Economics
Head: Ian Hudson
Grad Chair: Julia Witt (Economics & Econometrics); John Serieux (Economics & Society)
Campus Address/General Office: 501 Fletcher Argue
Telephone: 204-474-6239
Email Address: econgrad@umanitoba.ca
Website: umanitoba.ca/arts/economics
Academic Staff: Please refer to the Economics website for Faculty information.

Economics Program Information

The Department of Economics is pleased to offer a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy program.  We also offer Agricultural Economics at the Ph.D. level in conjunction with the Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics as part of the Economics & Econometrics Stream (E&E) Ph.D. program.

The Department has two streams in the graduate program: Economics and Econometrics (E&E), which places greater emphasis on theory (micro and macro), mathematics and statistical methods, and Economics and Society (E&S), which places greater emphasis on how the distribution of wealth and power affects the socioeconomic and physical environment. The graduate program in the E&E stream requires students to take more core courses in theory, mathematics and statistics, while the E&S stream is more individually tailored to the student’s research. Applicants to the graduate program in Economics apply to one stream, and are not considered for admission to the other stream. Therefore, applicants are advised to carefully check admission and program requirements to decide which stream provides the best fit.

Admission Information

Admission to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Application and Admission Procedures are found in the Academic Guide.

Admission requirements for doctoral students are found in the Doctor of Philosophy General Regulations section of the Guide.

Economics Ph.D. Admission Requirements

Normally, the completion of a Master’s degree or equivalent from a recognized university and a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or equivalent in the last two previous years of full time university study (60 credit hours) is the minimum requirement for admission to the Ph.D. program. And:

1. Except as provided in 2) below, applicants for admission to the Ph.D. program must have completed the entrance requirements and the program requirements of an M.A. degree in Economics or in Agricultural Economics equivalent to that awarded by the University of Manitoba. A thesis-based Master’s is not required.
2. In exceptional cases, applications to either stream may be considered from students who have completed an Honours degree in Economics equivalent to that awarded by the University of Manitoba. In such cases, the applicant will be required to fulfill, in addition to the requirements below, all coursework requirements for the non-thesis M.A. degree.

Application Information

Students should complete and submit their online application with supporting documentation by the date indicated on the Economics Ph.D. program of study page.

Degree Requirements

Common Program Requirements

PhD students must complete a minimum of 27 credit hours of 7000 level coursework beyond their MA program by the end of their second year in the program including ECON 7010; ECON 7650; and ECON 7722.

Additional Stream-Specific Program Requirements

Economics & Econometrics Stream

Students must complete ECON 7010, ECON 7650, ECON 7660, ECON 7722, and ECON 7742, as part of their core requirement in the first year. Students must also complete a minimum of 12 credit hours of elective Economics courses at the 7000 level by the end of their second year in the program, with at least one elective course taken in their first year of the program.

Research Paper

Students must complete a research paper by May 15th of their second year in the program.

Candidacy Examinations

Students must make their first attempt at the theory candidacy examinations in microeconomic theory and macroeconomic theory at the first opportunity following completion of the theory course requirements. Candidacy exams are written in May and late August / early September.

Thesis Proposal

A thesis proposal must be defended in an oral presentation to the thesis advisory committee, and approval for the proposal must be received by Dec. 15th of the student’s third year in the program.

Economics & Society Stream

In addition to the common core course requirements, students must also take:

Note: Students without 4000-level econometrics can substitute ECON 4040 for ECON 7010.

Candidacy Examinations

Students will sit for a Candidacy Examination in two subjects relevant to their general area of research. Students must make their first attempt at the Candidacy Examination within the first 30 months of their Ph.D. program, and will normally be scheduled for late August.

Thesis Proposal

The thesis proposal must be defended in an oral presentation to the thesis advisory committee, and must be received within 12 months following the successful completion of the Candidacy Examination.

Expected Time to Graduate: 4 years

Progression Chart

Economics & Econometrics Stream

Economics & Society Stream

¹

Students without 4000-level Econometrics can substitute ECON 4040 for ECON 7010.

²

A minimum of 3 credit hours must be at the 7000 level.

Elective Courses

Registration Information

Students should familiarize themselves with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies ‘GRAD’ courses applicable to their program. If you have questions about which GRAD course(s) to register in, please consult your home department/unit.

Prior to registering, all students must meet with a member of the Economics Department Graduate Studies Committee to determine their course load. The course load resulting from this meeting must be listed on the Departmental Course Approval Form, and the form must be signed by a Graduate Studies committee member. The signed form must be submitted to the Graduate Program Assistant, who will then complete the registration process.

All course additions and withdrawals (registration revisions) must be approved in the same manner.

Regulations

Students must meet the requirements as outlined in both Supplementary Regulation and BFAR documents as approved by Senate.

Supplementary Regulations

Individual units may require specific requirements above and beyond those of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and students should consult unit supplementary regulations for these specific regulations. 

Bona Fide Academic Requirements (BFAR)

Bona Fide Academic Requirements (BFAR) represent the core academic requirements a graduate student must acquire in order to gain, and demonstrate acquisition of, essential knowledge and skills.

All students must successfully complete:

• GRAD 7300 prior to applying to any ethics boards which are appropriate to the student’s research or within the student’s first year, whichever comes first; and
• GRAD 7500 within the first term of registration;

unless these courses have been completed previously, as per Mandatory Academic Integrity Course and Mandatory Research Integrity Online Course.

Students must also meet additional BFAR requirements that may be specified for their program.

General Regulations

All students must:

• maintain a minimum degree grade point average of 3.0 with no grade below C+,
• meet the minimum and not exceed the maximum course requirements, and
• meet the minimum and not exceed the maximum time requirements (in terms of time in program and lapse or expiration of credit of courses).

Courses

Economics