PhD specialisation in Economics

The specialisation prepares students for the international academic job market, for positions at national and international policy institutions, central banks, and research organisations.

The PhD specialisation aims to give dedicated graduate students a solid training in performing high quality scientific research in economics, making use of the empirical and theoretical techniques that reflect the state of the art in the field.

Vacant PhD Positions

Areas of research
Areas of research

Course component

The PhD program in Economics consist of a scientific thesis and an educational training component equivalent to a minimum of 60 credits. Mandatory courses constitute 52,5 ECTS, and elective courses amount to 7,5 ECTS.

The structure below applies to candidates accepted into our PhD program after 2019.

Code	Name	ECTS	Semester
ECS504	PhD Microeconomics I	7,5	Autumn
ECS506	PhD Macroeconomics I	7,5	Autumn
ECS508	PhD Econometrics I	7,5	Autumn
ECS565	PhD Microeconomics II	7,5	Spring
ECS507	PhD Macroeconomics II	7,5	Spring
ECS509	PhD Econometrics II	7,5	Spring
MET528	Scientific Method	7,5	Spring

The Department of Economics offer a set of 'topics courses' within specific fields. Some of these courses are joint with other departments at NHH or in cooperation with the Department of Economics at the University of Bergen. PhD candidates are also encouraged to attend short specialisation courses at other Norwegian or Scandinavian Universities.

Twice a year, all PhD candidates meet at the PhD seminar - a lively workshop where they present and discuss each other’s work.

Intensive PhD courses 2025

The Department of Economics offers intensive courses in a wide range of topics. Our portifolio includes the following courses for 2025:

11 - 14 August

Incorporating Psychology Into Economic Models

Lecturer: Matthew Rabin, Harvard University

Students who would like to attend courses as a visiting student must apply each semester. Application date is 1 September for the autumn semester and 1 February for the spring semester. Please note that a few courses may have other deadlines, if this is the case it will be shown in Søknadsweb.

Application form for non-NHH students

Requirements for admission
Requirements for admission
Applicants should hold a Master’s degree in business economics, economics, finance or another quantitative discipline. In addition applicants should have a strong background in economics and master the standard tools in mathematics (linear algebra, calculus, optimisation), and statistics (hypothesis testing, estimation). They should also be fluent in English. Moreover, non-Scandinavian applicants should complement their application with recent GMAT or GRE tests.
- General admission requirements
- Vacant positions
Research environment

Research environment

Every PhD candidate is provided with office space, computer facilities and administrative support. We make a particular effort to include the PhD candidates in the research activities of the department.

We also arrange the possibility for PhD candidates to pay a long term visit to foreign institution that are part of the department’s networks.
PhD candidates
PhD candidates