Information Brochure. The ECARES Doctoral School. Quantitative Economics & Economics and Statistics

Transcription

1 Information Brochure The ECARES Doctoral School Quantitative Economics & Economics and Statistics

2 Dear prospective candidate, Thank you for your interest in the ECARES Doctoral School. In this brochure you will find information regarding ECARES, the School, the PhD programs, admission and fees. Other details, such as course descriptions and the bios of the Faculty members, can be found on the website. The mission of the ECARES Doctoral School is to enable our graduates to do quantitative research of the highest quality in economics and statistics. This mission is supported by our three values: 1. Research using quantitative methods is the best way to enhance our understanding of economic and statistical problems 2. High-level research in economics and statistics requires high-quality training 3. Being part of the international scientific community allows us to provide training and research at the highest level. Among many, you have three main reasons for joining the ECARES Doctoral School: 1. We are one of the best centers for advanced research in economics and statistics in Europe. 2. We are very successful at placing our PhD students in top academic and non-academic institutions. 3. We are in Brussels, at the heart of Europe. Looking forward to hearing from you, Bram De Rock Co-director David Veredas Co-director ecares The European Center for Advanced Research in Economics and Statistics (ECARES) was founded in 1991 as a joint initiative of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), and the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), and is a research center within the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management. ECARES is committed to high-quality research at the best international standards. Guided by these principles, ECARES provides one of the most internationally diverse and stimulating research environments in Europe. As a result, its research activities have earned ECARES international visibility and reputation: the European Wall Street Journal mentions ECARES in a short list of seven European centers of excellence that resist the brain drain to the more attractive US universities. Members of ECARES have been serving on, among others, the Councils of the European Economic Association (EEA), the European Research Council, the Econometric Society, and the European Systemic Risk Board. They are also particularly active at the CEPR, as Research Director, Program Directors, Research Fellows or Research Affiliates. They have organized major international events, such as a Nobel Symposium, two annual meetings of the EEA, and a World Congress of the Econometric Society. Its members have also received numerous awards and appointments. In the beginning of 2006, ECARES and CORE (Center for Operation Research and Econometrics, Université catholique de Louvain) decided to join forces into ECORE, a common center of excellence that integrates the research activities and doctoral programs of both institutions. ECORE ranks among the top five research institutions in Europe, after LSE, Tilburg, Oxford and Cambridge. ECORE has 60 permanent Faculty, some 20 post-doctoral students and 90 doctoral students, 150 papers published per year and 65 books since ECARES DOCTORAL SCHOOL Information Brochure

3 The Doctoral School AN OVERVIEW The ECARES Doctoral School attracts many first-class students each year worldwide. It offers internationally competitive, high quality PhD programs in Quantitative Economics and in Economics and Statistics. The outstanding quality of the ECARES Doctoral School is confirmed by a recent study on the quality of doctoral schools in economics. The ECARES Doctoral School is among the top ten in Europe and the third best in Continental Europe. 1 The first two years towards a PhD degree constitute the Master programs in Quantitative Economics or in Economics and Statistics. During the first year the students follow courses in macroeconomics, microeconomics, econometrics, and statistics. In the second year students do advanced field courses and write a first scientific paper. Depending on the performance during the first two years, students are allowed to the doctoral training and thesis-writing phase of the PhD programs. During this phase, the students work on the essays of their PhD thesis under the supervision of an ECARES member. Typically, the thesis writing phase takes two to three years. The doctoral training are doctoral activities such as presenting in seminars, participating in workshops and conferences, attending summer and winter schools, following advanced field courses, etc. ECARES is part of the European Doctoral Program network ENTER that allows the students to do part of their PhD at one of our partner universities: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, University College London, Universität Mannheim, Tilburg University, Stockholm University, Stockholm School of Economics, Université Toulouse 1 Sciences Sociales, and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. To obtain the European Doctorate of the ENTER network students have to spend at least 6 months at one of the other universities of the network. At the Master level, there is also the European option in which students have to spend the whole second year abroad. Deadline for application JUNE 30 for EU CITIZENS AND MARCH 31 for NON-EU 1. Amir, R. and Knauff, M. (2008) Ranking Economics Departments Worldwide on the Basis of PhD Placement. The Review of Economics and Statistics 90(1) pp

4 The university and the city The ULB was founded in 1834 and has a well-established international reputation. Many awards have honored its faculty members, including four Nobel prizes, one Field Medal, three Wolf Prizes and two Marie Curie Prizes. The campus is ideally located in front of the main city park, and only ten minutes from the historical center. For further information consult Brussels is a cosmopolitan political and cultural center at the heart of Europe. It is the capital of Belgium and host of many European Institutions, as well as numerous international organizations and companies. It offers all the advantages of a capital, but remains easy and pleasant to live in. It is not too expensive and very green. With only one to three hours by train to Paris, London, Amsterdam, Luxemburg and Cologne, it is ideally located at the crossroads of Western Europe. 4 ECARES DOCTORAL SCHOOL Information Brochure

5 General Information about the programs In this section you will find information about admission procedures, deadlines, as well as a more detailed description of our requirements and your opportunities. Admission: rules, deadlines and decisions Students with an undergraduate degree (minimum of 180 ECTS) in Economics or other quantitative fields (mathematics, statistics, physics, etc), who wish to do a PhD in Economics and/or in Statistics, may apply to the ECARES Doctoral School. The admission to the PhD program proceeds in two steps. First, prospective students have to apply for admission into the Master program. Depending on their prior education, students might be waived from one year, or they might be obliged to do a preliminary year. The decision is made on a case-by-case basis. Applications are considered as soon as they arrive (consult the web for more details and downloading the application form). If admitted, the prospective students receive an admission letter. Later they have to officially register. Students are asked to arrive to the university two weeks before the beginning of the academic year (around mid September) to get used to the new life and follow a one-week intensive Math camp. The deadline application are June 30 for EU citizens and March 31 for non-eu. Second, after the Master, the Doctoral School decides about the admission to the thesis-writing phase. In order to be admitted, a student must have finished her/his course work with an average grade of at least 14 (which roughly compares to a grade of B+ in the American system), and a minimum grade of 12 in each individual course. Furthermore, he/she must have a research proposal and one of the ECARES members must be willing to supervise the student. Tuition fees and financial aid Students coming from EU member countries pay about 835 per year for the first three years, i.e. the two years of the Master and the first year of the thesis. The tuition fee for the remaining years is merely about 35. For students coming from non EU member countries, depending on your country of origin, extra fees can be added only for the Master years. There are several ways how students can finance their studies: full time research scholarships, teaching assistantships, or part time jobs in outside institutions are the most frequent ones. Besides, there are many institutions -foundations and the like- that offer scholarships. We encourage you to take the initiative but do not hesitate to contact us if you need help and/or support. Obligations in the thesis years It is the obligation of PhD students to write a research paper per year, present it in the internal seminar, and actively participate in the seminar series. Further, the Doctoral School strongly encourages students to attend international conferences, summer and winter schools, and workshops in order to present their work. This does not only give the students the chance to meet other researchers but also to improve their presentation skills. Last, we help students to visit foreign universities (particularly in the US) for periods between one month and one year. 5

6 MASTER AND PhD in Quantitative Economics The program First Year This constitutes the first year of the Master: First Semester Graduate Macroeconomics I (7 ECTS) Graduate Microeconomics I (7 ECTS) Graduate Econometrics I (7 ECTS) Topics in Mathematics (5 ECTS) Second semester Graduate Macroeconomics II (8 ECTS) Graduate Microeconomics II (8 ECTS) Graduate Econometrics II (8 ECTS) Dynamic Optimization (5 ECTS) Research Methods (5 ECTS) second Year Durign the second year of the Master students may stay in Brussels (module Brussels) or visit one of the partner universities of the ENTER network (module Europe). Module BRUSSELS Students choosing the module Brussels have to do the Master thesis (25 ECTS), attend the research seminars (5 ECTS), and choose 15 ECTS in each term from the following basket: First Semester Second semester Graduate Econometrics III (5 ECTS) Contract Theory (5 ECTS) Graduate Macroeconomics III (5 ECTS) Political Economics (5 ECTS) Graduate Microeconomics III (5 ECTS) Advanced Industrial Organization (5 ECTS) Development Economics (5 ECTS) Environmental Economics (5 ECTS) Behavioral Economics (5 ECTS) Topics in the Economics of Innovation (5 ECTS) Stochastic Models (5 ECTS) Advanced International Trade (5 ECTS) Time Series I (5 ECTS) Graduate Statistics (5 ECTS) Topics in Advanced Econometrics (5 ECTS) Time Series II (5 ECTS) Module Europe The incoming students from the enter network can also choose between: First Semester European Public Finance (5 ECTS) EU Economic Policies (5 ECTS) Second semester Economics and Law of the WTO (5 ECTS) The EU and Developing Countries (5 ECTS) The outgoing students from the ENTER network spend the second year in one of the partner universities of the ENTER network. Writing of the PhD thesis and doctoral training. Years 3-5 6

7 our values 1. Research using quantitative methods is the best way to enhance our understanding of economic and statistical problems 2. High-level research in economics and statistics requires high-quality training 3. Being part of the international scientific community allows us to provide training and research at the highest level. our mission Enable our graduates to do quantitative research of the highest quality in economics and statistics. 7

8 MASTER AND PhD in Economics and Statistics The program First Year Compulsory courses The coursework of the first two years constitutes the Master in Statistics. The master program in Statistics allows for several specializations. In order to qualify for the ECARES Doctoral School, the students have to enroll in the following courses: First Semester Stochastic Models (5 ECTS) Graduate Macroeconomics I (7 ECTS) Graduate Microeconomics I (7 ECTS) Graduate Econometrics I (7 ECTS) Second semester Graduate Statistics (5 ECTS) Graduate Macroeconomics II (8 ECTS) Graduate Microeconomics II (8 ECTS) Graduate Econometrics II (8 ECTS) Time Series Analysis I (5 ECTS) second Year Optional courses During the second year of the Master, students have to do the Master thesis (26 ECTS), attend the research seminars (5 ECTS), a course on statistical softwares (7 ECTS), and do optional courses for 25 ECTS. The list of courses changes over time, examples are: First Semester Second semester Graduate Econometrics III (5 ECTS) Topics in Contract Theory (5 ECTS) Graduate Macroeconomics III (5 ECTS) Advanced Trade Theory (5 ECTS) Graduate Microeconomics III (5 ECTS) Advanced Industrial Organization (5 ECTS) Behavioral Economics (5 ECTS) Political Economics (5 ECTS) Time Series Analysis II (5 ECTS) Advanced Probability (5 ECTS) Topics in Mathematical Statistics (5 ECTS) Statistical foundations of machine Quantitative Financial Risk (5 ECTS) learning (5 ECTS) Topics in Advanced Econometrics (5 ECTS) Years 3-5 Writing of the PhD thesis and doctoral training. 8

9 Marco Becht Estelle Cantillon Micael Castanheira Michele Cincera Paola Conconi Christine de Mol Bram De Rock Griselda Deelstra Catherine Dehon Mathias Dewatripont Antonio Estache Marjorie Gassner Domenico Giannone Victor Ginsburgh Marc Hallin Georg Kirchsteiger Robert Kollmann Patrick Legros Guy Melard Davy Paindaveine Andre Sapir Bruno Van Pottelsberghe David Veredas Philip Verwimp Philippe Weil Maurizio Zanardi Faculty Over the years, ECARES researchers have developed expertise in a number of major fields of economics. In particular: The evaluation of European integration policies The structure and behavior of banking and financial markets The theory and empirics of macroeconomics Political economy The behavior and organization of firms and markets Financial econometrics The statistical analysis of time series data Nonparametric and robust statistics Consumer demand analysis Their research activities have granted them numerous awards and appointments. Among others: Estelle Cantillon received in 2008 an ERC grant. Mathias Dewatripont served as President of the EEA in He was also appointed by the European Commission as member of the newly created European Research Council. He is laureate of 1998 Francqui Price and of the 2003 Jahnsson Medal. Marc Hallin received the medal of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of the Charles University (Prague) in He was also awarded in 2012 with the Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation. Georg Kirchsteiger was awarded with the Hicks-Tinbergen Medal Davy Paindaveine was awarded with the 2007 Gottfried E. Noether Young Scholar Award, conferred by The American Statistical Association. Bram De Rock received in 2010 an ERC grant, and the 2012 Research Council Award of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Andre Sapir was an Economic Advisor to European Commission President Romano Prodi from 2001 to 2004, Chairman of the high-level study group that produced the 2003 report An Agenda for a Growing Europe, and is currently Vice-Chair of the Advisory Scientific Committee for the European Systemic Risk Board. Bruno Van Pottelsberghe was appointed in 2010 Honorary Professor, University of Sussex -School of Business, Management and Economics. David Veredas was appointed in 2011 Honorary Professor at the Cass Business School. 9

10 2012 Charles Mathias JP Morgan Chase 2011 Francesca Monti Bank of England 2010 Frédéric Malherbe London Business School 2009 Laurent Bouton Boston University 2008 Alexander Sebald University of Copenhagen 2006 Patrick Van Roy National Bank of Belgium 2005 Sergey Stepanov New Economic School 2004 Benoit Crutzen Erasmus University 2003 Luca Sala IGIER, Bocconi 2002 Gyongyi Loranth London Business School, 2007 Michele success Lenza European Central Bank 2001 Natalie Chen University of Warwick 2000 Wouter Dessein Chicago Booth School of Business 1999 Marcelo Fernandes QUEEN MARY COLLEGE University of London 1998 Samir Jahjah International Monetary Fund 1997 Georges Siotis University Carlos III 1996 Guido Friebel IDEI, Toulouse stories Job placement The Doctoral School helps its students on the Job Market. It gives advice on the application procedures, provides logistic support, recommendation letters, and organizes mock interviews and mock seminars that should prepare candidates for the Job Market. In fact, the ECARES Doctoral School is one of the most successful European Doctoral Schools in terms of the job market placement of its graduates. As can be seen from the selected list above (first or currently available placements), graduates have found jobs in universities, central banks, international organizations, as well as private companies. 10 ECARES DOCTORAL SCHOOL Information Brochure

11 Useful Information Information about housing, the campus, visa and social security, general information about Belgium, and FAQ can be found at Do not hesitate to contact us at Telephone: +32 (0) Fax: +32 (0) [email protected] 11

12 ECARES Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management Université libre de Bruxelles 50, Av. F.D. Roosevelt CP 114/ Brussels Belgium