Program Overview

The Graduate Program in Economics is an American style full-time program taught entirely in English. The program provides students with a thorough theoretical and practical training in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics as well as specialization in applied fields. The aim of the program is to prepare students for professional careers in universities, public and private research organizations, international institutions, consultancy and business. The Department of Economics (FAE) at the University of Alicante is a research oriented department renowned for its high academic standards. Our faculty specializes in a variety of fields covering all major areas of economic research.

The first two years of the Graduate Program lead to the degree of Master and involve studying courses and writing a Master's thesis. After these two years, students who demonstrate a strong academic performance and a high research potential are admitted to the PhD Program, where they work on their doctoral theses for the degree of Doctor (PhD) in Economics.

In order to maintain close interaction between students and faculty, the Department restricts the intake each year to a maximum of 25 students. Our graduate students come from different countries, and the spirit of the program is truly international. Financial support in the form of teaching or research assistantships is available.

Master's Program

The Master's Program lasts for two academic years. The first year starts with an intensive course in Mathematics for Economists, followed by three 10-week terms of compulsory core courses in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Statistics and Econometrics. During the summer between the first year and the second, students are required to engage in a research project under the supervision of a faculty member and write a report. In September they must hand in their research report and make an oral presentation.

In the second year, students must take a minimum of nine elective courses that constitute three specialization fields. To specialize in a field, a student must select three elective courses in that field. Typical specialization fields are: economic theory, macroeconomics, econometrics, behavioral, experimental and network economics, public economics and industrial organization. Additional fields can be created by combining the existing courses with the permission of the Director of the Graduate Program. In June of the second year, students must pass general examinations in two specialization fields. Subsequently, students work on their Master's theses under the supervision of faculty members. In a Master thesis, students must demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the relevant literature and the ability to make a research contribution. There is a public defense of Master's theses in October. Those students who pass all courses and successfully defend their Master's theses receive the degree of Master (officially called "Master in Quantitative Economics").

PhD Program

Starting from the third year, students work on their PhD theses under the supervision of faculty members. The faculty members potentially involved in thesis supervision are listed in the Courses and Specialization Fields section.In order to be admitted to the PhD Program, students must have an average grade of at least 70% in the Master's Program, pass the general examinations in two specialization fields and have a thesis proposal approved by the Department. To facilitate their progress with the theses, students are strongly encouraged to participate in the series of weekly seminars and workshops organized by the Department. In the weekly seminars, guest speakers from other universities are invited to present their work. In the weekly workshops, both students and faculty present their current research. Students are expected to make presentations on their work at least once a year in workshops so that their work is made known to other students and faculty members working in related areas, thus creating an opportunity for useful feedback.

Students are stimulated and they receive generous funding to attend international conferences and to visit other universities for a term.

In the fall term of their fifth year, students go to the job market. A faculty member who serves as Placement Officer offers help and advice to graduating students in approaching the job market.

Students are expected to complete and defend their theses by the end of their fifth year. Before a thesis is admitted to formal defense, students are required to present their work at a Department seminar. This "informal defense" provides the faculty with an opportunity to evaluate the student's work. Subsequently, an internal committee of two faculty members evaluates the thesis. Only those theses that obtain a positive evaluation from the internal committee are admitted to formal defense.

The Graduate Program in Economics forms part of the QED (Quantitative Economics Doctorate) European network of PhD programs in Economics, together with University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands), University of Bielefeld (Germany), University of Copenhagen (Denmark), University Nova of Lisbon (Portugal), University Paris 1 (France), University of Venice (Italy), University of Vienna (Austria). Students have the opportunity of spending part of their time in any of the departments in the network.

Director of graduate program: Giovanni Ponti