Discipline Coordinators

Peter Eaton, (816) 235-2832, eatonp@umkc.edu

Click here to see Economics faculty who are members of the doctoral faculty.

Economics is a discipline in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program administered by the School of Graduate Studies.

Note: The discipline-specific requirements listed here are in addition to the requirements listed in Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Application Procedure and Minimum Criteria for Admission and Minimum Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Academic Regulations and Degree Requirements.

Discipline-Specific Admission Requirements

In addition to the general criteria for admission, the criteria for admission to the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in economics are:

 

1. A score of at least 154 in verbal reasoning, a score of at least 154 in quantitative reasoning and at least a 4.0 on the analytical portions of the general Graduate Record Examination.
2. A grade-point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) covering all college work taken prior to the bachelor's degree, or a grade-point average of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) covering all post-baccalaureate work completed to date.
3. Recommendations for provisional or full admission by the doctoral faculty review group in at least two participating disciplines.
4. Applicants for whom English is not the native language and have studied less than two years (full time) in a U.S. academic program or a comparable program in an English-speaking country are required to obtain a TOEFL score of at least 550 on the paper-based test or 213 on the computer-based test. In addition, to qualify for full admission status, international students must achieve a score of at least 4.0 on the Test of Written English (TWE) portion of the TOEFL examination. Students admitted provisionally because of the TWE requirement may take a TWE equivalency test through UMKC's Applied Languge Institute once they arrive on campus.
5. Applicants must have at least 18 undergraduate semester credit hours in economics, including intermediate microeconomics and macroeconomics and a course in elementary statistics. In addition, it is strongly recommended that applicants have some of the following courses: econometrics, mathematical economics, history of economic thought, heterodox economics, economic history, calculus and linear algebra. Students with fewer than 18 credit hours will be admitted only on a provisional status.
6. Applicants matriculated into the M.A. economics program at UMKC may apply for admission to the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in economics as soon as they have completed 15 credit hours and have earned a grade-point average of 3.25 or better.
7. Applicants who wish to transfer to the UMKC Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in economics from other institutions must have obtained a grade-point average of at least 3.0 covering all their graduate work. Transfer students must apply for transfer credits toward the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. as soon as possible after completion of a minimum of 12 credits at UMKC with a grade-point average of 3.0 or better. Up to 30 transfer credit hours may be granted. No transfer credit will be granted for any courses not relevant to the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Economics or for any course with a GPA of less than 3.0.

The deadline for receipt of completed applications and supporting documentation is Feb. 1 for the fall semester and Sept. 1 for the spring semester.

 

Alternate Admission Criteria

Applicants who do not fit the above criteria may petition the economics doctoral committee with evidence of scholarly publication, research and recommendations, but the decision rests with the committee.

 

Qualifying Requirements for Full Admission

At the time admission is offered, provisional students will be notified of any course deficiencies or qualifying requirements to be met for full admission. The faculty will make a decision with regard to full admission based upon the student's performance in meeting the qualifying requirements.

 

Suggested Compatible Co-disciplines

Curriculum and instruction, history, public affairs and administration, educational leadership, policy and foundations, and the Social Science Consortium.

 

Core Program Requirements

For students with this discipline as their coordinating unit

The Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in economics consists of a minimum of 18 required coursework credit hours in economics--including ECON 5506, ECON 5551, ECON 5601, ECON 5602, ECON 5625 and ECON 5688 or SOC-SCI 5688. If the student has not taken the prerequisites to ECON 5601, ECON 5602 and ECON 5625, he/she will be required to take ECON 5501, ECON 5502, ECON 5521, and ECON 5525 --and additional 12 coursework credit hours (or, a total of 30 hours). All students are strongly urged to take two fields in economics, each consisting of two three-credit hour courses for a total of 12 additional coursework credit hours. These courses will be taken in economics and at least one additional field such as sociology, history, public administration, education, mathematics, political science, geosciences, computer science or others, provided that such fields participate in the doctoral program. Required Courses - 30 hours

• ECON 5501 Advanced Macro-Economic Analysis (prerequisite, ECON 301 Macroeconomic Analysis)
• ECON 5502 Advanced Macro-Economic Analysis (prerequisite, ECON 302)
• ECON 5506 Advanced History of Economic Thought (prerequisite, graduate standing)
• ECON 5521 Mathematical Economics (Calculus I strongly recommended)
• ECON 5525 Econometric Methods(prerequisite, ECON 425 Intermediate Economic Statistics)
• ECON 5551 Advanced History of Economic Thought (prerequisite, ECON 451 Institutional Economic theory and Interdisciplinary Ph.D. standing)
• ECON 5601 Advanced Institutional Theory (prerequisite, ECON 5501 Advanced Macro-Economic Analysis)
• ECON 5602 Colloquium in Advanced Microeconomics (prerequisite, ECON 5502 Advanced Micro-Economic Analysis)
• ECON 5625 Colloquium in Econometrics (prerequisite, ECON 5525 Econometric Methods)
• ECON 5688 Colloquium in Political Economy (prerequisite, ECON 5506 Advanced History of Economic Thought or ECON 5551 Advanced Institutional Theory)

• Coursework in an outside field or fields, depending upon the requirements of co-discipline regulations;
• Dissertation and oral examination, 12 hours.

For students with this discipline as a co-discipline

Those students taking economics as a co-discipline will take a minimum of 12 hours in economics, at the graduate level, including:

 

• ECON 5501 Advanced Macro-Economic Analysis (prerequisite, ECON 301 or equivalent)
• ECON 5502 Advanced Macro-Economic Analysis (prerequisite, ECON 302 or equivalent)

 

Comprehensive Examination Guidelines

Coordinating-discipline students are required to pass a qualifying examination in economics theory--micro, macro and political economy, and in quantitative methods. Students taking field concentrations must pass a comprehensive examination in those fields, or meet the requirement by an alternative means that is accepted by the department.

Co-discipline students must receive grades of "B" or better in ECON 5501 and ECON 5502. In addition, the oral portion of the comprehensive examination will require students to integrate knowledge between topics in economics and the student's coordinating unit.