The Düsseldorf Graduate School in Economics (DGSE) offers a new three-year Ph.D. program in Economics. The DGSE and its doctoral program are an initiative of the university’s economics group within the faculty of business and economics. In our program, outstanding students holding a Master’s degree in economics or related fields get intensive training in analytical methods and quantitative (econometrics and experimental) analysis which prepares them for successful research.

There are two major fields of research, industrial economics and competition policy (mainly represented by members of Düsseldorf Institute for Competition economics, DICE) or international economics and monetary economics. All teaching is in English. The duration of the program is three years with a possible extension for the completion of the dissertation.

Scholarships can be awarded for the entire duration of the program, conditional on academic excellence and study performance and with an option for extensions. The financial assistance is up to 1250 Euro depending on whether your highest previous degree is a bachelor or master and on the family situation. For the intake in 2012, we are able to offer up to six scholarships.

Admission requires a master degree, preferably in economics, business administration, mathematics, statistics, physics or engineering. There are no fixed rules on who will be admitted but the admission is highly competitive. Evidence of creativity and commitment to research will be taken into consideration.

Application forms, as well as forms for the two required letters of recommendation, are available to download on the Faculty's PhD web page:
http://www.dice.hhu.de/en/teaching-economics/graduate-school/admission.html

There is only one intake per year, in October. The deadline for applications is 31 March 2011.

Further information about the DGSE and its Ph.D. program can be found on our website:
http://www.dice.hhu.de/en/teaching-economics/graduate-school.html.