Doctorate in Economics: PhD by Dissertation

Course Information

Entrance requirements

A good Masters degree or its equivalent and an acceptable research proposal for which suitable supervision is available. Please note that a Masters degree in Economics is usually required.

Application procedure

1. Application forms can be obtained from the School or downloaded from our website by clicking here. On application to the School of Economics, you should submit a brief outline of your proposed research together with your curriculum vitae and official academic transcripts.
2. There are two admissions deadlines each year, namely 30 April and 30 September.
3. Proposals will be assessed first within the School of Economics. The School of Economics will notify the candidates of the results of their applications. If accepted, and if a suitable supervisor is found, the School of Economics will send the recommendation to the Faculty Board for approval and you may thereafter register with the University as a provisional candidate for the PhD degree.
   Candidates are encouraged to consult our web for information on our staffs areas of interest. In many instances, the candidates who get admitted are those whose research interests are aligned to those of our staff. For a list of staff research interests see the Research web page.
4. Subject to any exceptions approved by the University Senate, a candidate shall present their work before the School of Economics PhD Committee at a proposal seminar and subsequently submit a formal research proposal to the Faculty Board by no later than six months from the date of provisional registration.
5. After the proposal seminar presentation and the formal proposal have been approved by the School of Economics PhD Committee and Faculty Board respectively, the candidate may convert provisional registration to full registration with the University at any time during the year.
6. A candidate registering for the first time for the degree may register at any time during the year, provided that any such candidate who registers after 1 May shall not be permitted to count the remainder of the year as part of the minimum prescribed period of study for this degree (minimum two years).
7. During the period of registration, a candidate will normally be required to attend at the University for a period of at least one year. By "attend at the University" the Senate understands that the candidate shall, within reason, be readily available for discussion at the University.
8. The thesis submitted for the degree shall not exceed 80 000 words.

Fees

Please consult the fees booklet. The current fee is likely to increase somewhat in the future to keep pace with inflation. 

Scholarships

For scholarship information please visit UCT's website at http://www.uct.ac.za under the headings Studying and Living at UCT/Postgraduates/Postgraduate Funding Office. 

International Students

All international students must please contact our International Academic Programmes Office (IAPO). Their website is http://www.uct.ac.za/misc/iapo/index.htm and email address IAPO@protem.uct.ac.za. 

For further information, please contact the Graduate Administrator: eco-postgrad@uct.ac.za