Ph.D. in Economics

The GSEM Ph.D. program in Economics usually lasts five years, of which two years are devoted to courses. In the first year, students are required to apply to attend the Swiss Program for Beginning Doctoral Students in Economics offered by the Gerzensee Center. In addition, elective courses comprising the equivalent of 12 ECTS can be chosen from a wide array of options and must be completed by the end of the second year.

At the end of the first year, students choose their supervisors and start working on their dissertations, which normally comprise three academic articles.

From year two onward, students are required to regularly attend two department seminar series. These are the Research Seminar in Economics and Econometrics, which mostly offers invited external speakers, and the Brown Bag Seminar, during which Ph.D. students present their ongoing work and receive feedback.

Please consult the official curriculum for further information.

Prerequisites: Ph.D. applicants must hold an MSc in Economics or closely related subject. Depending on their academic background, these applicants may be asked to follow additional courses to meet the prerequisites. Knowledge of French is not an admission requirement.

Faculty: The main current fields of research at the Institute of Economics and Econometrics are development, econometrics, environmental economics, international trade, labor economics, and urban economics. The full list of the Institute's professors and their profiles can be found here.

Financial support: The GSEM offers Ph.D. students financial support, usually in the form of teaching assistant contracts. The number of assistantships is limited and is allocated on the basis of academic merit. Research funds may provide additional financial support.

Curriculum

Program structure

Please consult the Study Plan.

Ph.D. thesis

Please consult our webpage on Research at the Institute of Economics and Econometrics.