
Overview
- Degree awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Duration
- 4 to 5 years depending on point of entry
- Entry requirements
-
Streams : The 1+3 stream consists one year of PhD level teaching followed by 3 years of research. The 1+1+3 stream consists of one year of MSc teaching followed by the 1+3 stream.
High level of performance: Achieving an average of 65% in coursework with no unit marks below 55% for both UG and PG degrees as well as 65% mark for dissertation. Normally, offer holders tend to achieve much higher standards than this.
Degree Requirement : Economics degree training should be equivalent to the training given at the University of Manchester. Applicants with degree in quantitative fields other than economics will be considered on a case by case basis. We will not normally consider applicants whose previous studies have been in non-quantitative fields. Our criteria are:
- 1+1+3 Stream: High level performance in degree equivalent to BSc or MA in Economics from the University of Manchester.
- 1+3 Stream: High level performance in degree equivalent to the training in the MSc phase of our PhD programme.
- How to apply
-
Please ensure you include all required supporting documents at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered.
Application Deadlines
If you would like to be considered for University of Manchester funding, we reccomend you apply as early as possible. If you are applying for or have secured external funding (for example, from an employer or government) or are self-funding, you must submit your application before the below deadlines to be considered. You will not be able to apply after these dates have passed.
- For September 2024 entry: 30 June 2024
Programme options
Full-time | Part-time | Full-time distance learning | Part-time distance learning | |
---|---|---|---|---|
PhD | Y | N | N | N |
Programme overview
- Join a vibrant and active research hub, with weekly seminars in macroeconomics, economic theory and applied economics.
- Benefit from staff with expertise across all areas of economics.
- We host prestigious events such as the Annual Conferences of the Royal Economic Society and the Summer Meeting of the European Economic Society and the Econometric Society.
Open days
Fees
Fees for entry in 2024 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2023 were as follows:
-
PhD (full-time)
UK students (per annum): £4,712
International, including EU, students (per annum): £21,000
Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.
Scholarships/sponsorships
There are a range of scholarships, studentships and awards available to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers, details of which can be found via the links below.
To apply University of Manchester funding, you must indicate in your application the competitions for which you wish to be considered .
All external funding competitions have a specified deadline for submitting your funding application and a separate (earlier) deadline for submitting the online programme application form, both of which will be stated in the funding competition details below.
For more information about funding, visit our funding page or use our funding database to search for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.
- ESRC North West Social Science DTP (NWSSDTP) PhD Studentships 2024 Entry (TBC)
- School of Social Sciences Economics PhD Studentships 2024 Entry
- China Scholarship Council - The University of Manchester (CSC-UoM) Joint Scholarship Programme 2024 Entry (TBC)
- Trudeau Doctoral Scholarships 2024 Entry
- PhD Studentship with the Stuart Hall Foundation (Social Sciences) 2024 Entry
- Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (High Income Countries)
- Humanities Doctoral Academy Humanitarian Scholarship 2024 Entry
- Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (Least Developed Countries and Fragile States)
Contact details
- School/Faculty
- School of Social Sciences
- Contact name
- Humanities Doctoral Academy Admissions
- Telephone
- +44 (0)161 275 1200
- hums.doctoralacademy.admissions@manchester.ac.uk
- Website
- https://www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/
- School/Faculty
-
See: School Subjects
Programmes in related subject areas
Use the links below to view lists of programmes in related subject areas.
Entry requirements
Academic entry qualification overview
Streams : The 1+3 stream consists one year of PhD level teaching followed by 3 years of research. The 1+1+3 stream consists of one year of MSc teaching followed by the 1+3 stream.
High level of performance: Achieving an average of 65% in coursework with no unit marks below 55% for both UG and PG degrees as well as 65% mark for dissertation. Normally, offer holders tend to achieve much higher standards than this.
Degree Requirement : Economics degree training should be equivalent to the training given at the University of Manchester. Applicants with degree in quantitative fields other than economics will be considered on a case by case basis. We will not normally consider applicants whose previous studies have been in non-quantitative fields. Our criteria are:
- 1+1+3 Stream: High level performance in degree equivalent to BSc or MA in Economics from the University of Manchester.
- 1+3 Stream: High level performance in degree equivalent to the training in the MSc phase of our PhD programme.
English language
- IELTS test minimum score - 7.0 overall, 7.0 in writing, 6.5 in other sections.
- TOEFL (internet based) test minimum score - 100 overall, 25 all sections.
- Pearson Test of English (PTE) UKVI/SELT or PTE Academic minimum score - 76 overall, 76 in writing, 70 in other sections.
- To demonstrate that you have taken an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in a majority English speaking nation within the last 5 years.
- O ther tests may be considered.
English language test validity
Other international entry requirements
We accept a range of qualifications from different countries. For these and general requirements including English language see entry requirements from your country .
The University requires you to reside within a commutable distance from Manchester during your time as a registered student, unless you are on approved fieldwork/a formal placement or are on a period of Submission pending. This is to ensure that you are able to meet attendance expectations and participate in wider research activities within your discipline area and/or School.
Application and selection
How to apply
Please ensure you include all required supporting documents at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered.
Application Deadlines
If you would like to be considered for University of Manchester funding, we reccomend you apply as early as possible. If you are applying for or have secured external funding (for example, from an employer or government) or are self-funding, you must submit your application before the below deadlines to be considered. You will not be able to apply after these dates have passed.
- For September 2024 entry: 30 June 2024
Advice to applicants
Before you start your application, you should:
- Develop your own research proposal and project title.
- Find a supervisor by browsing our academics' profiles, and reach out directly to discuss if they are interested in supporting your research.
- Consider how you plan on funding your research and discuss this with your supervisor.
When you submit your application, you must include each of the below required documents:
- A 1,500 word PhD research proposal and 500 word statement giving a brief description of any econometrics/macro/micro/mathematics and statistics courses taken during your undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, detailing core texts used. A paragraph for each course unit taken will be sufficient. Please upload the 2000 word document as a single file.
- Copies of the academic transcript and certificate from both your Bachelor's and Master's degrees. If your Master's degree is pending, please provide an interim transcript;
- An up to date academic CV, detailing your education and qualifications; employment history; publications; and any other relevant information.
- Graduate Record Exam (GRE General Test) - Further details can be found in the Aptitude Test Requirements section below.
- You must nominate two academic referees (including one from your most recent institution). Your referees will be contacted directly via the Referee Portal following submission of your application form. You may wish to contact your referees to request they submit your reference in a reasonable timeframe as this forms part of the review process;
- International applicants must additionally provide English Language evidence (e.g IELTS).
Interview requirements
As part of the offer making process, applicants will be required to undertake an interview assessment. This may be in the form of an in-person interview or video call.
The interview is designed to assess your knowledge and understanding of the broad topic area, the viability of your proposed research and its intellectual contribution, alongside the fit of your project with the supervisory team. The interview panel will consist at minimum of your proposed primary supervisor and an independent interviewer.
Aptitude test requirement
You must input the details of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE General Test) in the Admissions Test section of the application form ensuring that you report the scores on the quantitative, verbal and analytical writing sections along with percentiles. There is no restriction on when you took the test.
Exception to the GRE General Test requirement can be obtained in advance, but only if you have alternative means of demonstrating strong quantitative ability. If an exception is granted you will be informed by the Admissions Team how to complete the Admissions Test section of the application form.
Deferrals
Re-applications
If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful, you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard programme entry criteria for that year of entry.
In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen programme.
Programme details
Programme description
Our five-year PhD programme consists of:
- Two years of formal training;
- Three years of independent research (with the possibility of a 6th year, for writing up).
The first year of the programme is equivalent to an MSc in Economics and candidates that have already gained a similar qualification at 2:1 level or above, can be considered for entry directly into the second year.
In Year 2, you will take advanced PhD level courses and work on your research proposal, which will represent the basis of the subsequent three years of research.
The programme structure aligns to that of top institutions in the US and the UK, providing you with rigorous advanced training and sufficient time for producing independent research, giving you a competitive edge in the job market.
We admit around 8-10 PGRs per year, and five-year scholarships from the department/school are available. There is also the possibility to compete for ESRC funding.
Find out more on our Economics PhD programme webpages.
Additional programme information
Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and is at the heart of all of our activities.
We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact.
We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.
All appointments are made on merit.
The University of Manchester and our external partners are fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Teaching and learning
When you become a postgraduate researcher, you'll join a diverse and vibrant community of doctoral students from nearly 100 different countries, all studying within the Faculty of Humanities.
You'll be assigned to a specific research area that complements your research interests and have access to a variety of interdisciplinary research institutes.
Our working environments are often spacious and open-plan, giving you plenty of opportunities to communicate with colleagues and staff within the School. You will have your own desk space as well as access to our fantastic range of libraries on campus.
All of our academic supervisors are research active and will support you to work on challenging research problems and develop rigorous, creative and original research.
You can expect to meet with your supervisor at least once a month to discuss progress on your project.
You will have access to a large and diverse community of internationally recognised academic experts offering an environment that will stimulate intellectual debate and development.
We provide additional financial support for a number of activities related to your PhD, including:
- presenting at international conferences;
- attending workshops that provide relevant professional opportunities;
- conducting fieldwork in the UK and overseas;
- hands-on, paid teaching experience as a Graduate Teaching Assistant.
Graduate Teaching Assistants are valued members of the teaching team. As such, we take pride in the opportunities provided for the professional development of graduate teaching assistants.
Our training includes preparation for application to the Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. This brings a range of benefits:
- consolidates your personal development and emphasises your professional practice in HE;
- entitlement to use post-nominal letters – AFHEA;
- provides a valuable measure of success and is increasingly sought by employers across the education sector as a condition of appointment and promotion;
- recognised and valued by a growing number of international institutions.
See the Associate Fellowship website for more information.
Related research
The Department of Economics is recognised as a leading centre for economics research, and research-led teaching, with particular strengths in economic theory, macroeconomics and econometrics, which support strong applied work in labour economics and environmental economics.
Building on these core areas, recent professorial appointments are leading international research agendas in Financial Economics/Mathematical Finance, game theory with economic applications, and development macroecomics, with the latter's emphasis on poverty-reduction and growth informing the future research direction of the Growth and Business Cycles Research Group, co-directed by George Bratsiotis and Akos Valentinyi. Further information can be found at https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/gbcr/
Whilst supporting all aspects of intellectual enquiry through high-quality research, our strategy is to underpin this with foundations in the core of the discipline in order to maintain a profile which addresses key economics research questions of the day. To facilitate this, and to provide an academically stimulating environment of discourse and debate research is organised principally through our research areas .
Members of the Economic Studies have had papers published by many leading journals, including: American Economic Review, Econometrica, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Mathematical Economics, International Economic Review, European Economic Review, Journal of Public Economics, Economic Journal, International Journal of Game Theory, Games and Economic Behaviour, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Journal of Econometrics, Econometric Theory, Biometrika, Review of Economics and Statistics, Econometric Reviews, Journal of the American Statistical Association, Journal of Labour Economics, Journal of Applied Econometrics.
What our students say
Disability support
Careers
Career opportunities
The department provides resources to support postgraduate researchers (PGRs) going on the job market. This includes practice interview sessions, as well as introductory talks on the European and American academic job markets. These talks are aimed towards year-5 PGRs but are open to all PGRs.
In recent years, our PhD candidates have obtained research positions at universities, central banks and policy institutions. Visit our website to see recent placement history for our PhD students.
The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a PGR and for two years after you graduate. At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help support you with your goals for the future.
As a PGR, you'll have access to a dedicated Researcher Development Team who will support your professional development throughout your PhD journey and beyond.
Our researcher development programme will enable you to become more aware of your developing researcher identity, equipping you with the skills you’ll need during your PhD and preparing you to integrate into the researcher community.
We offer training sessions to build your skills and confidence in writing and presenting, with specific sessions on viva preparation, thesis submission, and preparing for your Review Panel.
You'll also have access to a range of workshops, covering areas such as:
- increasing research impact through blog posts;
- making the most of social media;
- publishing in journals;
- applying for fellowships;
- designing academic posters;
- improving time and self-management.
In addition, our Humanities training hub gives you additional learning opportunities in public engagement, wellbeing, language training and teaching, alongside more specialist courses in tools and software such as Python, R and NVivo.
methods@manchester is an initiative that gives you the chance to learn from the very best in research methods expertise at Manchester and beyond. Regular talks, workshops and other methods-related events are organised throughout the academic year.
Taking a placement provides a great opportunity to engage in knowledge exchange and to develop professional networking opportunities for your future career development.
We have established Postgraduate Researcher Exchange programmes with a small number of institutions around the world, offering you the opportunity to visit another institution, access research resources and experience another academic culture as well as build professional networks.
Successful applicants will receive some funding towards travel expenses, accommodation, subsistence, education materials and/or other education-related costs.
For more information visit our Research training and professional development page.