Economics

Entry requirements

Entry into the PhD Economics programme requires both the prior attainment of certain academic qualifications and also the submission of a satisfactory research proposal at the time of application:

• for year 1 entry, you will normally be expected to have achieved a high level performance in an undergraduate and/or a postgraduate course in economics that provides a sound training in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics equivalent to at least an upper second class honours in the BEconSc degree at Manchester;
• direct entry into year 2, you will normally be expected to have achieved a high level of performance in a postgraduate programme in economics;
• for a UK masters programme, high level performance equates to a minimum overall average of 65% on the taught component and a dissertation mark of 65% or above (with no mark below 55%). Entry from other courses is considered on a case-by-case basis;
• your masters training is expected to offer a comparable training to one of the following programmes at Manchester; MSc Economics, MSc Econometrics, MSc Economics and Econometrics, and MSc Financial Economics;
• applicants with a high level of performance in any of the following Manchester PG courses would normally be accepted to enter year 1, year 2 is considered on a case-by-case basis: MA Economics, MSc Finance and Economics, MSc Development Economics and Policy, MSc Economics and Management of Rural Development, MSc Environment and Development, MSc Development Finance, MSc Industrial Strategy and Trade Policy and MA Political Economy;
• GRE. This is only one of our admission criteria - we are looking for the 'right fit' for the PhD/MRes programme and use all of the admissions criteria to make a decision. A very high score does not necessarily give a stronger chance of admission and a below average score does not automatically eliminate a candidate.

Months of entry

September

Course content

We have launched our new 5-year PhD programme, consisting of:

• Two years of formal training; and

• Three years of independent research (with the possibility of a 6th year, for writing up).

The first year of the new programme is equivalent to an MSc in Economics and candidates that have already gained a similar qualification at 2:1 level or above, can be considered for entry directly into the second year.

In the second year of the programme, you will take advanced PhD level courses and work on your research proposal, which will represent the basis of the subsequent three years of research.

The new programme structure aligns to that of top institutions in the U.S. and the U.K., providing you with rigorous advanced training and sufficient time for producing independent research, giving you a competitive edge in the job market.

We admit around 8-10 students per year, and 5-year scholarships from the department/school are available, there is also the possibility to compete for ESRC funding.