PhD in Economics at Royal Holloway, University of London

About the department

The Department of Economics at Royal Holloway, University of London is a centre of research and teaching excellence. The department consists of approximately 30 academic staff members who consistently publish at the top international journals in a variety of topics, including theoretical and applied microeconomics, labour economics, development economics and experimental economics. Furthermore, many of our staff pursue multidisciplinary topics in collaboration with colleagues from the Computer Science and Psychology departments, see here . Over 98% of our economics and econometrics research was rated as “world-leading” or “internationally excellent” in the most recent UK-wide research assessment (REF2021 ). Research activity is organised around the department’s research centres .

About the programme

The department has an active PhD programme which consists of approximately 25 PhD students. We offer a stimulating research environment where postgraduate research students become an integral part of our research community and enjoy a consistently high level of interaction with academic staff. During the four years of the programme, students take PhD courses that provide advanced economics training, attend research seminars from external speakers, present their work in the PhD seminar and PhD conference and, generally, participate in the academic life of the department. In terms of student satisfaction, 97% of our PhD students were happy with their supervisor and 87% were satisfied their overall experience in their research programme according to the most recent Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (2022).

The department has a great placement record for PhD students . Our graduates are successful in getting jobs in academia, research organisations, governments, international bodies, and the private sector. Recent placements include London School of Economics, Bristol University, University of Stirling, Max Planck Institute (Bonn, Germany), European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, National Institute of Economic Research, and Institute for Employment Studies.  

We offer full-time (4 years) and part-time (8 years) PhD programmes, that can start in September, January, or April. Applicants should have a MSc in Economics or a related field. Alternatively, students without an MSc can apply to our combined MSc and PhD programmes at Royal Holloway. For successful PhD study, it is important to have a good match between your research interests and those of your supervisors. You can find a list of potential supervisors on our website . Details about the application process are here , under “how to apply”.

Funding opportunities

The School of Law and Social Sciences and the Department of Economics offer generous scholarships and graduate teaching assistantships that cover tuition fees and stipends for 4 years on a competitive basis.

Royal Holloway, University of London is a partner institution in the South East Doctoral Training Arc (SEDarc) Doctoral Training Programme which is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). SEDarc provides several student-led scholarships each year on a competitive basis.

How to apply

Potential applicants should consult the website of the PhD programme under “how to apply”.