Current Postgraduate Students

Applying:

University of St. Andrews Admissions (postgraduate)

MPhil and PhD

The MPhil is studied over two years. It has a coursework element and requires a dissertation of up to 40,000 words. The PhD is studied over three years and requires a thesis of up to 80,000 words. Topics for research for these degrees are related to the research interests of members of School. Students are all assigned to research supervisors. Meetings are regular, and progress is reviewed carefully.

Applicants should have a good quality Master's degree in economics, or a cognate area, to be eligible for these research degrees. Areas of research should coincide with areas of active research of established members of the academic staff.

Areas in which research students have graduated in past years include the regulation of the insurance industry, the economics of quality of life, the Scotch whisky industry, modal travel choice, macroeconomic stabilisation policy, speculative bubbles, stock exchange settlement systems, joint ventures, corporate equity linkages, foundations of macroeconomics, long-lived small firms, central bank independence, financial implications of the economic handover in Hong Kong, negative externalities of pesticide use, and host country relations with oil companies.

Honours economics graduates who wish to pursue a PhD, but have undertaken no prior postgraduate training in economics, should apply directly to the Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics (currently run from the Department of Economics, Edinburgh University). The Department is one of a consortium of Scottish Departments (Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, St Andrews, Stirling and Strathclyde) involved in this integrated doctoral programme.

For entry to the full time research degrees of MPhil or PhD, candidates should have a good instructional Master's degree in a core area, or a cognate area supporting their proposed area, outstanding research potential, supported by two strong academic references, and a coherent research proposal of 1-2,000 words, displaying knowledge of the subject matter, insight into research issues, and a familiarity with the relevant research literature. The proposed research area should be chosen by reference to existing staff research interests and expertise.

Further details and application forms are at:
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/admissions/pg/

Research Student Handbook: PhD Handbook