harvard university phd business economics

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The Ph.D. Program in the Department of Economics at Harvard is addressed to students of high promise who wish to prepare themselves in teaching and research in academia or for responsible positions in government, research organizations, or business enterprises. Students are expected to devote themselves full-time to their programs of study.

The program prepares students for productive and stimulating careers as economists. Courses and seminars offered by the department foster an intellectually active and stimulating environment. Each week, the department sponsors more than 15 different seminars on such topics as environmental economics, economic growth and development, monetary and fiscal policy, international economics, industrial organization, law and economics, behavioral economics, labor economics, and economic history. Top scholars from both domestic and international communities are often invited speakers at the seminars.  The Harvard community outside of the department functions as a strong and diverse resource. Students in the department are free to pursue research interests with scholars throughout the University. Faculty of the Harvard Law School, Kennedy School of Government, and Harvard Business School, for example, are available to students for consultation, instruction, and research guidance. As a member of the Harvard community, students in the department can register for courses in the various schools and have access to the enormous library resources available through the University. There are over 90 separate library units at Harvard, with the total collections of books and pamphlets numbering over 13 million.  Both the department and the wider University draw some of the brightest students from around the world, which makes for a student body that is culturally diverse and likely unequaled in the range of intellectual interests of its members. These factors combine to add an important dimension to the educational process. Students are able to learn from one another, collaborate on research projects and publications, and form bonds that are not broken by distance once the degree is completed and professional responsibilities lead them in different directions.

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Harvard Griffin GSAS strives to provide students with timely, accurate, and clear information. If you need help understanding a specific policy, please contact the office that administers that policy.

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Questions about these requirements? See the contact info at the bottom of the page. 

Program of Study

Each candidate’s program of study will be developed in consultation with the chairs of the Programs and Admissions Committee. The normal program is outlined below.

The First Two Years

Regular guidance through contact with faculty advisors is an essential component of doctoral education. Students should maintain close contact with their official advisor(s) throughout their enrollment in the program. Students are encouraged to develop informal advising relationships with several faculty members in addition to their official advisor. 

First-year advisors provide assistance during the initial stages of the program but do not necessarily advise the student throughout their studies. Students are matched with initial advisors based on their research interests. As students familiarize themselves with program faculty during coursework, research work, seminars/workshops, and other activities, they may change their official advisor(s) as their academic and research interests develop. 

• Two one-term courses in microeconomic theory (Econ 2010 a, b) are required.
• Two one-term courses in macroeconomic theory (Econ 2010 c) are required.
• Two one-term courses in graduate quantitative methods (Econ 2110 and 2120) or a more advanced course in econometrics are required.
• Completion of the business history requirement. The business history requirement may be completed in several ways including the Business History Seminar, a pre-approved individual studies course, or a pre-approved MBA course.
• At least two approved one-term courses in the student's primary field of interest. 
• At least two approved one-term courses in the student’s secondary field of interest. 
• Two one-term MBA Elective Curriculum courses.
• Students enroll in a Research Preparatory course Econ 3000 in their third year and complete a research paper under the guidance of their faculty advisor. 
• All courses should be completed with a grade of B or better.

Field Research Requirement 

The field research requirement provides students with the opportunity to engage in a field experience that will expose them to organizations and markets dealing with real-world challenges and help them advance their own research agenda. The doctoral programs office is committed to funding this opportunity and for providing assistance, if needed, in finding appropriate field research sites. As an example, a student whose research involves analysis of economic policy or financial markets could use this opportunity to visit the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to gain exposure to policymakers, applied economic research, data, and financial market activity. 

Faculty advisor(s) will be responsible for approving a submitted field research plan to ensure that it is in line with the student's research agenda. Students are expected to prepare a report and present their work according to a timeline established by the faculty advisor(s) and doctoral programs office. Further considerations are detailed on the doctoral programs intranet site .

Year Three and Beyond

Teaching requirement.

Students are required to complete a teaching engagement of one full academic term that includes at least 8 hours of front-of-class teaching experience and at least 16 hours of teaching preparation time.

Graduate Student Workshops 

Students are required to begin presenting in a Graduate Student Workshop during the spring term of the third year. Students continue to attend and present in at least one workshop each term. 

Thesis Proposal

By the end of their third year, students are required to present their research ideas to a committee composed of at least two faculty members, including representatives from HBS and FAS. The committee will provide feedback and decide if the student is making satisfactory progress toward the degree. Students will receive coordinated advice from faculty regarding their progress and be given detailed recommendations for future research plans, particularly with respect to possible job market paper and dissertation plans. If both faculty committee members are present for a student’s seminar presentation (e.g., the PhD Finance Lunch), this could fulfill the Research Progress Report requirement in terms of demonstrating a student’s research development, so long as the student schedules a meeting with each faculty committee member for coordinated feedback post presentation.

The Dissertation

The student selects a faculty dissertation committee consisting of three members of the Harvard faculty, one of whom must be a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (and one must be from the Business School). Under the dissertation committee’s advisorship, the student will proceed to complete the dissertation research. The dissertation should demonstrate the candidate’s ability to perform original research that develops in a scholarly way and is a significant contribution to the knowledge and understanding in the chosen special field. For the student to meet the requirement, analysis and evaluation of relevant data must yield significant and independent conclusions.

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Harvard Business School Doctoral Programs Office [email protected] 617-495-6101

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Find a Current Student

Business Economics

Jointly administered by HBS and the Department of Economics in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, students in the program are both economics and business school students, receiving the benefits of a PhD from Harvard’s world-class Economics Department along with specialized access to HBS faculty and resources.  The program combines theoretical analysis with in-depth, interdisciplinary research rooted in real-world applications.

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Students in our PhD programs are encouraged from day one to think of this experience as their first job in business academia—a training ground for a challenging and rewarding career generating rigorous, relevant research that influences practice.

Our doctoral students work with faculty and access resources throughout HBS and Harvard University. The PhD program curriculum requires coursework at HBS and other Harvard discipline departments, and with HBS and Harvard faculty on advisory committees. Faculty throughout Harvard guide the programs through their participation on advisory committees.

How do I know which program is right for me?

There are many paths, but we are one HBS. Our PhD students draw on diverse personal and professional backgrounds to pursue an ever-expanding range of research topics. Explore more here about each program’s requirements & curriculum, read student profiles for each discipline as well as student research , and placement information.

The PhD in Business Administration grounds students in the disciplinary theories and research methods that form the foundation of an academic career. Jointly administered by HBS and GSAS, the program has four areas of study: Accounting and Management , Marketing , Strategy , and Technology and Operations Management . All areas of study involve roughly two years of coursework culminating in a field exam. The remaining years of the program are spent conducting independent research, working on co-authored publications, and writing the dissertation. Students join these programs from a wide range of backgrounds, from consulting to engineering. Many applicants possess liberal arts degrees, as there is not a requirement to possess a business degree before joining the program

The PhD in Business Economics provides students the opportunity to study in both Harvard’s world-class Economics Department and Harvard Business School. Throughout the program, coursework includes exploration of microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, probability and statistics, and econometrics. While some students join the Business Economics program directly from undergraduate or masters programs, others have worked in economic consulting firms or as research assistants at universities or intergovernmental organizations.

The PhD program in Health Policy (Management) is rooted in data-driven research on the managerial, operational, and strategic issues facing a wide range of organizations. Coursework includes the study of microeconomic theory, management, research methods, and statistics. The backgrounds of students in this program are quite varied, with some coming from public health or the healthcare industry, while others arrive at the program with a background in disciplinary research

The PhD program in Organizational Behavior offers two tracks: either a micro or macro approach. In the micro track, students focus on the study of interpersonal relationships within organizations and the effects that groups have on individuals. Students in the macro track use sociological methods to examine organizations, groups, and markets as a whole, including topics such as the influence of individuals on organizational change, or the relationship between social missions and financial objectives. Jointly administered by HBS and GSAS, the program includes core disciplinary training in sociology or psychology, as well as additional coursework in organizational behavior.

Accounting & Management  

Business economics  , health policy (management)  , marketing  , organizational behavior  , strategy  , technology & operations management  .