GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN ECONOMICS
REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES
Please read thoroughly the WVU Graduate Catalog
before reading the details below.
Master of Arts Program
See the WVU Graduate Catalog for a detailed description of the Masters of
Arts in Economics Program. To qualify for the M.A. degree, graduate students in
economics must earn a grade of B- or better in Economics 701 and 702 and meet a
cumulative minimum grade point average of 3.0 upon graduation for all courses
counted towards the degree. Also, sections VII and VIII below apply.
Ph.D. Program
I. Core Courses
There are nine core courses in the Ph.D. program. Econ 701, 702, 721, and 726
are typically offered in the Fall Semester and Econ 711, 712, 725, 727, and
791A (1 credit) are typically offered during the Spring Semester. See catalog
for course descriptions, and Section VI below for more details.
II. Fields of Concentration
Each student specializes in two fields. Typical course work is six hours in a
field. See catalog for listing of fields of specialization.
III. Comprehensive Examinations
The Ph.D. degree is a competency based degree and is not earned for mere
accumulation of credit hours. The student is required to show competence in
microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory and two fields of specialization.
Competency is demonstrated by the award of a grade of Pass in
comprehensive examinations in Microeconomic Theory, Macroeconomic Theory, and
the student's two fields of specialization.
Comprehensive examinations are given twice each year. These examinations are written examinations which are subject to a four hour time limitation. The microeconomic theory and macroeconomic theory examinations are separated by at least one day. Field examinations are scheduled so that each student has at least one day separating his or her field exams as well. Examinations typically occur in the week preceding the semester except for the summer field examinations which are given the first or second week of June. Special approval from the Graduate Coordinator is required to take a theory examination and a field examination in the same semester. This approval will be granted only in extraordinary circumstances.
Committees composed of members of the Graduate Faculty selected by the Graduate Coordinator prepare and evaluate the examinations. Each committee is composed of three members from the field covered by the examination. One member of the three-member group from each field chairs the committee and is charged with the responsibility of preparing the examination agreed upon by the members. Grading is on a pass-fail basis. The student's grade on each examination is determined by a simple majority vote of the three-member committee.
All graduate students in the Ph.D. program are required to take the comprehensive examination in microeconomics at the start of the semester immediately following the semester in which they initially enroll in Econ 711, and are required to take the macroeconomics comprehensive examination at the start of the semester immediately following the semester in which they initially enroll in Econ 712.
All Ph.D. students must pass each of the two comprehensive theory examinations no later than at the start of the third semester after they initially enroll in Econ 711 or Econ 712 respectively. Thus the student has three opportunities, if needed, to take and pass each of the comprehensive economic theory examinations. A student may sit for each of the comprehensive theory examinations only three times. A failure to sit for the relevant comprehensive theory examination in any semester after initial enrollment in Economics 711 or 712 is a failure of that examination. For this purpose, summer terms are not considered semesters. Students will not generally be allowed to sit for a comprehensive field examination until they have passed both theory examinations and, typically, until completion of course requirements in that field. An "I" grade in a field course is not necessarily cause for postponement of the examination.
A student who fails either of the two comprehensive Economic Theory examinations three times is terminated from the Ph.D. Program subject to the appeals process required in the West Virginia Code of Students Rights and Responsibilities. Also, a student who fails field comprehensive examinations in any number of fields for a collective total of four times will be terminated from the program subject to the appeals process. Before such termination may occur a Review Committee shall be formed to review the status of the student for the purpose of making a determination either for termination from the program or of the conditions under which the student may be permitted to continue in the Ph.D. program in economics. The Review Committee shall be appointed by the Department Chairperson ,and in accordance with the West Virginia Student Handbook the student is permitted to address the Review Committee. The Review Committee shall report its determination to the Department Chairperson.
A student may sit for the written comprehensive exam in any given field a maximum of two times.
IV. Candidacy and Dissertation
Students who have successfully passed their written comprehensive theory and
field examinations and completed all required coursework will be formally
promoted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. Students must be promoted to
candidacy within three years of passing the second of their written
comprehensive theory examinations; failure to meet this requirement will
generally result in termination from the Ph.D. program.
The candidate must submit a dissertation pursued under the supervision of a member of the Graduate Faculty in Economics on some problem in the area of the candidate's major interest. The dissertation must present the results of the candidate's individual investigation and must embody a definitive contribution to knowledge. It must be approved by a committee of the Graduate Faculty in Economics. See the Appendix for the requirements for the composition of the dissertation committee. After approval of the candidate's dissertation and satisfactory completion of other graduate requirements, a final oral examination on the dissertation is required.
V. Dissertation Proposal and Proposal Seminar
Each Ph.D. candidate is required to present a dissertation proposal to the
Graduate Coordinator subsequent to approval by at least three members of his or
her committee. This proposal will include a statement of the problem (topic
summary), a preliminary survey of the literature, a description of the research
methodology, and other pertinent material.
After the approval of the proposal, the Ph.D. candidate is required to present the proposal at an open seminar of faculty and graduate students. The dissertation chairperson chooses the appropriate time for such a seminar.
Credit for dissertation research is available under Econ 797. Normally, registration for one semester is permitted if the student has a dissertation chairperson. Registration for subsequent semesters is permitted if the student has a full dissertation committee. Students who are writing a dissertation in residence are required to enroll in Econ 709 (Workshop in Research Design and Methodology) each semester.
VI. Faculty Advising and Plan-of-Study
All students take the core curriculum and at least two courses in each of two
fields of concentration, and pass at least two additional 700-level economics
courses with grades of better than B-. A minimum of 45 hours of graduate work
in economics at the 700 level is required (not counting credits received for
Econ 709). One of the two fields of concentration may be in an area outside
those normally offered; selection must be approved by the graduate economics
faculty.
The following Ph.D. program course sequence has been adopted by the faculty in economics. Economics 701 and 711 carry four credit hours; Economics 709 and 791A carry one credit hour; all other listed courses carry three credit hours. Deviations from this course sequence may be approved with cause by the graduate course advisor.
Fall semester of first academic year of enrollment in the program:
Economics 701 - Advanced Microeconomic Theory 1
Economics 702 - Advanced Macroeconomic Theory 1
Economics 721 - Mathematical Economics
Spring semester of first academic year of enrollment in the program:
Economics 711 - Advanced Microeconomic Theory 2
Economics 712 - Advanced Macroeconomic Theory 2
Economics 725 - Econometrics 1
Economics 791A - Dynamic Methods
Fall semester of second academic year of enrollment in the program:
Economics 726 - Econometrics 2
Field I Course
Field II Course
Economics 709 - Workshop in Research Design & Methodology
Spring semester of second academic year of enrollment in the program:
Economics 727 - Econometrics 3
Field I Course
Field II Course
Economics 709 - Workshop in Research Design & Methodology
Third academic year of enrollment in the program:
Field and elective courses
Economics 709 - Workshop in Research Design & Methodology
Students receive course advising from the Economics Graduate Coordinator or another Economics faculty member appointed as Course Advisor, and advising on research from a faculty research mentor.
Any deviation from course or program requirements (e.g., approval of transfer credit, waiving a course, or substitution of a course for a required course) must be approved by the student and the Graduate Coordinator with a statement explaining the agreed-upon deviation placed in the student's file.
VII. Academic Standards for Continuation in the Graduate Programs in
Economics
A student whose cumulative grade-point average for all degree-appropriate
courses taken as a Ph.D. student in economics at WVU falls below 3.0 will be
placed on probation at the close of the semester in which the GPA fell below
3.0. A Ph.D. student on probation who fails to raise his/her cumulative GPA to
3.0 or better by the completion of the next nine semesters hours (or semester,
if more than nine hours are taken in a single semester) will be terminated from
the Ph.D. program.
To qualify for the Ph.D. degree, graduate students must possess a cumulative minimum grade-point average of at least 3.0 in all degree-appropriate courses completed as a graduate student in economics at WVU.
A student who has not been properly admitted or who has been terminated from a program may not further enroll. If registration for course work is attempted, the University can cancel the enrollment.
Other academic reasons for termination from the Ph.D. program include:
1. A failing grade on more than 50% of the course work taken in any
semester.
2. A total of four failures on the comprehensive field examinations taken in
the Ph.D. curriculum.
3. A third failure on any one comprehensive economic theory examination taken
in the Ph.D. curriculum.
4. Failure to complete all degree requirements within the specified time
limits.
A student admitted on a provisional basis to the Ph.D. program in economics who fails to meet the conditions for removal of the provisional status during the first semester in residence will be placed on probation for the next enrollment period. A Ph.D. student admitted on a provisional basis who fails to meet the conditions for removal of the provisional status by the end of his or her second semester in residence will be terminated from the program at the end of that second semester. In order to remain in the program, such a student must have attained a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 by the end of the probationary semester on all degree-appropriate work completed at WVU. If a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 is not attained by the end of the probationary semester the student shall be terminated from the Ph.D. program in economics.
A student with a deficient undergraduate GPA or deficient GRE score may be admitted to the Ph.D. program on a departmentally probationary status for his or her first semester. Like all Ph.D. students on probation, such a student will be terminated from the program at the end of that semester if he or she does not achieve a cumulative WVU GPA of at least 3.0 by the close of the probationary semester.
For M.A. students the standards for continuation in the program equal the minimum standards imposed by the University, with the additional requirement that for all courses counted towards the degree a cumulative minimum grade point average of 3.0 be attained upon graduation.
A student who is notified of termination from the graduate programs in Economics will have the opportunity to address an appeal for reconsideration to a review committee of the faculty, the committee to be appointed by the Department Chairperson. All appeal procedures shall be in accordance with the University Student Handbook.
VIII. Financial Aid
The Department of Economics has a limited number of teaching assistantships and
research assistantships available. Recipients of teaching assistantships
participate in instruction in the undergraduate Principles of Economics courses
and other courses. Recipients of research assistantships participate in a
faculty member's research activities, aiding for example in the literature
search, data collection and data analysis. Recipients of each receive a tuition
waiver, a waiver of most student fees, and a generous cash stipend that is
competitive with graduate awards at other universities.
Initial selections for Departmental assistantships are made early in March of each year. Some awards may be made later. Applicants are required to submit general aptitude GRE scores (international students must also submit TOEFL Scores). Three letters of reference should be submitted in addition. Further application information is available at http://www.be.wvu.edu/div/econ/application.html
Outstanding applicants are nominated for University fellowships. Applications for University fellowships must be filed with the Coordinator of Graduate Programs by February 1 of each year. The materials required for an applicant to be considered are:
(1) A completed application for an assistantship
(2) three letters of recommendation
(3) scores on the general portion of the Graduate Record Examination.
IX. Ph.D. Program Emphases
Besides the standard doctoral program described above, the Ph.D. program has
optional emphases in Industrial and Labor Relations and Mathematical Economics.
For a description of these emphases, see the WVU Graduate Catalog.
X. Admission to Candidacy and the Five Year Limit
The student is formally admitted to Ph.D. candidacy when all required
coursework has been completed and he or she has passed all required
comprehensive examinations in both theory and field areas. (See Section IV or
the appendix for the time limit for achieving candidacy.)
Because comprehensive examinations attest to the academic competence of the
student who is about to become an independent researcher and practitioner, the
examinations should not precede the degree by too long a period of time.
Consequently, doctoral candidates are allowed no more
than 5 years in which to complete the remaining degree requirements after
admission to Ph.D. degree candidacy.
Appendix A
The composition of doctoral dissertation committees shall meet the following requirements:
1. The committee shall consist of five faculty members. (The university rule is at least five members.)
2. A majority of the committee members must be Aregular members@ of the WVU Graduate Faculty (University rule).
3. The chairperson of the committee must be a Aregular member@ of the WVU Graduate Faculty (University rule)and a member of the faculty of the Department of Economics.
4. No more than one committee member may be a non-member of the WVU Graduate Faculty (University rule).
5. A majority of committee members must be faculty members in the WVU Department of Economics.
6. At least one member of the committee must be from a department other than the Economics Department at WVU (University rule).
7. Adjunct faculty of the Economics Department may count either as members of the Economics Department or as faculty from outside the department.
Exceptions to the above, subject to University regulations, may be granted with the approval of the Economics Graduate Coordinator.
The above requirements pertain to the status of a faculty member at the time
when he or she joins the dissertation committee. Subsequent changes in the
status of individual committee members will not necessitate a change in the
committee membership. If a committee member leaves the committee, a new member
must be appointed, subject to the requirements listed above.
Appendix B
Time limits:
1. Candidacy must be achieved within three years after the second theory comp is passed [department rule].
2. The dissertation must be defended within five years after candidacy is achieved [university rule].
3. Thirty hours of graduate work must be completed in the 8-year period
prior to the conferring of the doctorate. Courses taken more than 8 years
before the conferring of the degree and used toward degree requirements must be
formally revalidated, which involves a revalidation examination and a request
for approval of revalidation to the assistant vice president for curriculum and
instruction. [university rule].
revised 7/01
revised 2/05