PhD Programme in Economics

Year 1

You will study mathematics, microeconomics, econometrics, and macroeconomics, in total 60 out of 105 credits. All courses in year 1 are compulsory.

Year 2 and 3

You will take the remaining 45 credits during year 2 and 3. In addition to full sequences in development, labour, macroeconomics, and political economics, there are courses in finance, behavioural economics, trade, industrial organisation, etc., along with various methods-oriented courses.

There are also individual courses in public economics and international economics, as well as field-specific courses, where you formulate and carry out entirely new research projects. Historically, these projects have turned into many dissertation chapters, as well as top-tier publications.

Thesis work and defence

The work on the thesis starts during year 2. Usually, you write a thesis consisting of a number of separate articles. The qualitative requirement is that each article should be publishable, but not necessarily published, in a refereed international journal.

The match between a graduate student and an advising team typically occurs sometime during the second or third year; the sooner students start considering possible advisors, the better.

When the thesis is ready and in print, it is publicly discussed and defended. The discussant must be an expert in the relevant field. The thesis defence is given a pass or fail grade. The decision of this grade is made by a committee consisting of three members. The discussant as well as the composition of the committee follows the guidelines of Stockholm University. The main supervisor proposes the discussant and the committee and the decision is made by the Faculty of Social Sciences at Stockholm University.

Our courses in year 1 are mainly for our own program students. Courses in year 2 and 3 are also open for external students. Find out more:

Course details PhD programme

Application opens in early December, and closes on 31 January every year.

Applying to the PhD Programme in Economics

Stockholm doctoral course programme in economics, econometrics and finance

The joint undertaking by Stockholm University and Stockholm School of Economics in offering common courses is called the Stockholm doctoral course programme in Economics, Econometrics and Finance (SDPE). This means that students at Stockholm University and Stockholm School of Economics have access to the same courses. Uppsala University is also part of the broader PhD course programme. The PhD programme is also a part of Enter.

More about ENTER

Center for monetary policy and financial stability

The Center for monetary policy and financial stability (CeMoF) is a collaboration between the Department of Economics, Stockholm Business School, and the Institute for International Economics Studies.

CeMoF’s mission is to promote research and learning in the areas of monetary policy and financial stability. Affiliated PhD students are awarded a certificate from CeMoF.

Visit CeMoF for more information

IIES

The Institute for International Economics Studies is also an active part of the PhD programme in economics. Many of our teachers are from the IIES and several students move over to the institute in year 3.

Meet Thore Petersen, Patrizia Massner, and Ulrika Arhsjö, sharing their experiences as PhD students in the programme.

Sonia Giurumescu, Nils Landén Mammos, and Jens Oehlen are our PhD candidates who will be on the job market in 2025/26. Find out more here:

Job market candidates 2025/26

Candidates from the PhD programme in Economics at Stockholm University successfully continue to top job placements, in academia, governments, trade and industry, finance and banking. Find out where they went after finishing their PhD studies.

Job placement for prior classes

For any enquiries, email: phd@ne.su.se

Director of studies PhD level

Ann-Sofie Kolm

ann-sofie.kolm@su.se