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Ph.D. in Economics
Programme Highlights

Structure

First Year

  • Ph.D. students will be required to do coursework or two semesters and will be evaluated at the end of each semester. Each course has to be passed with at least 50% marks, failing which the student may reappear within one year.
  • Along with their coursework, students are also expected to develop their dissertation proposals.
  • Students will be encouraged to suggest names of members of their three-member advisory committee, consisting of the Supervisor(s) and two other members.
  • To begin with, the advisory committee will guide students in their selection of courses for the coursework and the preparation of their dissertation proposal. As students develop their proposal and research questions over the course of the first year in consultation with other faculty members, the Supervisor and members of the advisory committee may be changed, if required, to facilitate the process.
  • PhD registration of a student will be confirmed only after (a) successful completion of course work and (b) presentation and defence of the dissertation proposal in a departmental seminar by end of the first year.  The proposal defense seminars typically take place in July.
  • Students who fail to complete their coursework or defend their dissertation proposal by July 2013 will have further opportunities to do so, but confirmation of their registration can only take place in February and August of the subsequent year and the resulting delay in commencing research will not entitle them to extension of the deadline for submitting the dissertation.

Second year onwards

  • Students are expected to meet the supervisor(s) regularly and are expected to keep the supervisor(s) informed about their progress.
  • Annual progress reports by their advisory committees will be submitted to the relevant authorities.
  • Apart from their own research work, students will be expected to participate in the Ph.D. workshop, departmental seminars and to present their own research findings at regular intervals.
  • On the recommendation of the supervisor(s) a student may spend up to a year away from Delhi on academic grounds, including a period working with a joint supervisor from another institution.

Thesis submission

  • Students will be expected to submit their dissertations by the end of fourth year, before which results must be presented in a pre-submission seminar.
  • A six-month extension may be granted on request; a further six months in exceptional circumstances will require Vice Chancellor’s approval.

Financial Assistance

  • A limited number of University Teaching Assistantships (currently Rs 30,000 per month) may be available for students who received their Master’s degree in last two years and are admitted to the Ph.D. programme through entrance examination. To know more about University Teaching Assistantship, visit http://www.du.ac.in/index.php?id=656
  • A limited number of in-house financial assistance package (currently Rs. 15,000 per month) are available to students. These will be awarded on the basis of PhD entrance examination performance.
  • Applicants may independently apply for the UGC-JRF Research Scholarships.
  • All candidates admitted to the Ph.D. programme and not receiving any of the above may be awarded “UGC (Non-NET) Fellowships” of Rs 5000/- per month with contingency support of Rs 8000/- per year as per UGC/University rules. Candidates, who have qualified for the NET, but not the JRF, are also eligible for this fellowship.
  • A limited number of Research Assistantship (currently, Rs. 15,000 per month) for short duration may be available from time to time.

Infrastructure

  • The Ratan Tata library, considered to be housing the best collection in economics in the country, has over 1,80,000 books, subscribes to nearly 1,25,000 bound periodicals and collects numerous publications of governments and international agencies.
  • The department’s computer labs are well equipped. PhD students have access to software like STATA, GAUSS, EVIEWS and SCIENTIFIC WORKPLACE. Electronic resources like JSTOR, ECONLIT and database like NSS and census are also available.