Johann K. Brunner "Modernizing the 3 rd cycle at the University of Prishtina and Developing a PhD Program at the Faculty of Economics" March 26-28, 2014 PhD Program in Economics at the Johannes Kepler University of Linz in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck

2 Department of Economics in Linz 7 Full Professors (two vacant) 5 Associate Professors Special strengths in - Labor and Health Economics - International Economics - Industrial Economics - Public Economics National Research Network Labor Economics and Social Policy (Austria Science Fund) 2008 – 2014.

3 Department of Economics in Innsbruck 8 Full Professors (two vacant) 4 Associate Professors Special strengths in - Microeconomics - Game Theory - Experimental and Behavioral Economics - International Economics

4 Traditional Structure of Programs in Austria and Germany Diploma Study 8 semesters - good basic and intermediate education Doctoral Study (4 semesters, typically longer) 4 semester - no specific courses taught - mainly acquire knowledge by own studying - primary task: write thesis (book) Disadvantage for young researchers: no adequate education at the doctoral level.

5 Economics Programs at JKU (Bolgna architecture) I Bachelor Program Business and Economics 180 ECTS, 6 semester - Economics, - Management and Applied Economics - Business Administration - International Business Administration - E-Business Administration and Communication Systems Master Program in Economics 120 ECTS, 4 semester Master Program in Management and Applied Economics 120 ECTS, 4 semester (Master Program in General Management, ……..)

6 Economics Programs at JKU (Bolgna architecture) II PhD Program in Economics 180 ECTS, 6 semester in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck: Departments of comparable size. Neither Department could offer such a program alone. Started in winter semester 2009/10 Average cohort size 10 – 15 Basic idea: provide advanced education in economic methods.

7 Other Austrian PhD Programs in Economics Vienna Graduate School of Economics (University of Vienna joint with Institute of Advanced Studies) PhD Program in Finance (WU Vienna) PhD Program in International Business Taxation (WU Vienna) Traditional doctoral programs still exists at some universities. Typically studies on more practical problems in economic policy. Lower level of methodology.

8 PhD Program in Economics (PIE) The goal of the program is to enable the students to do research on an international level. Graduates should be able to work at universities and at national as well as international research institutions, and to teach economics. The program is open for students from around the world, provided they hold a Master degree or equivalent. PhD students are expected to closely collaborate with the faculty members in Innsbruck and Linz as well as with renowned economists who are invited as visiting faculty. In fact many students are working on a research projects of one of the two universities.

9 Overview of the PhD Program in Economics The PIE curriculum includes two years of coursework. During their first year, students become familiar with the necessary formal and quantitative tools to conduct research in economics. In their second year, students take specialized field courses. The material taught in the field courses provides the basis for writing a PhD thesis in the respective field. Field courses, offered either in Innsbruck or in Linz, include industrial organization, labor economics, international trade, public finance, and advanced econometrics. In their third year, the main task of the students is to write their thesis (papers). Altogether, the program is scheduled for 3 years (6 semesters) and students need to acquire 180 ECTS-points.

10 First year Students have to go through six compulsory modules, each containing lectures with exercises: 1 st Semester Mathematics Microeconomics Statistics 2 nd Semester Econometrics Macroeconomics Game Theory

11 First year Each compulsory course requires a work equivalent of 6 ECTS- points. 36 ECTS-points in total. Actual course length is equivalent to 3 hours – actually 135 Minutes – per week for a whole semester – 14 weeks. Typically two weeks of teaching (3,25 hours a day) with one or two weeks in between.

12 Second year Students have to select 5 modules out of a list of alternatives (field courses), workload is 4 ECTS-points each (2 weekly hours, but taught as block courses). Moreover, students have to attend courses to acquire additional skills (e. g., scientific writing, philosophy of science, communication skills, project management, …).

13 Field Courses Advanced Theory of International Trade Advanced Economic Theory: Mechanism and Market Design Applied Microeconometrics Political Economy Modeling Behavioral Finance Advanced Econometrics: Program Evaluation Advanced Economics: Applied Theory of International Trade Behavioral Economics Advanced Econometrics: Macroeconometrics - Applied Time Series Analysis

14 Field Courses Topics in Applied Econometrics Advanced Econometrics: Survival analysis and treatment evaluation based on instrumental variables Note:long list, but not all of these courses are offered on a regular basis.

15 Overview of the PhD Program in Economics During annual seminars students are expected to present their own work. Courses are blocked and are offered either in Innsbruck or in Linz. Students are expected to take courses in both locations.

16 Admission Students are admitted if they have finished a diploma or master study of economics at the Universities of Linz or Innsbruck, or if they have finished a comparable study at another university. If their prior study is not fully comparable at admission, students may be obliged to attend additional courses. No tuition fee for EU citizens, Euro 744 for non-EU citizens.

17 Grading Lectures always include exercises and presentations by students as well as discussions (see first- and second-year courses). Grades result from presentations of solutions to exercises and from written examinations (oral examinations are unusual). Sometimes students have to do larger projects. The professor has to determine and to explain the weights of the different requirements for the final grade.

18 Seminars Seminars (2 ECTS-points) provide the possibility for students to present their own work on a specific topic and to get feedback by professors and colleagues. Here students also train presenting. Students must present their work (papers for their thesis) in three different seminars (3rd, 5th and 6th semester).

19 Thesis Students have to write a thesis (112 ECTS-points) to demonstrate the ability to do own research. The thesis may (and typically does) consist of three separate articles, which must be related either in topic or in method. At least two of the articles must have been previously accepted (after a reviewing process) for presentation at a scientific conference (or even for publication in a refereed journal). The relation between the articles has to be explained in an introductory chapter. In case that an article was written with co- authors, the introductory chapter also has to state the share of the particular student’s work.

20 Defense Finally, students have to defend their thesis (2 ECTS-p, 2 hours). An examination board of three members has to be established for the defense of the thesis.

21 Critical Issues Blocked courses and travelling of the students (they receive partial funding). Too many field courses required. Long list, but some are offered only occasionally. Difficult to plan, students specializing on a certain topic may be forced to select a field course far from their own specialization. Find teachers for field courses (and funding). Only part of them can be offered by faculty members.