PhD Economics

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.

You will need to be nominated by your proposed supervisor for a number of our scholarships. Therefore, we highly recommend you discuss these funding opportunities with your supervisor first, so they can advise on your suitability and ensure you meet nomination deadlines.

For more information about funding, visit our funding page to browse for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.

Streams: The 1+3 stream consists of 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: At a minimum, applicants must achieve an average of 65% in coursework with no unit marks below 55%, for both the undergraduate and postgraduate taught degrees as well as a 65% mark for the dissertation. Typically, offer holders exceed these standards significantly. Applicants may be required to achieve higher grades and meet additional requirements (see how your application is considered).

Degree Requirement : The economics training applicants have received should be equivalent to that offered at the University of Manchester. Applicants with degrees in quantitative fields other than economics will be considered on a case-by-case basis . We do not normally consider applicants whose previous studies have been in non-quantitative fields. Our criteria are:

• 1+1+3 Stream: applicants must demonstrate high-level performance in a degree equivalent to a BSc or MA in Economics from the University of Manchester.
• 1+3 Stream: applicants must demonstrate high-level performance in a degree equivalent to the training provided in the MSc phase of our PhD programme.

Competition for places on this programme is very high and meeting the minimum entry requirements does not guarantee an offer of admission. Additionally, we reserve the flexibility to determine the appropriate stream (1+3 or 1+1+3) for each applicant. Even if an applicant technically meets the minimum requirements for the 1+3 stream, we may choose to admit them to the 1+1+3 stream based on our academic judgment.

All applicants must provide evidence of English language proficiency:

• 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.
• Other tests may be considered.

Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the programme.

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.

Once we receive your complete application, including the application form and all supporting documents, it will be forwarded to our academic staff for review.

In making our decision, we will consider several factors. Admission to the programme is not based solely on qualifications such as grades; we are looking for applicants with strong mathematical skills and clear evidence of research potential. While high academic performance is important, we will also evaluate other key aspects, including reference letters, GRE scores, your research proposal, and any previous research experience.

Please note that even a distinction in an MSc in Economics, including a strong dissertation grade, may not guarantee admission if other elements, such as the research proposal, are not up to standard. Additionally, admission may be impacted by the availability of a suitable supervisor. This aspect of the selection process is also highly competitive, and we encourage you to consider this when applying.

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. You also may be asked to identify and address any potential ethical considerations in relation to your proposed research, and discuss how best to progress your ideas in line with University of Manchester ethics guidance.

The interview panel will consist at minimum of your proposed primary supervisor and an independent interviewer.

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.

It is normally possible to defer your offer to a later entry point, with the approval of your supervisory team and Department PGR Director, and if applicable, funder. Please be aware that the University of Manchester permits applications to be deferred only once, for a maximum of two years. Your English Language evidence must be valid on the date of registration.

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.

Humanities Doctoral Academy

Our Humanities Doctoral Academy combines the strengths of our four schools to bring expertise, knowledge, support and high-quality services for postgraduate researchers.

We are a community of academic leaders and postgraduate researchers across all levels in the Faculty of Humanities. The Doctoral Academy Hub houses our specialist professional service teams who support postgraduate researchers throughout the programme journey. This includes admissions, registration, student experience, progression, examination, and graduation. We collaborate closely with other University directorates including Manchester Doctoral College, Researcher Development team, and the corresponding Doctoral Academies in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. Together we provide the best experience and support for your studies and research.

EDI

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.

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.

REF 2021

In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) 'Economics' was assessed as part of The University of Manchester's 'Economics and econometrics' submission.

95% of our research was judged to be in the highest two categories (4*) 'world-leading' or (3*) 'internationally excellent'.  

Our research impact and environment were also judged to be strong, with 100% judged to be (4*) 'world-leading' or (3*) 'internationally excellent'.

Read more about our Economics research at Manchester.  

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk