Economics Ph.D. Program
Application Requirements
- Degree from Economics BA/MA or a related program.
- A minimum GPA of 3,00/4,00 for applicants with undergraduate degree.
- A minimum GPA of 3,00 for applicants with graduate degree.
- ALES(For native applicants): Minimum 70 from EW (Equally Weighted) for students applying with a MA/MS degree
- Minimum 80 from EW (Equally Weighted) for students applying with a BA/BS degree
- GRE: Minimum 156 (quantitative)
Statement of Purpose
Required for all applicants. It should not exceed 2,000 words focusing on the following questions:
- Why do you apply to Koç University?
- Why do you apply to the particular program?
- What are your career objectives?
- For applicants of PhD programs what are your research interests and who do you want to work with?
Transcripts
We strongly encourage applicants to submit a scanned image of the transcript at the time of application, which can speed processing; however, a final, official transcript will be required of all admitted students during registration. Applicants who have attended international institutions must submit transcripts or certified attestations of study, with certified English translations. Once translated, the original transcript and the certified translations are to be sent to the Graduate School admission office.
Letters of Recommendation
The Graduate School requires three letters of recommendation for Ph.D. applications. These should be by persons well qualified to speak from first-hand knowledge about the applicant’s potential for graduate study. Letters of recommendation must be submitted online.
GRE/ALES
Applicants to MA programs must have their results from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE-for foreign applicants) or ALES (Akademik Lisansüstü Eğitim Sınavı-for native applicants)General Test sent to the Graduate School. You need to also upload available scores during online application. You will be able to leave these spaces empty if your scores are not available at the time of application. We do accept applications without ALES and/or TOEFL scores. You must submit these scores as soon as they are announced.
TOEFL/YDS
All native applicants and international applicants whose native language is not English must ensure that the Graduate School receives their official score from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
| ECON 500- Summer Semester: Mandatory Math Camp for 3 weeks | |
| 1st Year – Fall Semester | 1st Year – Spring Semester |
| Required Course 1 | Required Course 2 |
| Elective | Elective |
| Elective | Elective |
| KOLT 500: TA Workshops | ETHR 500 Ethics Course |
| TEACH 500: TA Assignments | TEACH 500: TA Assignments |
| ECON 590: Seminar | ECON 590: Seminar |
| 2nd Year – Fall Semester | 2nd Year – Spring Semester |
| ECON 510- Research Methods | Elective |
| ENGL 500 : English Academic Writing | ECON 695: PhD Dissertation |
| TEACH 500: TA Assignments | TEACH 500: TA Assignments |
| ECON 590: Seminar | ECON 590: Seminar |
| 3rd Year – Fall Semester | 3rd Year – Spring Semester |
| ECON 695: PhD Dissertation | ECON 695: PhD Dissertation |
| TEACH 500: TA Assignments | TEACH 500: TA Assignments |
| ECON 590: Seminar | ECON 590: Seminar |
| 4th Year – Fall Semester | 4th Year – Spring Semester |
| ECON 695: PhD Dissertation | ECON 695: PhD Dissertation |
| TEACH 500: TA Assignments | TEACH 500: TA Assignments |
| ECON 590: Seminar | ECON 590: Seminar |
- Complete their course work successfully,
- Pass their comprehensive examinations, and
- Defend their dissertation proposal.
- Students who have teaching assistantship assignments must take TEACH 500: Teaching Experience during the semesters of their assignments. Students must also take ENGL 501: Advanced Graduate Writing course.
Required MA Courses
ECON 500-Mathematical Foundations (non-credit, pre-fall Term 1st Year)
To facilitate a swift transition from undergraduate to graduate training, the mathematical foundation that all students should have before starting the MA courses is reviewed in a four-week long intensive Math Camp. Classes meet three days a week and there is an evaluation at the end of each week. Topics include: mathematical statements and proofs; functions; sequences and limits; continuity; differentiation; metric spaces; integration.
ECON 501 Mathematics for Economists
Covers selected topics in mathematics that are frequently used in the economic theory and its applications. Topics include: introduction to optimization theory (existence of a solution, alternative characterization of compactness, Weirestrass Theorem, convexity); convex sets, concave and quasi-concave functions; characterization of a solution, Lagrange and Kuhn-Tucker approaches; parametric continuity, correspondences and maximum theorem; parametric monotonicity, lattices, supermodularity; fixed point theorems.
ECON 503 Microeconomics I
Consumer theory; production theory; general equilibrium and welfare.
ECON 504 Microeconomics II
Choice under uncertainty; game theory; mechanism design; principal-agent models.
ECON 507 Macroeconomics I
Long-term economic growth; overlapping generations models; consumption, saving, and investment; real interest rates and asset prices; money and inflation.
ECON 508 Macroeconomics II
Classical and Keynesian theories of cyclical fluctuations; real business cycle theory; determination of employment and real wages; credit markets and financial stability; stabilization policy.
ECON 510 Research Methods
Comprehensive overview of research methodology and ethical norms underlying the production and dissemination of original research in economics. Formulation of the research question, understanding the use of different types of tools in answering the question, and presenting the findings in a carefully crafted scientific book or article. Analysis of important methodological issues confronting researchers in economics, such as the efficacy of economic models in capturing important real-life phenomena, the problem of identifying causality or making appropriate statistical inferences from available data.
ECON 511 Econometrics I
Review of probability and statistics: random variables, univariate and joint probability distributions, expectations; bivariate normal; sampling distributions; introduction to asymptotic theory; estimation; inference. Linear regression: conditional expectation function; multiple regression; classical regression model, inference and applications.
ECON 512 Econometrics II
Departures from the standard assumptions: specification tests; a first look at time series; generalized regression; nonlinear regression; simultaneous equations, identification, instrumental variables. Extensions and applications: ML, GMM, VAR, GARCH, panel data.
Required PhD Courses
ECON 505 Advanced Microeconomic Theory
The course includes topics such as the game theory under perfect information, game theory under imperfect information, matching and mechanism design.
ECON 509 Advanced Macroeconomic Theory
The course includes topics such as the business cycle theory, dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models, models of unemployment with search, market efficiency and macroeconomic performance, and theories of long-run growth.
ECON 513 Advanced Econometrics
The focus of the course is the empirical applications and tests of macroeconomic and/or microeconomic theories. Students are provided with the ability to analyze the standard econometric applications.
ECON 690 Seminar
Weekly departmental seminars and student presentations in their research areas.
ECON 695 Ph.D. Disseration
Independent research towards Ph.D. degree.
ENGL 501 Advanced Graduate Writing
This is a writing course specifically designed to improve academic writing skills as well as critical reading and thinking. The course objectives will be met through extensive reading, writing and discussion both in and out
of class. Student performance will be assessed and graded by Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory.
Elective Courses
ECON 514 Advanced Game Theory
This course covers theories and models that expand the horizons of game theory.
ECON 515 Advanced Mechanism Design
This course covers major contributions to mechanism design.
ECON 516 Advanced Law and Economics
This course aims to examine the relationship between law and economic and behavioral approaches and to provide understanding of models and conceptual frameworks.
ECON 517 International Trade
This course is about international trade theory and its policy aspects. It includes the Ricardian, Hecksher-Ohlin, specific factors and monopolistic competition trade models. It also includes topics on international competitiveness and development, protectionist policies and their welfare effects as well as the political economy of international trade.
ECON 518 International Macroeconomics
This course examines macroeconomic theories of open economies, covering economic fluctuations in open economies, business cycle models, the effects of interest rate and terms of trade shocks on open economies, excessive borrowing, government debt stock and growth.
ECON 519 Financial Economics I
This course is a first course of a two-course introduction to modern theories of corporate finance. Beginning with the neoclassical and tradeoff models, the course continues with agency problems and asymmetric information. By the end of the two-course sequence, students will have a working knowledge of the main tools of corporate finance research, and be equipped to begin independent research.
ECON 520 Financial Economics II
This course is a first course of a two-course introduction to modern theories of corporate finance. It focuses on a select group of current topics, including diversification, mergers and acquisitions, executive compensation, financial development, corporate governance, and politics and finance. By the end of the two-course sequence, students will have a working knowledge of the main tools of corporate finance research, and be equipped to begin independent research.
ECON 521 Financial Economics III
This course is devoted to the analysis of theoretical asset pricing models. Among the topics included are the predictability of return and cash flows in the stock, bond, foreign exchange and real estate markets.
ECON 522 Financial Economics IV
This course covers the empirical asset pricing models, focusing on the predictability of return and cash flows in the stock, bond, foreign exchange and real estate markets. Econometric methods developed for testing the models will be analyzed in detail.
COURSE SELECTION:
Required Courses: Ph.D. Students must take 7 courses* (21 Credits) in the course of the Ph.D. Program. One of these courses must be a graduate level advanced or topics course offered by the department and one additional course must be in their chosen field (microeconomics, macroeconomics, or econometrics), which may be from another department or university. This additional course needs to be approved by the director of graduate studies. In addition, the director of graduate studies may require a student to take remedial courses.
Students are also required to take the following non-credit courses:
MATH-CAMP: A 3-week intensive math review before the beginning of the 1st semester. Although this is a non-credit course, it is graded and counts towards 10% of the grade in ECON 501. This course may be waived with the consent of the director of graduate studies.
ECON 695: Thesis Course (Required every semester after passing the Qualifying exam)
KOLT 500: Teaching Assistant Training and Workshops (all students are required to take these workshops in their first semester.)
TEACH 500: Teaching Experience during the semesters of their assignments. (all students must enroll to TEACH 500 every semester)
ETHR 500: Students must complete an online ethics course lates by 2nd Semester.
ENGL 500: Academic Writing (Advanced) course. (all students must complete this course in their second year)
ECON 590: Seminar Course (all students must take the seminar course every year)
Students must complete all the course requirements by the 4th semester or they will be dismissed.
Students must have a minimum of 3.00 GPA to graduate.
Taking Courses from different departments: Ph.D. students can take any course listed under the MA in Economics program as well as relevant graduate courses offered at KU or other universities with the approval of the program coordinator.
*As per YÖK Regulations maximum of 2 graduate level courses can be transferred from other universities for students with an MA/MS degree and 4 graduate level courses for students with a BA/BS degree. Taking courses from other universities are subject to the approval of the program coordinator.
Independent Study: Students may conduct independent readings and research on an academic topic of interest under the supervision of a faculty member for course credit. (Must be approved by the program coordinator.)
Undergraduate Courses: Undergraduate courses cannot be counted towards degree requirements. Ph.D. students may audit undergraduate courses with the approval of the course instructor.
Language Courses: Language courses cannot be counted towards degree requirements.
Transferring Courses from previous studies: Please consult with the office of GSSSH and then the program coordinator .
ADVISOR ASSIGNMENTS:
Appointing an advisor: Students are required to be assigned a thesis advisor latest by the end of their 2nd semester and turn in the advisor appointment form to GSSSH office.
Changing an advisor: Students may change their advisor subject to the consent of the new advisor and the program coordinator. They should notify the GSSSH office about the change as soon as it takes place.
Withdrawal of an advisor: If the advisor decides to discontinue monitoring the student’s thesis, then the student must immediately notify the program coordinator.
Secondary Advisor: Students may appoint more than one advisor. The second advisor may be from outside of KU.
QUALIFYING EXAMS:
Term to take the exam: Students are required to take the Qualifying Exam immediately after the end of their 2ndsemester. If the student fails to take the qualifying exam by the suggested term, then the student must submit a petition to GSSSH with the approval of the program coordinator.
Structure of the exam: Qualifying exam is composed of two parts: written and oral. The written exam covers 3 subjects: (1) Microeconomics, (2) Macroeconomics, (3) Econometrics. For each subject, the student receives a grade of Pass or Fail.
Students who fail the exam: Students who receive a Fail grade in any of the 3 subjects have to take the qualifying exam again the next time it is offered but only on that subject. Students who receive a Fail grade twice on any subject is dismissed from the program.
Qualifying exams are usually held in June and December of each year.
Exam jury members: Ph.D. Qualifying Exam Committee must have at least 5 members, of which at least 2 members must be outside of KU. Students must bring the Jury appointment forms to the GSSSH office after completed. Please see Ph.D. Milestones for details and jury appointment forms:
One month after passing the qualifying exam, students are required to form a thesis monitoring committee.
* Please see Ph.D. Milestones for committee composition and appointment forms:
When to propose: Students are required to propose their thesis research within six months after passing the qualifying exam. All Thesis Monitoring Committee members must approve the proposal. Students who fail to propose their thesis by the suggested term must submit a petition to GSSSH with the approval of the advisor and the program coordinator.
When: After the thesis proposal, the student must meet with the thesis monitoring committee every six months. All Thesis Monitoring Committee members must approve the progress. If the student fails to meet with the committee members by the suggested term, then the student must submit a petition to GSSSH with the approval of the advisor and the program coordinator.
Research Paper: Every Ph.D. student needs to submit an original research paper at the end of their 5th semester. This paper needs to be approved by the student’s thesis advisor as well as the director of graduate studies and may constitute a part of the Ph.D. thesis of the student.
Forms Required! Please see Ph.D. Milestones for committee for thesis proposal forms:
3 Articles: Thesis can be structured as a series of at least 3 journal articles that can be submitted for publication to academic journals in the field. You should discuss the details first with your supervisor before opting for this method.
Traditional format: Thesis can also be written in a form of a book consisting of chapters.
COMPOSITION OF THE THESIS JURY:
Thesis jury is composed of Thesis Monitoring Committee + 2 members. Thesis jury must have 2 members from another university. The 2nd advisor may attend meetings. Jury must be appointed by the department and approved by the Graduate School. Members of this committee must be affiliated with a University or an Academic Institution and must at least hold an Assistant Professor Degree.
Forms Required! Please see Ph.D. Milestones for committee for thesis proposal forms:
Final draft of the thesis must be sent to all the appointed Jury members 3 weeks before the defense date in a hardcopy format.
Students must notify the Graduate School of their defense date and provide announcement information 2 weeks before the defense date.
Forms Required! Please see Ph.D. Milestones for committee for thesis defense forms:
Except for official holidays when the University is closed graduate students are expected to be on campus fulfilling their degree requirements. During summer months graduate students who are on scholarships can take paid vacation (maximum two weeks) upon the recommendation of their advisors and the program coordinator. Otherwise they all have to be on campus.
Long-Term Leave of Absence: Students may hold their studies up to two consecutive semesters with the approval of their advisor, program coordinator and the graduate office. Their stipends will also be on hold in these terms. Students who would like to expand their hold beyond two consecutive semesters will have to consult with the program coordinator and the graduate school and students may lose their stipends and benefits and may be subject to pay registration fee.
TA / RA DUTIES:
All students are appointed as teaching assistants at the beginning of each semester. Faculty members may also seek research assistance from students. Please find the TA/RA regulations set by the graduate school in this link . Please note that the task found in the enclosed link is not exhaustive.
PROCTORING:
All GSSSH students are expected to be present for proctoring exams (including make-up and amnesty exams) of the courses they are assigned to. They may also be asked to proctor exams for courses which they are not assigned to as TAs. These extra proctoring assignments would not exceed 4 per academic year. Proctoring assignments will be done centrally by the graduate office. Proctoring may be necessary on weekends, late evenings, or times outside of regular hours.
GRIEVANCE:
All grievances should be first communicated to the program coordinators.
