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Program Requirements for Economics (Economics)
Applicable only to students admitted during the 2018-2019 academic year.
Economics
College of Letters and Science
Graduate Degrees
The Department of Economics offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Economics.
Economics
Master’s Degree
Advising
Entering students are assigned faculty advisers by the department. The adviser’s approval is required prior to enrollment each quarter. Students are encouraged to consult their adviser whenever doubts or questions arise about their proposed program or academic goals. As the student becomes more familiar with the faculty, the adviser initially assigned by the department may be replaced, at the student’s initiative, by a faculty member in the student’s area of interest and specialization.
In addition, the Graduate Committee meets once a year in the fall quarter after comprehensive examination results have been made known, to review the performance of each graduate student in the program. At that time, a student making slow or unsatisfactory progress is interviewed by a committee member and given guidelines for successful completion of the program. The Vice Chair for Graduate Affairs (same as Chair of Graduate Committee) also meets with students who are failing to meet university and/or departmental minimum standards.
Areas of Study
Econometrics; Economic History; Industrial Organization; International Economics; Labor Economics; Macro and Monetary Economics; Theory; Population and Public Sector Economics
Foreign Language Requirement
None.
Course Requirements
The department requires nine upper division and graduate-level courses (36 units) in economics completed while in graduate status at UCLA. At least seven of the nine courses (28 units) must be graduate-level courses in the department, one of which must be either Economics 207 or 241 or 242 (see general catalog for course descriptions). Each course must be completed with a grade of B or better.
With prior approval of the vice chair for graduate affairs, students may take a maximum of two courses from departments outside of Economics. However, these courses may not substitute for the seven graduate-level economics courses required.
With the prior approval of the vice chair for graduate affairs, four units of Economics 596 may be applied toward the total course requirement and the minimum graduate course requirement.
Teaching Experience
Not required.
Field Experience
Not required.
Capstone Plan
In addition to the course requirements, candidates for the M.A. degree must satisfactorily complete a written capstone requirement that involves passing two examinations. This requirement may be fulfilled by one of the following:
(1) Master’s-level (M) passes in comprehensive examinations for two of the three first-year sequences and a grade of B or better in all three courses in the remaining sequence.
(2) Master’s-level (M) passes in the comprehensive examination for one of the three first-year sequences and in one doctoral field examination.
(3) Master’s-level (M) passes in two doctoral field examinations.
Examinations are graded H (Ph.D. honors pass), P (Ph.D. pass), M (M.A. pass), and F (fail).
Thesis Plan
None.
Time-to-Degree
It normally takes three quarters to earn the degree.
| DEGREE | NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters) | NORMATIVE TTD |
MAXIMUM TTD |
| M.A. | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Doctoral Degree
Advising
Entering students are assigned faculty advisers by the department. The adviser’s approval is required prior to enrollment each quarter. Students are encouraged to consult their adviser whenever doubts or questions arise about their proposed program or academic goals. As the student becomes more familiar with the faculty, the adviser initially assigned by the department may be replaced, at the student’s initiative, by a faculty member in the student’s area of interest and specialization.
In addition, the Graduate Committee meets once a year in the fall quarter after written qualifying examination results have been made known, to review the performance of each graduate student in the program. At that time, a student making slow or unsatisfactory progress is interviewed by a committee member and given guidelines for successful completion of the program. The vice chair for graduate affairs (same as chair of Graduate Committee) also meets with students who are failing to meet university and/or departmental minimum standards.
Major Fields or Subdisciplines
Econometrics; Economic History; Industrial Organization; International Economics; Labor Economics; Macro and Monetary Economics; Theory; Population and Public Sector Economics
Foreign Language Requirement
None.
Course Requirements
In order that the program can be tailored to an individual student’s background and interests, there are no formal course requirements in the Ph.D. program. In their first year, however, students normally enroll in the Mathematics of Economics course (Econ 200) and the standard first-year graduate core sequences in microeconomic theory (Economics 201A-201B-201C), macroeconomic theory (Economics 202A-202B-202C) and quantitative methods (Economics 203A, 203B, 203C).
Teaching Experience
Not required.
Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations
Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.
All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.
Written Examinations
All Ph.D. qualifying examinations are intended to determine competency in the overall field. While the courses offered are intended to prepare students for the field examinations, and while the professors of the courses are normally also the examiners, the qualifying examination is not restricted solely to the material explicitly presented in course lectures or assigned exercises. Students are assisted in acquiring knowledge of the overall field by course reading lists that include recommended supplementary and complementary readings.
The department offers written qualifying examinations in the areas listed below (with preparatory courses shown in parentheses):
Core Sequences. Microeconomic theory (Economics 201A-201B-201C); macroeconomic theory (Economics 202A-202B-202C); quantitative methods (Economics 203A, 203B, 203C).
Elective Doctoral Fields. Econometrics; Economic History; Industrial Organization; International Economics; Labor Economics; Macro and Monetary Economics; Theory; Population and Public Sector Economics.
Examinations are graded H (Ph.D. honors pass), P (Ph.D. pass), M (M.A. pass), and F (fail).
Qualifying examinations in all core sequences are offered twice a year after the end of spring quarter and before the beginning of the fall quarter). Doctoral field qualifying examinations are offered at least once a year. Students must pass (with a P or better) the qualifying examinations in all three of the standard first-year core sequences — microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, and quantitative methods — by the beginning of the fall quarter of their second year. Students are required to take these examinations at the first available sitting (after the end of the student’s first year). If students are unsuccessful on their first try, they may repeat one or all of the qualifying examinations at the next available sitting (before the beginning of the student’s second year). Students who have successfully completed their first-year core requirements must regularly attend either a departmental workshop and a dissertation pro-seminar each quarter of their second year.
Students must pass (with a P or better) qualifying examinations in three doctoral elective fields (or two fields plus breadth option), usually by the end of the second year, but no later than June of the student’s third year. Written qualifying examinations may be repeated, but students may sit for no more than nine times in total for all (core and field) examinations combined. Students who have successfully completed all course requirements and written qualifying examinations must enroll in and regularly attend a departmental workshop and a dissertation pro-seminar for each of their remaining quarters in the doctoral program.
Some fields require a field paper, which must receive at least a grade of “Pass” before advancing to doctoral candidacy. The paper should be submitted electronically to the Graduate Adviser. A paper can only be submitted to one field, unless the committees of both fields agree to a different arrangement. If a paper, or parts of it, are being used to satisfy a field paper requirement in another field, the cover page of such paper should include a note to that effect and an explanation.
By employing the breadth option, students may substitute a field by course work, defined as three graduate-level courses for one of the three elective fields. Courses used to satisfy this requirement cannot include any courses used in the core sequence requirements. The breadth option must include Economics 207 or 241 or 242 (see general catalog for course descriptions). Students may apply courses at the graduate level (200-level) outside the Economics Department on written preapproval by the vice chair for graduate affairs. Only courses in which a minimum grade of B is earned may be used to satisfy this requirement.
Paper Requirement
A written paper must be completed by the end of the student’s second year. This paper is to be read and evaluated by a member of the department faculty, who must certify in writing that it satisfied this requirement. This paper could be based on or be an extension of an optional or required paper for a course. Alternatively, the paper could be one presented in a workshop or an outgrowth of a research assistantship or independent study. Ideally, the paper would be related to the student’s doctoral dissertation. The materials of this paper may be used as the basis for presentation in a departmental workshop, as well as the basis for the dissertation.
Before advancing to the University Oral Qualifying Examination, students are expected to present a paper in a departmental pro-seminar. It is recommended that this be completed by June of the second year.
Oral and Written Qualifying Examination
The University Oral and Written Qualifying Examination, administered by the student’s doctoral committee, is scheduled after successful completion of all first-year core examinations as prescribed, receipt of P or better in the qualifying examinations of three doctoral elective fields (or two fields plus breadth option), and the submission of a written dissertation proposal. The proposal should be made available to the committee members at least two weeks prior to the date of the examination. The examination focuses on, but is not be limited to, the dissertation proposal.
A student should attempt the oral and written examination no later than the end of August before the beginning of the third year of study. Students must have been registered in the immediately preceding spring term in order to take the examination in the summer. In case of failure, a student may repeat the oral and written qualifying examination once.
Advancement to Candidacy
Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.
All students should have advanced to doctoral candidacy by the end of the spring quarter of their third year.
Students that advanced to doctoral candidacy before the beginning of the fall quarter of their third year should present their progress towards their dissertation at a pro-seminar held at the end of their third year and in front of the internal members of the student’s (possibly reconstituted) doctoral committee.
Doctoral Dissertation
Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.
Final Oral Examination (Defense of the Dissertation)
Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.
Time-to-Degree
The department has established a six-year (18 quarters) normative time-to-degree plan which is divided into a two-year pre-candidacy period and a four-year candidacy period. This projection is suggestive, and it should be recognized that the amount of time necessary to complete the degree has been found to vary widely among students, due to differences in previous training and other factors. All requirements for the Ph.D. degree must, however, be completed within seven calendar years (21 quarters) after entering the program.
| DEGREE | NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters) | NORMATIVE TTD |
MAXIMUM TTD |
| Ph.D. | 6 | 18 | 21 |
Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination
University Policy
A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.
Special Departmental or Program Policy
Students who fail an examination at the first sitting are then required to retake the examination at the next available sitting. Students who do not earn Ph.D. passes in the first-year written qualifying examinations in these two sittings are ineligible to continue in the Ph.D. program.
Except with the permission of the Chair or the Graduate Vice Chair, the program requires that a grade point average of 3.5 is maintained to qualify for any departmental funding or employment including Teaching Assistantship, Readership, and Graduate Student Researcher positions.
All students in their third year and beyond are required to submit an academic progress report by the end of each quarter to the Graduate Vice Chair.
A student who is not making satisfactory progress toward the degree is notified to meet with the Vice Chair, who determines whether to recommend termination to the Graduate Committee. Termination is normally recommended in cases where a student: (1) has failed to maintain a 3.00 grade point average; (2) has failed to pass the written qualifying examinations in the first year core fields by the end of the second sitting; (3) has failed to pass all written qualifying examinations in nine sittings (or by the end of the third year); (4) has failed to be advanced to candidacy by the end of the third year; or (5) has failed to complete all requirements for the degree by the end of the seventh year.
The student is informed of the vice chair’s recommendation and has an opportunity to provide written materials in support of continued enrollment in the Ph.D. program. The Graduate Committee thoroughly reviews the student’s record as well as the supplementary materials provided by the student and makes a final recommendation to the Graduate Division.