Specialisation: Applied Economics
Director: Robert Clark
The PhD specialisation in Economics at HEC Montreal provides the rigorous training necessary in order to prepare students to perform cutting-edge research and analysis in universities, government agencies, or private sector firms. We are searching for talented students with strong quantitative backgrounds interested in a stimulating environment within a vibrant academic community. The Economics specialisation is offered in French and in English. Students in the programme can benefit from the collaboration between the Economics Departments at the University of Montreal, McGill, Concordia, and HEC Montreal which permits the joint offering of courses in several areas of specialization for PhD students who have completed their core courses (see http://www.sceco.umontreal.ca/Joint_Phd_Courses/index.html).
The programme is designed to provide students with an understanding of the research methods and the tools of modern economics, along with the ability to apply these tools to answer pressing questions in a variety of areas of specialization such as labour economics, health economics, political economy, open-economy macroeconomics, monetary policy, industrial organization, environmental economics, and econometrics.
In the first two semesters students are required to take eight courses including two courses in each of Microeconomics, and Macroeconomics, and at least one course in Econometrics. In the summer following their first year students must also pass comprehensive examinations in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Econometrics. Later students must submit themselves to an oral comprehensive examination in their chosen field of study. In the second year students take advanced courses selected from a wide range of options drawn from the sources listed above. Having completed their coursework, students then concentrate on their research, participate in research seminars, and write an original thesis.
Our graduates have gone on to teach in universities, and to work both for government agencies and in industry.
