Find answers here to fundamental questions about the Ph.D. program, including time required, transfer credits and whether or not having an M.A. degree is helpful.
- Does the Economics Department offer an MBA?
- No. If interested in earning an MBA degree, you should instead contact the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.
- How much time is required to obtain a Ph.D. through the program?
- The typical time to completion is a little longer than five years.
- Is it possible to pursue a Ph.D. in Economics at UC Davis part-time?
- No. Doctoral studies require full-time commitment.
- How does the department assist graduates who are searching for jobs?
- Most graduating students will choose to participate in our Job Market. This is an econ-specific service we provide our PhDs to assist in their job search while finishing up their degree. A professor in the Department of Economics serves as a placement director to guide students in applying for jobs. Graduate student résumés are posted on the web, and students are notified about job opportunities. The department conducts "practice job interviews" and “job seminars” to help graduate students to prepare for the job market.
- If I have already earned an M.A. degree in Economics, will it take me less time to earn a Ph.D. degree at UC Davis than a student who has not yet completed an M.A. degree?
- That depends on whether or not you would be allowed to skip some requirements at UC Davis. This is a rare occurrence.
- If I transfer to UC Davis after completing some graduate course work at a different university, would I be able to skip some requirements at UC Davis?
- If you get admitted to the Ph.D. program here, you can then request to have some requirements here waived if you believe that you have already fulfilled some of them in your current program. The procedure would be, after admission, to look over the Graduate Handbook carefully to see which courses or requirements you would be asking about, and then you could email the Graduate Program Chair, Professor Shu Shen to ask if specific courses could be waived. You might be asked to send the syllabus of the requested course(s) so that he can compare your earlier course(s) with the similar course(s) here. Then he would respond to you.
- Where can I find more specific details about the graduate program in Economics at UC Davis?
- Please see the Graduate Handbook for detailed information.
- How can I obtain a UC Davis General Catalog?
- You can view an online version of the UC Davis General Catalog.
- My degree objective is an M.A . in economics. Is the Economics Department at UC Davis a good program for me?
- No. The graduate program at UC Davis is focused almost exclusively on the Ph.D. degree; hence, only Ph.D. applications will be accepted. While it is possible to obtain an M.A. while pursuing a Ph.D. degree (see the Graduate Handbook for more details on this), all students must take the first year Ph.D. sequence of courses in macroeconomic and microeconomic theory. You would not be able to specialize in fields of your choice in Economics for the M.A. degree. If your interest is only in the M.A. degree, consider a more applied program, such as the M.S. program in the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. If you want to earn an M.A. degree from the Department of Economics, you would have to apply to the Ph.D. program. If admitted to the Ph.D. program, you could choose to leave the program after having completed M.A. requirements. If you already earned an M.A. degree in Economics at another university, you are not eligible to also earn an M.A. degree in Economics at UC Davis, which does not grant "duplicate" degrees.