Collaborative PhD Programme in Economics

Course Information

The Programme and Eligibility Requirements

The University of Cape Town offers a PhD economics programme that maximizes both quality and relevance. Its distinguishing feature is the integration of theory, tools and African applications in the academic programme. The programme will include a high level of theory grounded in African empirical realities. The familiarity of the instructors with Africa’s economic issues and data limitations allows the areas of specialization to be built around the evolving research agenda in the region. The programme is offered in collaboration with other universities in sub Saharan Africa and supported by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) through donor funding.

Course Coordinator:
Prof. Martin Wittenberg

Entrance Requirements:
Candidates who possess either a second class (upper division) Bachelors degree and a Masters degree in Economics, or a minimum of a second class (lower division) Bachelors degree and a Masters degree in Economics with distinction are eligible to apply.

Course outline:
The programme comprises advanced (non-credit bearing) coursework and a dissertation. Its distinguishing features are the integration of advanced theory, tools and African applications in the academic programme. The programme is offered in collaboration with other universities in sub Saharan Africa and supported by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) through donor funding. The following areas of specialization are currently offered at UCT: Development Economics, Environmental Economics, Financial Economics, Health Economics, International Economics, Industrial Organization, Labour Economics, and Money and Banking. Other elective courses that can be taken at the Joint Facility for Electives are Agricultural Economics and Public Finance.

Academic Activities

Year 1
Intensive Course Work
The first year focuses on a solid mastery of the three core subjects, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Quantitative Methods. The core subjects comprise two semesters of course work in both microeconomic and macroeconomic theories, a semester each of advanced econometrics, and applied mathematics, all taught in the School of Economics. The joint teaching of these core courses by a team of international and regional scholars, hosted by the School of Economics, brings together on our campus students from the University of the Witwatersrand and our students during the first year.

Please note particularly that all courses must be passed each semester and so there will be no carry forwards. A student who fails one course out of the three courses taken in a semester will be eligible for a supplementary examination. A student that fails two out of the three courses will not be eligible for a supplementary examination and must withdraw immediately from the programme. A student who fails a supplementary examination must as well withdraw from the programme. As part of your registration process upon arrival at the Department, you will be required to acknowledge in writing that you have read and understood this crucial policy.

Year 2
Joint Facility for Electives
The first half of the second year features the teaching of elective courses by regional and international experts at a common facility in Nairobi, Kenya. Students will have the opportunity to take two courses from a menu of elective courses including Agricultural Economics, Development Economics, Econometrics, Environmental Economics, Financial Economics, Health Economics, Industrial Economics, International Economics, Labour Economics, Monetary Economics, and Public Sector Economics. Thereafter, students are given some time within the period to prepare and sit for the PhD comprehensive examinations in micro and macro theory as well as to take a field examination in their two chosen areas of specialization.

Thesis Proposal
In the second half of the second year, students return to campus to search for dissertation topics, identify a supervisor, and prepare their thesis proposals. A joint thesis proposal workshop is held in June (end of second year) at a centralized location where students from all the collaborating universities meet to present and receive comments on their proposals. International and regional experts as well as the thesis supervisors serve as discussants, resource persons and evaluators of the research proposals. Successful presentation and defense of a proposal at this workshop is considered advancement to candidacy.

Year 3
Field Work
During the third year, under the primary guidance of the supervisors, students are to be occupied with thesis writing, including where applicable, data collection and analysis, or other field work and analytics. The third year ends with a centralized thesis progress workshop at a joint facility where once again, candidates present their dissertation before a similarly constituted panel of experts.

Year 4
Thesis Preparation and Defense
The fourth and final year of the programme is allotted to final thesis write-up and defense. There are two distinct phases. Preparation of the draft final theses and its presentation before a panel of experts comprised of international and regional scholars who then evaluate each draft thesis, at a joint dissertation workshop in December. In the second phase, pertinent comments from the December workshop are incorporated into the theses preparatory to a final assessment according to University doctoral rules and procedure.

Application Procedure

Application forms can be obtained from the Department or downloaded from our website by clicking here.

In addition, the following supporting documentation must be submitted and the application fees paid before an application can be considered.

1) Certified copies of academic transcripts from all universities attended
2) Certified copies of all degree certificates earned
3) Three letters of recommendation from previous lecturers
4) A detailed curriculum vitae
5) Other information deemed necessary in support of the application

How to contact us

Email: eco-postgrad@uct.ac.za
Phone: +27 21 650 2733
Telefax: +27 21 650 2854