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Doctoral Programs

Chicago's Public Research University in the Heart of a World-Class Business City

The doctoral programs at UIC Business build upon our stature as a Research 1 institution. Each day, our faculty researchers produce new knowledge for the global economy. Doctoral candidates have the opportunity to study with renowned experts in the fields of accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, human resources, information and decision sciences, management, marketing and strategy.

Explore Our Doctoral Degree Programs

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PhD students receive a tuition waiver and stipend for four years in exchange for work as a graduate research or teaching assistant provided they are making satisfactory progress towards obtaining their degree as determined by the coordinator for their area of emphasis.

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• Dissertation Areas and Joint PhD Programs
• PhD Career Outcomes
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• 100 Years of Pioneering Research
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• PhD in Accounting
• PhD in Behavioral Science
• PhD in Econometrics and Statistics

PhD in Microeconomics

• PhD in Finance
• PhD in Management Science and Operations Management
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• Joint Program in Financial Economics
• Joint Program in Psychology and Business
• Joint PhD/JD Program

Our PhD Program in Microeconomics is widely recognized for our faculty, whose insights have changed the course of modern-day economic research.

The Chicago School of Economics. It all started here at the University of Chicago.

Fields of specialization in the Microeconomics Stevens Doctoral Program include price theory, market design, industrial organization, labor economics, public economics, health economics, and financial economics. While the research community at Chicago Booth is multidisciplinary and collaborative, the majority of Stevens Doctoral Program students produce scholarship in microeconomics. Doctoral students can take advantage of a wide range of course offerings in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics at the University of Chicago and at Chicago Booth.

Our Distinguished Economics Faculty

Chicago Booth faculty have been responsible for many of the pioneering economic concepts that inform today’s global businesses and policymaking. And they’ll be your teachers, mentors, and research collaborators. For our macroeconomics faculty, visit the Booth faculty directory  and select “Macro/International Business” under “Academic Area.”

Milena Almagro

Assistant Professor of Economics, Liew Family Junior Faculty Fellow, George G. Rinder Faculty Fellow

Marianne Bertrand

Chris P. Dialynas Distinguished Service Professor of Economics

Eric Budish

Paul G. McDermott Professor of Economics and Entrepreneurship and Centel Foundation/Robert P. Reuss Faculty Scholar

Christopher Campos

Assistant Professor of Economics

Rebecca Dizon-Ross

Associate Professor of Economics and Charles E. Merrill Faculty Scholar

Alexander P. Frankel

Professor of Economics

Robert H. Gertner

Joel F. Gemunder Professor of Strategy and Finance; John Edwardson Faculty Director Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation

Austan D. Goolsbee

Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics

Richard Hornbeck

V. Duane Rath Professor of Economics and Neubauer Family Faculty Fellow

Anders Humlum

Assistant Professor of Economics and Fujimori/Mou Faculty Scholar

Emir Kamenica

Richard O. Ryan Professor of Economics

Jacob Leshno

Associate Professor of Economics and Robert H. Topel Faculty Scholar

Andrew McClellan

Jack Mountjoy

Assistant Professor of Economics and Robert H. Topel Faculty Scholar

Sendhil Mullainathan

Roman Family University Professor of Computation and Behavioral Science

Matthew Notowidigdo

David McDaniel Keller Professor of Economics and Business and Public Policy Fellow

Canice Prendergast

W. Allen Wallis Distinguished Service Professor of Economics

Daniel Rappoport

Elisa Rubbo

Assistant Professor of Economics and Liew Family Junior Faculty Fellow

David W. Johnson Professor of Economics

Chad Syverson

George C. Tiao Distinguished Service Professor of Economics

Richard H. Thaler

Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics

Thomas Wollmann

Associate Professor of Economics and William Ladany Faculty Scholar

Alumni Success

Alumni have written dissertations in industrial organization, labor economics, microeconomics, and other related areas. Upon graduation, they go onto Career Outcomes in academics, government, and industry.

Nick Tsivanidis, PhD '18

Assistant Professor in the Real Estate Group Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley Nick researches topics related to urbanization in developing countries. His current interests center on policy issues around transport and housing, with projects in India, Nigeria, Colombia and Brazil. His dissertation area is in economics.

A Network of Support

Doctoral students at Booth have access to the resources of several high-powered research centers that offer funding for student work, host workshops and conferences, and foster a strong research community.

Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Bringing together researchers from the entire Chicago economics community, the Becker Friedman Institute fosters novel insights on the world’s most difficult economic problems.

George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State Dedicated to examining issues at the intersection of politics and the economy, the Stigler Center supports research by Doctoral students and others who are interested in the political, economic, and cultural obstacles to better working markets.

Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation Committed to making the world more equitable and sustainable, the Rustandy Center works to solve complex social and environmental problems. The center’s student support includes fellowships, research funding, and networking opportunities.

Fama-Miller Center for Research in Finance Tasked with pushing the boundaries of research in finance, the Fama-Miller Center provides institutional structure and support for researchers in the field.

Center for Research in Security Prices CRSP maintains one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive stock market databases. Since 1963, it has been a valued resource for businesses, government, and scholars.

The Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets Enhancing the understanding of business and financial market globalization, the Clark Center for Global Markets positions Chicago Booth as a thought leader in the understanding of ever-changing markets and improves financial and economic decision-making around the world.

Scholarly Publications

Chicago Booth is home to some of the most prestigious academic journals in economics.

The Journal of Labor Economics presents international research on the relationship between labor and the economy.

The Journal of Law and Economics has published some of the most influential and widely cited articles on a broad range of economic topics.

The Journal of Political Economy , one of the oldest economics journals in the world, focuses on the relationship between government and the economy.

Spotlight on Research

Our faculty and PhD students continually produce high-level research. The Chicago Booth Review frequently highlights their contributions in economics.

To Keep Students Focused, Try Paying Their Parents

A study of subsidized training programs and incentives. Research from Hamna Ahmed (Lahore School of Economics), Zunia Tirmazee (Lahore), Rebecca Wu (UChicago PhD), and Emma Zhang (Chicago Booth PhD), suggest that including parents in decision-making may be most effective.

How Demolishing Public Housing Increased Inequity

A study by Chicago Booth's Milena Almagro, Eric Chyn (University of Texas), and Bryan A. Stuart (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia) investigate what happened to Chicago's public housing system and find that demolishing public housing increased inequality.

Why Medical Tourism Could Be Good Policy

Rather than investing in putting more medical facilities in remote areas, it could be more effective to pay for patients to visit healthcare facilities, according to research by Chicago Booth's Johnathan Dingel, Joshua D. Gottlieb (UChicago Harris School), Maya Lozinski (Harris PhD) and Booth PhD, Pauline Mourot.

NBER Dissertation Fellowship in Consumer Financial Management

The National Bureau of Economics (NBER) awarded PhD Student, Benedict Guttman-Kenney, a dissertation fellowship to support his research in the economics of credit information.

Inside the Booth PhD Experience

Nick Tsivanidis, PhD ’18, talks about the culture of interdisciplinary study he found at Booth.

Video Transcript

Nick Tsivanidis, ’18: 00:03 My PhD thesis was about how commute costs shape economic organization in cities. Billions of people over the next 50, 100 years, they're going to be moving into mostly developing cities. Governments are going to spend huge amounts of money on providing new infrastructure to try and accommodate them. My project had both macro and applied micro elements. One of the benefits of Booth is that you have access to people from a wide range of areas who are very happy to encourage you to work on interdisciplinary topics.

Nick Tsivanidis, ’18: 00:38 I've always been interested in development and in particular how cities and countries can use evidence-based policy to try and improve welfare of their citizens. I've decided that pursuing a PhD would allow me to research and help translate that research into policy. What attracted me to the PhD program here at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business was this culture of interdisciplinary study. People at Chicago certainly aren't scared or will shy away from trying to think at the intersection of different areas. This is where a lot of very fruitful and productive new research actually takes place, which is at the border of frontiers. That really attracted me to come here.

Current Economics Students

From the effects of government regulation on economies to the impact of urban transit infrastructures, our PhD students examine a wide range of economic issues. When they graduate, they go on to positions at some of the top universities and companies in the world.

Current Students

Franco Calle

Emily Crawford

Paulo Henrique de Alcantara Ramos

Camille Hillion

Tyler Jacobson

Nidhaanjit Jain

Lucy Msall Jeffrey Ohl

Fern Ramoutar

Pengyu Ren Gabriele Romano

Jorge Tello Garza

Emily (Emma) Zhang

Program Expectations and Requirements

The Stevens Doctoral Program at Chicago Booth is a full-time program. Students generally complete the majority of coursework and examination requirements within the first two years of studies and begin work on their dissertation during the third year. For details, see General Examination Requirements by Area in the Stevens Program Guidebook below.

Download the 2023-2024 Guidebook!

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Ph.D. Application

Apply here  for the economics ph.d. program.

Do not send original documents to the Economics office. All supporting documents must be submitted in the electronic application .

Required Application Materials

The following Items are required when submitting your application:

When you take the GRE you need to have your scores sent directly to the Department of Economics at the University of Illinois, by choosing the following institutional code:

• Institution Code: 1836
• Department code:   leave blank

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS ) is required for all students who are non-Native English speakers. 

When you take the TOEFL or IELTS you need to have your scores sent directly to the Department of Economics at the University of Illinois, by choosing the following institutional code:

EXEMPTIONS:

Graduate applicants may be exempt from providing a TOEFL or IELTS score if one of the following criteria is met:

• Completion of at least two years of post-secondary full-time study, as defined by the home institution, in a country where English is the primary language and at an institution where English is the primary medium of instruction, within five years of the proposed term of initial enrollment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• Please  click here  for a list of countries that qualify for an exemption from the admissions requirement.

IMPORTANT:  Please note that this exemption is for admission purposes only. This may not necessarily provide an exemption for international teaching assistants. For more information, please see the section below.

TOEFL Requirements for Teaching Assistantships 

Illinois State law requires non-native English speakers to attain a passing score on the speaking portion of either the IELTS or iBT to be eligible for a teaching assistantship. While these tests are not required for admission to the PhD program, applicants are strongly advised to submit their score as early as possible as admission decisions are made in tandem with offers of financial support. For more information, see information on Assistantships  and English Proficiency Requirement for International Teaching Assistants .

Students who are exempt from providing a TOEFL score for admission will still be required to take the English Proficiency Interview (EPI) their first semester here .  This is a state of Illinois requirement for all non-native English speakers who will do classroom teaching.

Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat PDF documents are accepted. There are no character limits within the application system should you choose to write your statement of purpose in the application instead of uploading a word or Adobe document. 

1 copy of an UNOFFICAL transcript uploaded to the application is sufficient.

Only upon acceptance into the PhD program will an official transcript be requested

Three (3) Letters of Recommendation are Required.

Domestic Applicant Letters of Recommendation Frequently Asked Questions

$70 for domestic, $90 for international students

Application Fee Waiver for Applicable Domestic Students

Application  fee waiver  for some domestic applicants. Unfortunately, unless you are covered by one of the waivers in the application fee waiver descriptions, the application fee  cannot  be waived.

The application, fee, and all other supporting materials must be submitted through the online application  by the deadline.

Find additional information on the Graduate College Admissions Website .

To check the status of your application to the Ph.D. Economics Program, please contact the Department .

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College of Pharmacy - Chicago | Rockford

Health economics and outcomes research fellowship.

UIC Postdoctoral fellowship in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) and/or pharmacoepidemiology

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The UIC Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomic Research (CPR) postdoctoral fellowships offer an opportunity for additional training in pharmacoeconomics/health economics, outcomes research, and pharmacoepidemiology/drug safety along with applied experience at a sponsoring organization.

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Although individual fellowships may focus on particular therapeutic or methodologic areas, the UIC fellowship program aims to broadly train individuals who wish to conduct pharmaceutical-based outcomes and/or pharmacoepidemiology research in preparation for a career in the pharmaceutical industry or academia. Knowledge and experience is gained in the use of a variety of research methodologies, with training opportunities available from members of the  UIC Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomic Research  and  UIC Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy .

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The fellow spends the first year of the program working with faculty of the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomic Research at UIC. The second year is spent working with staff at the sponsoring corporation. During both years, the fellow can take courses at UIC, including courses in biostatistics, research design, and pharmacoeconomics. Application to the UIC Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy graduate program is encouraged and coursework may be applied towards a graduate degree. Coursework may be tailored to an individual applicant’s background and experience.

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During the program, the fellow will be involved in projects to gain experience in various outcomes research methodologies and study designs. Presentation and publication of research results in peer-reviewed venues is expected. The fellow will attend professional and scientific conferences. Fellows will be involved in teaching of professional PharmD students in the classroom setting.

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Candidates should have a PharmD and/or graduate-level training in a field relevant to outcomes research. Salary and benefits are competitive.

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Applications to all fellowships from the same individual applicant are accepted. For general application instructions or questions about UIC’s fellowship program, contact  Elizabeth Modrzyk and Daniel Touchette . For questions about a specific fellowship, contact the appropriate fellowship director .

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2024-2025 graduate & professional catalog.

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Admission Requirements

Applicants are considered on an individual basis. Transcripts from all colleges and universities attended in the last eight years must be submitted. In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements:

• Baccalaureate Field An undergraduate degree in economics is not required. Prior academic work must include one semester of calculus and statistics. Applicants are encouraged to take at least one more semester of calculus and intermediate microeconomic theory.
• Grade Point Average At least 3.00/4.00 for the final 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of undergraduate study.
• Tests Required  GRE.
• TOEFL iBT  80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21,  OR ,
• IELTS Academic  6.5, with 6.0 in each of the four subscores,  OR ,
• PTE-Academic  54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.
• Letters of Recommendation Three letters are required.
• Personal Statement and Resume/CV A personal statement and resume/CV are required.
• Writing Sample  A writing sample is optional.
• Deadlines Application deadlines for this program are listed on the Graduate College website. Further details about current admission deadlines and requirements can be found on the Department of Economics website .

Degree Requirements

In addition to Graduate College minimum requirements, students must meet the following program requirements:

• Minimum Semester Hours Required 40.
• Coursework At least 32 hours must be in economics. ECON 520 and ECON 599 cannot be used to satisfy any MA in Applied Economics requirement.

Highly qualified students may be offered an exemption from  ECON 481 and  ECON 482 at the time of admission. These students  would instead take two additional graduate-level courses in  economics or a related field, approved by the program director.

• Comprehensive Examination None.
• Thesis : No more than 8 hours of ECON 598 can be applied to the degree.
• Coursework Only : Students who do not write a thesis must take two courses at the 400 or 500 level that are approved by the program director. 

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The Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics at the University of Chicago has always ranked among the handful of leading departments in the world. It has claimed a disproportionate share of the honors the economics profession can bestow.

Within the area of Graduate Study are the following Programs: 

• Joint Finance PhD Program
• Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences (MAPSS)
• Master of Arts in Computational Science (MACSS)

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Course Catalog

• Economics, PhD

for the Doctor of Philosophy in Economics

Students must pass comprehensive qualifying examinations on Econometrics, Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. Those who fail the comprehensive examinations will have a 2nd chance in the start of the fall semester and a 3rd chance at the end of the fourth semester (in this 3rd chance they will take the exams with the first year students of the next cohort). Students who have failed the 3rd chance will not be allowed to register for the following year. Upon meeting course and GPA requirements, they will be eligible to receive a master’s degree in Economics, provided they have not previously received such a degree from another institution.

Candidates must also successfully complete two fields through coursework and/or a written examination. A research paper must be submitted prior to the start of the third year and approved prior to the end of that year. Students who fail to meet these deadlines will have reduced financial support and be placed on academic probation. Unless they return to good standing by satisfying the requirement, they will be dropped from the program at the end of the following semester.

A dissertation is also required. In addition, candidates are required to give an oral defense of the dissertation proposal and pass an oral final examination covering the research. A student with an appropriate background who devotes full time to graduate work can complete the Ph.D. degree in four years beyond the bachelor's degree. An additional year or more is usually necessary, especially for those holding part-time assistantships. Students in the Ph.D. program may earn a master's degree as they work toward the Ph.D. degree.

The candidate for a Ph.D. may specialize in the following fields:

• microeconomic theory
• public economics
• macroeconomic theory
• international economics
• labor economics
• development economics
• mathematical economics
• econometrics
• industrial organization

Admission Admission to the Ph.D. program is available only for the fall semester. In addition to the standard undergraduate preparation in economics, students are expected to have had at least two semesters of calculus and one of linear algebra to be admitted to the Ph.D. program. The results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) should accompany applications for admission. Graduate College admission requirements apply. In addition, international students must submit Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or IELTS results; if they wish to apply for a teaching assistantship, the Test of Spoken English (TSE) or completion of the speaking section of the TOEFL-iBT or IELTS is also required.

Graduate Teaching Experience Experience in teaching is considered an important part of the graduate program and is encouraged as part of the academic work of all Ph.D. candidates in this program.

Financial Aid In recent years, the Department of Economics has been able to offer assistantships to most students who meet the standards for admission or continuation in the Ph.D. program. In order to qualify for a teaching assistantship, non-native speakers of English must pass a speaking proficiency test of the English language.

Optional: A not-for-credit Math Camp after campus orientation, consisting of 12 hours of instruction. The aim of the Math Camp is to prepare students with no master’s level coursework in mathematical economics for the program’s first year classes. However, it will be open to all incoming students.

Additional information can be found on our program website .

For additional details and requirements refer to the department's  graduate programs  and the  Graduate College Handbook .

Entering with approved B.S./B.A. degree

Other Requirements

Entering with approved M.S./M.A. degree

 Other Requirements

• Research Skills: The main objective of the program is to train students to become independent researchers, who are able to produce high-quality research for both academic and non-academic settings. This requires students to learn how to identify interesting questions, find creative solutions, and learn how to present the results of their work to the scientific community. 
• Analytical Skills: We want to make sure that students have all the mathematical and statistical tools necessary for their future careers. This includes a solid foundation in the core areas of Economics: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Econometrics.
• Problem Solving Skills: We want to teach students how to solve complex problems, by applying the technical tools that they have acquired, and by identifying and correctly using data sources. 
• Expertise in a Student’s Field of Research: Students need to acquire a solid foundation in their chosen field of research. They should be familiar with the key past and present contributions in their area.
• Presentation and Writing Skills: To be successful in the program and their future career, students must successfully present their work both in seminars and in written form. 

for the Doctor of Philosophy in Economics  

Graduate Degree Programs in Economics

• concentration:
• Economics: Policy Economics, MS

Economics Department Head of the Department: George Deltas Associate Head: Seung-Hyun Hong Economics Department website 214 David Kinley Hall, 1407 W. Gregory Dr., Urbana, IL 61801 (217) 333-0120, fax: (217) 244-6571 Economics email

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Learn more about the Applied Economics summer course waiver .