicates how and when the criteria will typically be applied.

 

Road Map

In year 1, you will take core sequences in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics. Each semester-length course in these sequences will be split into two modules, with a separate instructor assigned to each module. A grade for each course will be based on performance in the two modules that comprise it.

You must also take a two-semester sequence in mathematics. The second mathematics course may be optionally postponed, but must in any case be completed by the second year. Bearing in mind that the postponement is designed to help the (relatively) weaker students, this postponement cannot be carried out in order to take second-year courses during the first year.

Students must maintain a 3.0-average in the core courses, and must take the qualifying examinations at the end of their first year. For more details on these matters, please read the "Departmental Requirements for Continuation in the Ph.D. Program" section below.

In year 2, you must choose a field, such as theory, macroeconomics, labor, development, political economy, behavioral economics... For each field you must complete the requirements for that field, which typically includes satisfactory completion of a set of courses and a field examination.

By the end of year 3, you must have completed an original research paper. Note: while this is a formal departmental requirement, we expect you to start thinking about research as early as possible, ideally in your second year.

In year 4, you will typically be engaged in full time research. We expect you to go on the market by December of year 5, and graduate by the end of year 5. This final requirement is not cast in stone, and we realize that delays may occur. But there is a seven-year cap on the Ph.D. program.

Courses

Each course you take will count for 4 credits. Your arrangement with NYU will give you a "budget" of 72 credits, which you will use to fulfil the requirements described above. But the requirements (8 core courses and typically two field courses) will not exhaust your budget. You will take other courses to meet the 72 credit requirement. These will typically be economics courses but may also be courses in other departments (this will require the consent of teh Director of Graduate Studies).

Departmental Requirements for Continuation in the Ph.D. program

The following indicators will be used to indicate satisfaction of departmental requirements for continuation in the Ph.D. program:

FIRST YEAR: Taking and passing the qualifying examinations in microeconomics and macroeconomics. (Exams must be taken at the end of the first year; grades of PD, P, or MP will satisfy the exam requirement; if a grade of F is received, this will typically flag the beginning of a probationary period in which the qualifying examination must be retaken.)

SECOND YEAR: Taking and passing one field exam.(Exams must be taken at the end of the second year in the program. If the student fails this exam, it may indicate the start of a probationary period, depending on cumulative GPA and other indicators of past performance. Typically, the student will have one more opportunity to take a field exam in the next cycle. If the second attempt results in a grade of "F", the student's candidacy to the Ph.D. program will be withdrawn, unless granted permission for one more attempt by the graduate committee.)

THIRD YEAR: THIRD YEAR PAPER. (This paper must be completed and presented before the last day of the spring semester of the student's third year. Once again, failure to do so will typically constitute grounds for placing the student on probation.)

(8/15/01)