Rules and Policies

The required demonstration of proficiency in mathematics is indicated by grades of B or higher in Economics 897 or by passing written waiver examinations covering these courses.

Students must meet the 897 requirement (by taking 897, by taking the waiver exam, or by getting approval from the Director of Graduate Studies) by October 1st of the first year of their graduate work. 

To pass the Qualification Evaluation at the end of the first year, an Economics doctoral student must pass each first-year course with a grade of B- or better and have at least a B average in these courses. A student who does not meet this criterion must take an August exam in each semester class where the student did not receive a grade of B or better.  The graduate examination committee then decides whether the student has passed on the basis of course and August exam performance.

This requirement is satisfied by passing a course (with a grade of B or higher) approved for this purpose by the Graduate Group Executive Committee and having the instructor certify that the course work completed, by the student, for that course is appropriate for the Empirical Economics Requirement. The purpose of the requirement is to give students a sense of the importance of institutions and data in context, often by conducting some empirical work of their own. Since some courses can be passed with varying degrees of involvement in empirical work by the student, separate certification by the instructor is also required. Students intending to take a course for the purpose of satisfying the Empirical Economics Requirement must tell the instructor at the beginning of the semester.

The list of approved courses will be made available at the beginning of each academic year. It will typically include, but not limited to, macro, labor, and development. In general, any course with a substantial empirical content will be appropriate. The Empirical Economics Requirement must be completed by June of the second year in residence.

The Graduate Group office must be specifically notified of completion of the requirement (see Graduate Forms for the form to submit upon completion of the requirement).

The graduate group offers many upper level courses in various fields of economics. Besides providing an introduction to the various subdisciplines of economics, these courses bring students up to the research frontier. The courses offered change over time, reflecting the interests of the faculty and trends in the profession. The requirement is:

By the end of their third year in residence, students must have passed four 8000-level econ courses (excluding Econ 7100-7300 and workshops Econ 8100, 9200, 9300, 9400, 9450) with a grade of A- or higher.

If a student does not satisfy this requirement by the end of their third year in residence, that student is ineligible for funding. If the student does not pass this requirement by the end of their fourth year in residence, that student is not in good academic standing and will be dropped from the program.

Note that only Economics courses can satisfy this requirement, however students can still take appropriate graduate courses for credit in other departments, such as Finance, Mathematics, and Statistics.

All students are required to have a faculty advisor within the Graduate Group of Economics by the middle of their fourth year in residence. There is a form that must be signed by the advisor and handed in. The advisor is simply the person or persons (students can have more than one) with whom the student is currently working. The advisor can (and often does) change over time.

No fourth year student should be on general dissertation. (995-001)

By the end of their third year in residence, students must complete a research paper. This paper need not be (and often is not) a polished piece of research. It should, however, have the clear potential to become one. This paper will be evaluated by two faculty members chosen by the student. The two evaluators chosen by the student must sign a form attesting to their willingness to evaluate the third-year paper. This form must be turned into the Graduate Group office by the end of January. At least one of the faculty members chosen by the student must be a member of the Graduate Group. A third assessor for the third-year paper, appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies, will be used if there is a disagreement among the first two evaluators in the first round, and will always be used in the resubmission stage (explained below). The evaluators may recommend that the student present the work in a seminar environment.

The work will be marked as follows:

Those students obtaining a C will be deemed as not making satisfactory progress and they are at risk of being dismissed from the program. Students may resubmit their paper, with a deadline at the beginning of the fall semester of their fourth year, to improve their grade.  Those who receive a failing grade will have the opportunity to resubmit once more, with a deadline at the end of the fall semester of their fourth year. After resubmitting, the grade will either be changed, or it will remain a failing grade. In the latter case, the student will be dismissed from the program.

By the end of the fourth year in residence, each student must have approval by a dissertation committee; a presentation of either a written dissertation proposal or a paper, that will form one chapter of the dissertation. Once a dissertation proposal has been accepted by the committee, the structure of the dissertation committee can only be changed with the approval of the Chair of the Graduate Group.

Three members of the committee (including the advisor) must be in attendance of the proposal defense. At least two members attending must be members of the Graduate Group, and at least one must be a member of the department.

If a student does not pass the proposal defense by the end of their fourth year in residence, that student is ineligible for funding. If the student does not pass the proposal defense by the end of the first semester after their fourth year in residence, that student is not in good academic standing and will be dropped from the program.

1. All students are required to complete two course units of an afternoon workshop (not lunch workshop) with a letter grade usually in their 3rd or 4th year in the program. This requirement is satisfied by regular attendance. Upper-class students are strongly encouraged to participate actively in workshops related to their areas of interest. Students are not required to present in the workshop they have formally registered.

2. All students must complete two course units of workshop (not necessarily in the same series). A grade is earned by regular attendance.

3. It is required of all economics graduate students that they present a research paper in a regular afternoon workshop series (although participation in lunch workshops is advantageous and important, this does not satisfy the workshop requirement). It is important that students speak to the faculty seminar organizers in September of the year they will go on the job market to get onto the schedule to present in the afternoon workshop. For this workshop presentation, the student does not register for credit. Once the student presents in the afternoon workshop, they must fill out a form and have the faculty member who manages the workshop sign off.

The explicit workshop requirements are; a presentation of a paper and a year's formal participation. However, all graduate students are strongly encouraged to attend at least one workshop every week.

Students will be included in the vita pack; up to two times and within the first three years of receiving their Ph.D. degree, whichever comes first.

Students in the vita pack must be ABD (all but dissertation). In particular, the Empirical Economics, Upper Level Course, Third Year Research Paper, and Proposal Defense Requirements must all be completed.

The committee consists of at least three members, two of whom must be members of the Graduate Group, and one of whom must be a member of the standing faculty in the Department of Economics. If the committee consists of more than three faculty members, at least half must be members of the Graduate Group. The advisor must be a member of the Graduate Group, unless another member of the Graduate Group is separately attending the defense and signing as "Chair of the Committee". The Chair of the Committee must be a member of the standing faculty and can be one of the other committee members. The Chair of the Committee is responsible for convening committee meetings, advising the student on rules, and advising the graduate group chair that all graduate group requirements have been met. If the Chair of the Committee is separate from the advisor, then he/she must sign your forms as the Chair of the Committee. The dissertation defense must be held with your advisor and two other members of your committee present. 

Defenses may be conducted in-person, virtually via video conferencing (e.g., Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams), or in a hybrid format with some individuals participating remotely and some in-person. At least three members of the dissertation committee must participate in the defense.

The Graduate Group office must be notified at least two weeks prior to the defense date. A defense can only be held after all other requirements for the degree are completed.

The structure of the dissertation is up to the student and the committee. Three unconnected journal length and style papers are common. Defenses are public and listed in the workshop schedule. This does NOT mean that the defense substitutes for the workshop requirement.

Link to University rules in Academic Rules for PhD Students

Dissertation Defense

Schedule your dissertation defense with your committee. Send the following information to the graduate coordinator:

• Date & Time
• Title of Dissertation

• Location (do you need a room or will it be over zoom)

  If a room is needed the graduate coordinator will reserve a room for you – if over zoom the student will create their link and forward it to the committee and graduate coordinator.

• Final Committee confirmation (send names of member and indicate who will serve as chair of the committee

Visit the Provost website for Formatting Checklist & Guide, Templates, Graduate Degree Calendar, Deposit Information, and Graduation FAQs: Job Market & Graduation Information 

Students who do not satisfy Empirical Economics, Upper Level Course, Third Year Research Paper, or Proposal Defense Requirements within one semester of the deadline for that requirement, are deemed to be no longer in good academic standing (i.e., dropped from the program).

Students can also be dropped from the program for nonpayment of fees, extended periods of no contact, and lack of progress.

Students not in good academic standing cannot be funded nor receive an office.

Students dropped from the program for failing to complete the Empirical Economics or Third Year Research Paper Requirement within one semester of the deadline for that requirement, can be recommended for reinstatement at the discretion of the Graduate Group Chair (such as, after completing the requirement and with the recommendation of a member of the Graduate Group).

ABD (all but dissertation) students who have been dropped from the program can be recommended for reinstatement under the following procedure:

1. Two members of the Graduate Group certify that the dropped student has a plausible plan for completion of the degree, and

2. The student, putative advisor, and Graduate Group Chair agree to a timetable for completion.

The University’s maximum time limit for completion of a PhD program is ten years after matriculation; some Graduate Groups and Schools have established more stringent criteria. Graduate students who have been dropped after ten years may petition the Graduate Group to return as a student for a maximum of one year in order to achieve recertification and defend the dissertation.

1. Re-take the Dissertation Proposal Defense Exam (see Rule 3.7 above);

2. Submit a written review of the most recent literature on the dissertation topic; to be formally approved by the dissertation committee (which also conducts the proposal defense), and

3. Prepare a timetable for completion, including a final date for the dissertation to be defended. This should be within one year of the re-certification date.

See also the Provost's site for the University's Time Limits policy.

By the end of May of their 1st year, each student should consult with at least one faculty member about summer activities. To facilitate this, the department will post a list of faculty members who have specific activities in mind (this is by no means all available options; students are encouraged to take initiatives and approach other faculty members or suggest different activities). Summer activities should contribute to the students’ own future research and may include, but are not limited to, activities that help students improve their tool kit (math, programing, regression analysis) and critical reading of a list of papers (which can be survey papers or handbook chapters) that prepare them for the 2nd year elective courses. The student is expected to devote the equivalent of 6 weeks (120 hours) to these tasks.

By June 1st, students are required to submit a proposal for their summer plans. By August 31st, the student should submit a report to both the faculty member and to the graduate coordinator about his/her summer activities. By the end of the second week of the semester, the faculty member will sign a form to verify the student achievements over the summer.

By the end of May of their 2nd year, each student should consult with a faculty member about summer activities. This faculty member will, preferably, but not necessarily, be one of the readers of the student’s 3rd year paper . The faculty member will advise the student on a list of (at least four) papers to aid the student in their preparation of their third year research proposal. By August 31st, the student will need to submit to both the faculty member and to the graduate coordinator a written critical summary of those papers and be ready to give a brief presentation on them to the faculty member. The faculty member and the student can instead, or in addition, suggest different activities that can contribute to the students’ own future research. The student is expected to devote the equivalent of 6 weeks (120 hours) to this task. By the end of the second week of the semester, the faculty member will sign a form with a one sentence evaluation of the student’s activities over the summer.

In addition, by August 31st the student needs to submit a research proposal for the third year: A one page stating an area of interest and confirmation that they have already talked with two faculty members and started a conversation with them about their third-year paper.  This report should be submitted to the two faculty members as well as to the graduate coordinator.  By the end of the second week of the semester, the two faculty members will sign a form verifying the student’s plan.

Serving as a TA or RA is one of your academic requirements for the program. As part of academic training, students serve as teaching or research assistants in years two through five.  Students with select types of external fellowships may be exempt from some of these requirements with permission of the Graduate Chair.  The Economics Graduate Group considers teaching—and the ability communicate ideas about economics effectively—to be an essential component in preparing students for the demands of the profession.

Only students who have been certified as being fluent in English in the classroom by English Language Programs can be appointed to Teaching Assistantships (TA).

Penn’s English Language Program organizes a seven-week language training program during the summer on behalf of the School of Arts & Sciences (SAS). This program is open to prospective International Teaching Assistants from all schools at Penn. We recommend that students who need additional English-language training enroll in this program the summer before the second year.

Being a Research Assistant (RA) does not preclude a student from being a TA later. An important consideration for a student to be a RA is whether the work is related to the student's research, and whether such will be a help or hindrance in their studies.

Students in years 1 through 4 must complete a Progress Report at the end of each academic year. This report will help with tracking individual students’ progress and ensure that you are aware of what requirements are needed for each year. It also allows the Graduate Chair to address any matters that may warrant attention. Please use this form to assess your own progress during the year by completing the comments section.

Once a student advances to candidacy, an annual Dissertation Progress Report will be required. If you have advanced to candidacy by July 31st of a given year, you will receive an automated request for a Dissertation Progress report that details your work from the previous academic year and outlines your goals for the upcoming year. The submission deadline for these reports is usually in August. Once submitted, the report will be forwarded to your advisor for approval. Following this, the reports will be reviewed by the graduate group chair, who will complete the final approval process by October.

The A.M. degree is granted upon completion of 8 course units with a grade point average of B, and a research requirement. The latter may be an elaboration of a term paper assigned in some course, or it may be done independently of a course. The supervisor must certify to the Graduate Group that the research paper meets the research requirement. Students taking an A.M. degree after having failed the first year may remain registered with the Economics Graduate Group throughout the fall term of their second year, and in exceptional cases through the spring term also.

The University rules allow up to 8 graduate courses taken as part of a graduate degree to be transferred. For foreign degrees (which are sometimes hard to interpret), if the degree is longer than four years, then courses taken in years 5 or later may be eligible. Any concerns about transfer of credits should be brought to the attention of the Chair of the Graduate Group.

The Graduate Academic Bulletin Rules and Regulations states that the grading scheme for graduate courses should be as follows:

A distinguished B good C unsatisfactory D poor F failure

Grades can be modified by '+' and '-'. The minimum standard for satisfactory work is a B average. Note that a grade average of B- is not satisfactory progress. A grade of B- indicates a marginal pass, with the interpretation that a performance of B+ elsewhere will redeem the student.

Note that Incompletes (I) become permanent after one year. Students should not accumulate multiple incompletes. If that occurs, the Graduate Group will review whether students remain in good academic standing. If you find yourself falling behind, please speak with the Graduate Chair to address the problem at an early stage., Students who have completed all work for a course and have not received a final grade are urged to notify the Graduate Chair and Graduate Coordinator as soon as possible.

Students are permitted to audit no more than one course per semester. Once you are on dissertation status you will be able to register for only one additional course, which can be taken either as an audited course or for credit. Dissertation status is full-time status; therefore, you are not required to register for additional courses to be a full-time student.