Economics PhD

Major: Economics
Degree Awarded: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 90.0 (post-bachelor's) or 60.0 (post-master's) 
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 45.0603
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code:
19-3011

About the Program

Drexel's PhD program in Economics prepares economists for academic research as well as careers in government or industry by providing a solid background in economic theory, quantitative analysis, and analytical tools at the advanced level. Each year a relatively small number of PhD students are accepted into the program, which allows for a collegial environment where the PhD students interact with faculty on a daily basis. Requirements for the MS in Economics program are satisfied if the coursework associated with the first and second years of the PhD program are complete.

The PhD program in Economics offers three fields of study:

  • Industrial Organization
  • International Trade
  • Open Economy Macroeconomics

The PhD program in Economics is also particularly strong in applied microeconometrics.  

Students typically complete their coursework in two years and the PhD degree in five. Students work as research and teaching assistants under the supervision of a faculty member. After their second year, students can teach independently.

Additional Information

More information can be found online at the PhD program in Economics webpage. To apply and for application information, please check online at the LeBow PhD Admissions webpage. Questions should be addressed to lebowphd@drexel.edu. For more information please contact our Graduate Student Services department at lebowgradenroll@drexel.edu

Degree Requirements

The PhD in Economics program prepares economists for careers in research, teaching, business, and government. It is designed to provide students with not only a broad understanding of modern economics, but also the opportunity to conduct high quality research in a number of specific fields of study including industrial organization, international economics, and health economics.

In the second year of study, the PhD in Economics offers three fields of specialization: industrial organization, international trade, and open economy macroeconomics. Students complete courses in two of these fields of specialization.

Curriculum 

60.0 credits (Post-Master's degree)
90.0 credits (Post-Bachelor's degree)

  • 27.0 credits of first year core courses
  • 18.0 credits of economics field requirements
  • 15.0 credits (minimum) of dissertation research
  • 30.0 additional dissertation research credits for students without a Master's degree
Core Courses *
ECON 902Mathematical Economics3.0
ECON 910Advanced Microeconomics I3.0
ECON 911Advanced Microeconomics II3.0
ECON 920Advanced Macroeconomics I3.0
ECON 921Advanced Macroeconomics II3.0
ECON 940Econometrics I3.0
ECON 941Econometrics II **3.0
ECON 942Applied Microeconometrics3.0
ECON 980Game Theory3.0
STAT 931Statistics for Economics3.0
Fields of Specialization18.0
Student are required to complete the coursework for at least two of the following fields/sequences:
Industrial Organization
Industrial Organization I
Industrial Organization II
Industrial Organization Seminar
International Trade
International Trade
Empirical International Trade
International Trade Seminar
Open Economy Macroeconomics
Macroeconomic Dynamics
Open Economy Macroeconomics
Open Economy Macro Seminar
ECON 998Dissertation Research in Economics42.0
Total Credits90.0
*

First Year Examination: After the completion of the core coursework, students are examined on their competence in the core material and their readiness to proceed.

**

Taken in the second year.

Sample Plan of Study - Macroeconomics

First Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
ECON 9023.0ECON 9103.0ECON 9113.0VACATION
ECON 9803.0ECON 9203.0ECON 9213.0 
STAT 9313.0ECON 9403.0ECON 9423.0 
 9 9 9 0
Second Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCredits 
ECON 9413.0ECON 9513.0ECON 9593.0 
ECON 9503.0ECON 9613.0ECON 9693.0 
ECON 9603.0Elective/ExemptionElective/Exemption 
 9 6 6 
Third Year
FallCreditsWinterCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
ECON 9989.0ECON 9989.0ECON 9989.0ECON 9989.0
 9 9 9 9
Fourth Year
FallCredits   
ECON 9986.0   
 6   
Total Credits 90

Facilities

The 12-story, 177,500-square-foot home for LeBow College of Business is located at the heart of the Drexel University campus, at the intersection of Woodland Walk and Market Street, where it forms a gateway to Drexel and a backdrop to the historic statue of A. J. Drexel (Moses Ezekiel, 1904). The diagonal massing of the lower floors follows Woodland Walk and combines with the new Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building (Diamond & Schmitt, 2011) to energize the University’s central quadrangle. The building’s tower will mark the LeBow College and Drexel campus from all directions while the open, glassy Market Street façade will showcase the College’s student activities to passersby.

The building’s organization unites the school’s various constituencies around a five-story-high atrium ringed by classrooms, student lounges, events spaces, and offices. The atrium is immediately accessible from main entrances at the three corners of the building. An open stair within the atrium leads to a 300-seat auditorium and 100-seat lecture hall one floor below and to a divisible multipurpose room and additional classrooms above. The building’s upper floors contain faculty offices interspersed with seminar rooms and group study rooms. The top floor houses the Dean’s suite and a boardroom and conference suite that opens to east- and west-facing terraces.

The building’s warm masonry and glass exterior reflects the emerging vocabulary of the next generation of Drexel buildings. Sophisticated solar shading devices allow maximum transparency between the inside and outside while supporting the building’s high environmental aspirations.

Key Building Features

  • Five-story atrium
  • Finance trading lab with Bloomberg Terminal Room
  • 300-seat auditorium
  • 160-seat event space
  • 100-seat lecture hall
  • 45-seat seminar rooms
  • 44-seat computer classrooms
  • 60-seat classrooms
  • Executive MBA classroom
  • 24-seat classrooms
  • Special areas for experiential learning simulations and business consulting
  • Videoconferencing capabilities
  • Integrated teaching technology in all classrooms
  • Recording studio to support LeBow College’s online programs
  • Extensive areas for students to gather socially and for collaborative study, including student collaboration rooms, two quiet study areas, and 3,500 square feet of student social space
  • EMBA Alumni Lounge for the exclusive use of EMBA alumni
  • Behavioral Studies Lab
  • Starbucks
  • Green Globe certifiable, meeting worldwide sustainability standards

Gerri C. LeBow Hall brings together faculty, students, and staff in a state-of-the-art building on the University City campus. Please visit the LeBow College of Business webpage, the Behavioral Lab webpage, and the Finance Trading Lab webpage to learn more about Gerri C. LeBow Hall.

School of Economics Faculty

Marco Airaudo, PhD (University of Pennsylvania ). Professor. Computational economics, international economics, macroeconomics and monetary economics.
Patricia Awerbuch, MBA (Drexel University). Associate Clinical Professor. Distance learning, environmental economics.
Richard Barnett, PhD (University of Minnesota). Clinical Professor. Economic theory, macroeconomics.
Sebastien Bradley, PhD (University of Michigan). Associate Professor. Public finance, tax policy, behavioral response to taxation.
Mian Dai, PhD (Northwestern University). Associate Professor. Industrial organization.
Pia DiGirolamo, PhD (Purdue University). Associate Clinical Professor. Forensic economics, distance learning.
Shawkat M. Hammoudeh, PhD (University of Kansas). Professor. Energy economics, environmental economics, financial economics.
Teresa Harrison, PhD (University of Texas Austin) Academic Director of the Center for Nonprofit Governance. Professor. Economics of nonprofits, empirical industrial organization, applied microeconometrics.
Paul E. Jensen, PhD (Penn State University) Nina Henderson Provost. Professor. International trade.
Bang Nam Jeon, PhD (Indiana University) Department of Economics and International Business. Professor. Financial economics, the Korean economy, currency crises, FDI, regional economic integration and newly industrializing economies.
Stephen Joyce, MA (Temple University). Assistant Clinical Professor. Education and human capital.
Andre Kurmann, PhD (University of Virginia). Professor. Computational economics, financial economics, labor economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics.
Ohyun Kwon, PhD (University of Wisconsin, Madison). Assistant Professor. International trade and trade agreements.
Christopher A. Laincz, PhD (Duke University). Associate Professor. Macroeconomics, economic growth, developing nations, economics of innovation.
Vibhas Madan, PhD (Michigan State University) R John Chapel Jr. Dean. Professor. International trade theory, applied microeconomics.
Roger A. McCain, PhD (Louisiana State University). Professor. Computational economics, game theory.
Eydis Olsen-Robinson, MA (American University). Associate Clinical Professor. International business, banking.
Tristan Potter, PhD (Boston College). Associate Professor. Macroeconomics, labor.
Konstantinos Serfes, PhD (University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana). Professor. Industrial organization; microeconomics; game theory
Ricardo Serrano-Padial, PhD (University of California at San Diego). Associate Professor. Microeconomic theory, information economics with applications in finance, macroeconomics, industrial organization.
Mark Stehr, BS, PhD (University of California at Berkeley) Director, School of Economics. Professor. Department of Health Management and Policy. School of Economics in the LeBow College of Business. Health policy, health economics; data analysis methods.
Constantinos Syropoulos, PhD (Yale University) Trustee Professor of International Economics. Professor. International trade, political economy, applied microeconomics.
Yoto Yotov, PhD (Boston College). Professor. International trade, applied microeconomics, political economy.

Emeritus Faculty

Bijou Yang Lester, PhD (University of Pennsylvania). Professor Emeritus. Behavioral characteristics of shopping on-line, economic issues of electronic commerce, contingent employment and part-time work, the economy and suicide.