Please note: The following degree program requirements are general requirements. Each student should check with their Special Committee for additional course requirements, and students should also check with the Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Field Assistant for additional requirements of the Graduate School.
1.
Special Committee: Ph.D. students must
select their Chair by the end of the
second semester, and they must select two
minor members by the end of the third semester.
One of the minor members must represent a
field outside AEM.
2.
Weekly Seminar Course: Required during
the first semester. This will
meet at 4:15 p.m. every Tuesday in Warren
401. Please enroll online under AEM 7000
(section 615-IND 17281), 1 credit hour, and
S/U only.
3.
Monthly Departmental Seminars: Attendance
is required for the first two years of the
Ph.D. program. Departmental seminars are
held once a month (Fridays from 11:00 a.m.-12:30
p.m.) during each academic year. The schedule
for the Fall 2009-Spring 2010 academic year
is as follows:
Fall 2009: August 28, September 18, October (TBD), November 20,
December 18 (all in Warren 401)
Spring 2010: January 29,
February 19, March 19, April 16, May 21 (all
in Warren 401)
4.
Six registration units required. This is six full-time semesters of course study (minimum of 9 credit hours per semester).
5.
A grade of B- or better is required in
all of the following courses: AEM 7010, AEM
7020, AEM 7100, ECON 6090, and ECON 6100.
Also, a grade of B- or better is required
in ECON 6190, a macroeconomics course, and
a second econometrics course (AEM 7110, PAM
6090).
6.
Passing grade on the AEM Qualifying Examination, taken in the summer immediately following the first academic year.
7.
Mentored Research Paper: The paper should address an applied economics issue and should be of quality to eventually be publishable in a top field journal. Passing grade required on the research paper in the summer following the second year of the Ph.D. program.
8.
Admission to Candidacy Exam (also called the “A” exam) is taken at the completion of
required course work, although this does not preclude taking courses after the “A” exam.
9.
Must present a department seminar
prior to defense of the dissertation.
10.
Final oral dissertation examination (also
called the “B” exam). Please
note: The Graduate School requires two
full-time semesters of course study between
the “A” exam and the “B” exam.
11.
Ph.D. dissertation.
AEM Ph.D. Core Course Sequence
and Competency
in Economic Theory
First-Year Core Course Sequence: During
the first year of the Ph.D. program, students
are required to take and receive a grad of B-
or better in:
• AEM
7010: Applied
Microeconomics I
• AEM
7020: Applied Microeconomics II
• ECON
6090: Microeconomic Theory I
• ECON
6100: Microeconomic Theory II
AEM 7010 (offered
in the fall semester) and AEM 7020 (offered
in
the spring semester), incorporate five modules
focusing on selected topics in production economics,
the economics of consumer demand,
applied welfare economics, risk analysis, and
applied industrial organization.
"Q" Exam: Students must
pass the AEM Qualifying ("Q") written
competency examination in applied microeconomics
immediately following the first academic year of
the Ph.D. program. Students are allowed two attempts
to pass the AEM "Q" and these
attempts must be made during the summer following
the first academic year of the Ph.D. program.
Macroeconomics Theory: Students are required to
take and receive a grade of B- or better in a
Ph.D.-level macroeconomics theory course (i.e., ECON
6130 or ECON
6140). They are allowed two attempts to achieve
the required grade in ECON 6130 or ECON 6140.
A student may substitute a passing score on the
written macroeconomics qualifying examination
given by the field of Economics for the grade
requirements, but only two attempts to pass this
examination are allowed.
Econometrics: Student are required
to take and receive a grade of B- or better in
two Ph.D.-level econometrics classes (i.e., AEM
7100, AEM
7110, ECON
6190, PAM
6090.)
Research Paper: Students are required to complete a research paper on an applied economics issue by the end of their second academic year. This
research paper should be of sufficient quality to be publishable in a top field journal.
Failure of any of the requirements listed above is considered evidence of inadequate preparation for the oral admission candidacy examination
(often referred to as the "A" exam). Students must meet the requirements above before they begin their seventh semester of the Ph.D. program.
Examination results and coursework in theory from other universities cannot be substituted for Cornell's Ph.D. requirements in the field of
Applied Economics and Management.
Suggested Courses
Background Preparation
Prior to beginning Ph.D.-level economic
theory, students should be familiar with
intermediate economics at the level of
ECON
3130 and ECON
3140. Other courses
in applied microeconomics, such as AEM
6080 and AEM
6700, are strongly recommended. Calculus
at the level of MATH
1110 and MATH
1120,
matrix algebra at the level of BTRY
4210 or MATH
2210, and statistics at the level
of BTRY
6010 should also be taken prior
to entering the Ph.D. program. Additionally it is recommended that the student complete a course in real analysis.
Theory
Ph.D. students should take ECON
6090 and ECON
6100 to prepare for the required
written applied microeconomics qualifying
examination at the end of the first year. Additional theory courses
should be taken to support development of your expertise in your chosen field of research.
Math
Students may choose ECON
6170 concurrently with ECON
6090 in the fall semester. Many
students benefit from additional mathematics
training taken prior to the beginning of
Ph.D.-level economic theory, often including
coverage of material taught in MATH
2230 and MATH
3110.
Statistics
ECON
6190 is commonly taken by first-year
students. BTRY
4080 and BTRY
4090 are recommended for students
minoring in econometrics or quantitative
methods.
Quantitative methods courses commonly
taken by Ph.D. students include AEM
7120 and AEM
7130.
Major and Minors
Courses
necessary for each major and minor are
determined by the student's Special
Committee.
Some concentrations require written qualifying
examinations.
Electives
To
help understand the literature outside
their own major and minors, students
are encouraged to take at least one course
in each area of concentration.
1. Students on a teaching or research assistantship should consider this to be three credits
worth of work and responsibility during each semester. Please be aware of this and do
not enroll in more classes than necessary.
2. Nine credit hours is considered full-time Ph.D. study each semester in AEM.
3. In choosing course electives, students
should consult Professor
David Just (unless
otherwise assigned to individual faculty)
during the fall semester, and students
should work with Professor Just or the
Chair of their Special Committee for the
selection of spring semester courses.
4. Students will be expected to pass the AEM Applied Microeconomics Qualifying
Examination immediately following the end of Year 1. Therefore, all Ph.D. students are
required to enroll in AEM 7010 (fall) and AEM 7020 (spring).
5. Students are required to enroll in ECON 6090 (fall), ECON 6100 (spring), and ECON
6190 (fall) in Year 1 of their Ph.D. program.
6. Students are required to enroll in AEM 7100 (spring) in Year 1 of the Ph.D. program.
7. During Year 2, students should fulfill the macroeconomics course requirement, one
additional econometrics course requirement, and the mentored research paper project.
