Welcome to the home page of the PhD programme in Economics at NHH!

On these pages you will find information about

The Phd Programme in Economics

The PhD programme aims to give dedicated graduate students a solid training in performing high quality scientific research in economics, making use of the empirical and theoretical techniques that reflect the state of the art in the field. The programme prepares students for the international academic job market, for positions at national and international policy institutions, central banks, and research organisations.

The entire programme is in English. It runs over four years, starting with a year of course work and moving on to independent research under the supervision of a senior member of the faculty.

The first year of the programme consists in course work, consisting of a set of core courses, viz.

  • microeconomics
  • macroeconomics
  • econometric methods
  • scientific methods

and in addition a set of 'topics courses'.

The Department offers on a regular basis ‘topics courses’ in most of the specialisation areas mentioned below. Some of these courses are in joint cooperation with the Department of Finance and Management at NHH, others are in cooperation with the Department of Economics at the University of Bergen.

Twice a year, all PhD scholars meet at the PhD seminar--a lively two day workshop where they present and discuss each other work.

The Department is also a member of the Nordic Network in Economics--a joint Nordic initiative offering intensive PhD courses by specialists in the field.

The Department of Economics consists of a faculty of 39 members. Members of the Department are actively engaged in research. Without being exhaustive, the following list of areas that have been receiving particular focus:

  • economic geography and economic history
  • experimental economics and social choice theory
  • industrial organisation and international economics
  • labour economics and macroeconomics
  • natural resource economics
  • public economics and incentive theory

For each of these fields, the department maintains an international network of colleagues at other institutions. This is also reflected in the department’s weekly seminar series with speakers from all over Europe, North America and elsewhere. A more detailed description of the different research activities and networks.

PhD Scholars

Around twenty PhD scholars take part in the PhD programme in economics, with about five scholars starting each year.

Every student is provided with office space, computer facilities and administrative support. A particular effort is made to include the PhD students in the research activities of the department.

We also arrange the possibility for scholars to pay a long term visit to foreign institution that are part of the Department’s networks. In recent years, our PhD scholars have spent from some months up to a year at the University of California at Berkeley, Harvard University, New York City University, IDEI Toulouse, London Business School, University of California at San Diego, Cornell University, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

An overview of PhD theses defended in the recent past.

A large share of our PhD graduates stay on in academia. But a significant number also starts a career as senior economists in government departments, central banks, and international institutions such as the World Bank. In recent years, several PhD graduates have taken on jobs in capital management and investment banking at private corporations.

Financing

NHH is a public institution and hereby mainly funded by the state; hence there is no tuition fee for the PhD programme. To finance the cost of living in Bergen, PhD candidates may apply for a four-year research scholar position. The four-year period includes a commitment to work 25% for the department.
More information on financing and scholarships.

Admissions

Applicants should have a strong background in economics and master the standard tools in mathematics (linear algebra, calculus, optimisation) and statistics (hypothesis testing, estimation). They should also be fluent in English.

The research areas that will be prioritized in the February 2012 round.

Candidates who consider applying are encouraged to do so as early as possible, since the maximum intake to the programme will be 15. The next applications deadline is February 1, 2012.

More information on the admissions requirements and the applications process, together with an application form, can be found here.

Further Information

More information about the Department of Economics is available at our website: www.nhh.no/sam.

Further information and application forms can be obtained from

NHH Norwegian School of Economics

Department of Economics –Doctoral Programme 
Helleveien 30,
N-5045 Bergen
Norway
(tel.: +47-55 95 93 46, fax: +47-55 95 95 43)  or send an e-mail to Trude Gudmundset .