Doctoral program in Economics

Objectives and competences

Objectives and competences

Objectives

Competences

Doctoral studies guarantee, as a minimum, the acquisition by the doctoral candidate of the following basic competences as well as those others that appear in the Spanish Higher Education Qualifications Framework:
a) Systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of the skills and research methods related to this field.
b) Ability to conceive, design or create, implement and adopt a substantial research or creative process.
c) Ability to contribute to extending the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
d) Ability to carry out critical analysis and evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas.
e) Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and society in general about their areas of knowledge in the ways and languages commonly used in the international scientific community.
f) Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural progress in a knowledge-based society.

Admission pathways

Access

In general, to access an official doctorate program you must have an official Spanish bachelor's degree, or equivalent, and a university master's degree and have passed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in all university degree and master's studies. It can also be accessed by anyone who is in any of these cases:

      
• Be in possession of official Spanish university degrees or equivalent Spanish degrees, provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been passed in the set of these courses, accrediting level 3 of the Spanish Qualification Framework for Higher Education.

      
• Be in possession of a title obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems belonging to the European Higher Education Area (EEES), without the need for it to be approved, which accredits a level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework, provided that this title is valid for to access doctoral studies in the country of dispatch. This admission does not imply, in any case, the approval of the previous title that the interested party is in possession of or the recognition for other purposes than that of accessing doctoral studies.

      
• Be in possession of a degree obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems outside the EEES, without the need for it to be approved, after verification by the University of Barcelona that this degree accredits a level of training equivalent to the official Spanish master's degree university and which, in the country of dispatch, entitles you to access doctoral studies. This admission does not imply, in any case, the approval of the previous title that the interested party is in possession of or the recognition for other purposes than that of accessing doctoral studies.

      
• Be in possession of another doctoral degree.

      
• Equally, university graduates who, after obtaining a place in training through the corresponding test for access to specialized health training places, have passed with a positive evaluation at least two years of training in a program to obtain the title, can access official of one of the specialties in health sciences.

      
• The graduates, architects or engineers who were in possession of the diploma of advanced studies obtained in accordance with what was established in Royal Decree 778/1998, of April 30, or who had reached the research sufficiency regulated in Royal Decree 185/ 1985, of January 23.

Admission requirements

The Academic Committee has set the following specific admission requirements for the standard admission pathways:

1) To be admitted to the programme, students must have one of the following qualifications:

a) University master's degree in Economics from the University of Barcelona.

b) A master's degree issued by a higher education institution in the European Higher Education Area, of the same academic level and offering equivalent research training to the university master's degree in Economics taught at the UB, at the discretion of the Academic Committee.

c) A degree issued by a higher education institution outside the European Higher Education Area framework, which does not have to be officially recognized, but proves that the holder has a level of education equivalent to the official master's degree in Economics from the University of Barcelona.

2) Good working knowledge of English. Candidates must provide official certification of English language proficiency.

Candidate evaluation criteria

Applications from candidates who meet the general requirements will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria, weighted as shown:

1. Academic experience acquired by the candidate in previous studies. Candidates must have training that is equivalent to a master's degree in Economics from a prestigious university, of an equivalent standard to the degree taught at the University of Barcelona.

GRE test. Credit will be given for a pass grade in the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), a standard test that measures general verbal and quantitative reasoning, analytical writing and critical thinking skills. Weighting: 65%

2. Statement of interest / Research proposal. The statement of interest must clearly indicate the candidate's reasons for applying to the doctoral programme in Economics and outline his/her learning objectives. Candidates must indicate the research area in which they wish to work and present a specific research proposal. Weighting: 20%

3. Letters of recommendation (at least two). Credit will be given for letters of recommendation from former lecturers that explain the candidate's analytical skills, level of motivation and general academic and personal strengths. References should also state the lecturer's personal view on the candidate's suitability for the doctoral programme in Economics. Letters of recommendation will be supplemented by an online questionnaire. Weighting: 15%

To request admission, candidates must complete the online pre-enrolment form, providing detailed information about each of the points indicated above.

The Academic Committee establishes three periods for announcing decisions on admission to the doctoral programme. The dates for the announcement of decisions will be published each year at the start of the application period.

Enrolment

You can find all the information and enrolment prices at the Doctoral School

Lines of research and teaching staff

Research lines

101193 - Behaviour, Games and Risk
101191 - Growth, Trade and Spatial Economics
101192 - Public Economics and Policy Analysis

Research plan and progress reports

You can find all the information at the following links:

    
• Research Plan
   
• Activities document
   
• Annual monitoring report and evaluation

Training activities

List of programme-specific training activities 

The offered training activities are structured according to three levels:  

• Activities organized by the Doctoral School for all UB programmes.  

• Activities organized by the Faculty of Economics and Business for all faculty programmes (Economics, Business, Gender Studies, Economic History and Sociology).  

• Activities organized by the programme.  

The specific training offer is defined each academic year and presented at the start of the academic year to all students, to facilitate their planning.  

Participation in the aforementioned training activities is not compulsory.  

Additionally, the academic committee agreed two types of compulsory activities for students:  

• Research seminars: attendance of twenty (full-time students) or twelve (part-time students) seminars per academic year.  

• Presentation at the PhD in Economics Workshop: students must present a chapter of their doctoral thesis in public to a committee appointed by the academic committee. The presentation is done in the third (full-time students) or fourth (part-time students) academic year.  

All the activities carried out by programme students are recorded each year in the doctoral student activity report

Doctoral thesis

Criteria for theses by publication: The UB's general regulations apply. 

Thesis languages:  English. 

Theses subject to data protection: The UB's general regulations apply. 

Programme thesis readings 

TDX 

 

Career opportunities

What can you work on ?

The PhD in Economics at the University of Barcelona is specifically aimed at students who want to embark on an international career in research. Upon successful completion of the programme, new PhD graduates will be able to work as researchers or lecturers in universities or research centres. In recent years, recent graduates of the programme have been hired by institutions such as ZEW Mannheim, University of Bern, University of Zurich, Eurac Research, PUC-Rio, London School of Economics, University of Korea, Universidad Carlos III, Yale University, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Uppsala University, Università degli Studi di Milano...
Moreover, the academic field is not the only professional outlet for our students: the PhD also allows them to work in international organisations, think tanks and high-level consultancies, among others.
Statistics show that, nowadays, doctoral studies make it easier for students to enter the labour market. Moreover, PhDs can aspire to a higher salary level. According to data from the Agency for Quality Assurance in the Catalan University System (AQU), 95% of PhDs in the social sciences have entered the labour market within a maximum of three years of completing their theses, and their unemployment rate is only 3%.

Contact us

PhD coordination: doctorat.ecologia@ub.edu

Phone: 934 021 510