Brandeis International Business School

Programs > PhD > Curriculum

PhD Curriculum

Program Timeline

After completing field courses, usually in one or two years, students take examinations in Applied Methods and one of their choosing among International Economics, Finance, International Business, and International Development.

First Year

  • Econ 301a: Advanced Micro Economics I (4 credits)

  • Econ 302a: Advanced Macro Economics I (4 credits)

  • Econ 303a: Advanced Micro Economics II (4 credits)

  • Econ 304a: Advanced Macro Economics II (4 credits)

  • Econ 311a: Econometrics I (4 credits)

  • Bus 224g: Launching Your Global Career (audit) 

  • Econ 399a: Dissertation Workshop*

  • Electives

End of first year: Qualifying exams in microeconomics and macroeconomics.

Second Year

  • Econ 312a: Econometrics II (4 credits)

  • Econ 307f: Applied Methods I (Macro) (2 credits)

  • Econ 308f: Applied Methods II (Micro) (2 credits)

  • Econ 399a: PhD Dissertation Workshop (4 credits*)

  • Electives

End of second year: Field exams in applied methods and one additional field chosen by student (International Economics; Finance; International Development; International Business.)

Third Year

  • Econ 399a: PhD Dissertation Workshop (4 credits*)

  • Third year paper requirement

Fourth Year and Beyond

  • Econ 399a: PhD Dissertation Workshop (4 credits*)

Core Curriculum (28 credits)

  • Econ 301a: Advanced Micro Economics I (4 credits)

  • Econ 302a: Advanced Macro Economics I (4 credits)

  • Econ 303a: Advanced Micro Economics II (4 credits)

  • Econ 304a: Advanced Macro Economics II (4 credits)

  • Econ 311a: Econometrics I (4 credits)

  • Econ 213a: Applied Econometrics with R (4 credit) 

  • Econ 311a: Advanced Econometrics II (4 credits)

  • Econ 307f: Applied Methods I (Macro) (2 credits)

  • Econ 308f: Applied Methods II (Micro) (2 credits)

Field Concentrations:

All second-year Ph.D. students would complete all courses in all three fields. At the end of their second year, students would need to pass a field exam in Finance and a field exam in International Economics to continue into their third year. They would still need to complete an empirical paper in their third year to assess their skills in Applied Methods.

Applied Methods (Required)

  • Econ 213a: Econometrics I (4 credits)

  • Econ 312a: Econometrics II (4 credits)

  • Econ 307f: Applied Methods I (2 credits)

  • Econ 308f: Applied Methods II (2 credits)

Finance

  • Fin 270a: Options and Derivatives I (4 credits)

  • Fin 271a: Options and Derivatives II (4 credits)

  • Fin 305f: Asset Pricing (2 credits)

  • Fin 306f: Corporate Finance (2 credits)

International Economics

  • Econ 330a: International Macroeconomic (4 credits)

  • Econ 360a: International Trade (4 credits)

  • Econ 261a: Empirical Trade (4 credits) or Econ 370a: Developmental Economics (4 credits) if offered

* credits do not count towards graduation requirement