The MPhil Economic Research is the first year of a 4-year
route to a PhD and runs from mid-September to the end of
August. The MPhil Economic Research is the foundation year for the
PhD programme and involves a thorough study of the core areas of
economics and the requirement to explore one area in detail in order to
begin the process of choosing a PhD research topic. However, please
note that it is not necessary to have a detailed proposal for PhD
research at the time of applying. The Faculty recognises that some
applicants will not be completely sure at the time of applying whether
they do or do not wish to pursue a PhD. Applicants will have the
opportunity of switching between MPhil Economic Research and MPhil
Economics during the first half of the first term.
Each student will take eight modules plus a
dissertation. One module is equivalent to eighteen hours of
lectures.
Requirements:
- to attend the maths preparatory course
in mathematics and
statistics
- two compulsory modules in each core
area of microeconomics,
macroeconomics and econometrics – amounting to six modules
- one additional module from the core
areas – amounting
to one module
- one either from the core areas or from
the list of
additional options – amounting to one module
- a dissertation of up to 10,000 words
Preparatory Maths Course
The compulsory
three-week preparatory course in mathematics and statistics runs from
mid-September to early October and will be assessed by an examination
at the
end of the course which will be marked on a pass/fail basis. The aim of
this is to review and develop the
required technical methods for the compulsory core courses in
macroeconomics,
microeconomics, and econometrics.The topics covered are:linear algebra;
statistics; static optimisation; dynamic optimisation; differential and
difference equations.
Core Areas
Microeconomics
- Microeconomics
I (Compulsory)
- Microeconomics II (Compulsory)
- Applied
Microeconomics
- Topics in Economic
Theory
Macroeconomics
- Macroeconomics I
- Macroeconomic Analysis (Compulsory)
- Macroeconomics II -
Macroeconomic Theory(Compulsory)
- Applied Macroeconomics
- Advanced Topics in
Macroeconomic Theory
Econometrics
- Econometric
Methods (Compulsory)
One of the following can be taken as the second
compulsory
module
- Time Series and
Financial Econometrics
- Cross-Section and
Panel Data Econometrics
- Applied
Econometrics
Additional Options
PLEASE NOTE that these are all modules which may be
offered, but the Faculty reserves the right to alter, omit or add
optional modules within the overall framework described above.
Full details of the content of each module will be available in due
course.
Assessment
Examination of the Modules will be in
May. Each module accounts for 10% of the overall mark and
the dissertation accounts for 20% of the overall mark.
Dissertation
During the second term, each student is allocated a supervisor
for the dissertation (maximum length 10,000 words). The topic of
the dissertation should be closely related to the subject of the
proposed PhD research, and must be formally approved by the Faculty. During the second and third terms the student will
meet the supervisor to discuss an outline of the topic, a bibliography,
the use of appropriate data and methods of analysis, and a draft of the
dissertation. After the written examinations in the third term,
students can concentrate entirely on their dissertations and will be
provided with up to five hours supervision. The
deadline for submitting dissertations is the end of August.
Continuation to PhD
The requirements for continuation to PhD is an average of at
least 70% across the 8 coursework modules.
