Economics PhD

PhD programmes are offered in Economics, Finance and Quantitative Finance.

PhD: normally 3 years full-time; 5 years part-time;

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Overview

As an Economics PhD student, you will have opportunities to:

present and discuss your work in progress with colleagues and staff members as part of the Economics workshop programme for PhD students
take advanced MSc courses to develop your skills where appropriate
benefit from the College of Social Sciences Graduate School Research Training programme, where appropriate

As a research student you may have the opportunity to become a Graduate Teaching Assistant, delivering tutorials to first and second year undergraduate students and help with assessment of undergraduate assignments and examinations. Teaching is payable at a University-wide hourly rate and it is anticipated that an active GTA, subject to suitability and availability, should be able to earn up to £1,500 per annum. GTAs undergo compulsory training. PhD researchers may have the opportunity to become GTAs from their second year. Vacant posts are advertised towards the end of semester 2.

Supervisors and students are required to complete an Annual Progress Report in April/May of each academic year. All Progress Reports are reviewed by the PhD Convenor and by the College's Graduate School. A satisfactory progress report is a prerequisite for student registration in the following academic session. Final assessment involves the submission of a thesis of between 70,000 and 100,000 words and an oral examination (viva voce).

Contact

Initial programme enquiries to business-pgr-applications@glasgow.ac.uk

Study options

The Economics PhD programmes are full-time and research-based. Our PhD normally takes 3 years (full-time) to complete, although the maximum is 4 years.

PhD programmes are offered in

Economics
Finance
Quantitative Finance

Entry requirements

Our regular standard of admission is usually a Master's degree at Merit, with a significant component in Economics or Finance. Candidates with backgrounds in Statistics or other related social sciences may be considered. Candidates will also usually be expected to have a 2.1 honours degree.

Required documents

Applicants should submit:

Academic Transcripts and Degree Certificates
CV
Research Proposal
Two References
Named Supervisor information

English language requirements

For applicants from non-English speaking countries, as defined by the UK Government, the University sets a minimum English language proficiency level.

Accepted English language tests

We accept a wide range of English language tests for entry to this programme. Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of programme start date, and requirements must be met using a single test.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic and Academic Online (not General Training)

7.0 overall with no subtest less than 6.5
IELTS One Skill Retake Accepted
We do not accept General Training

TOEFL iBT (Including MyBest and Home Edition)

Tests taken up to 20 January 2026

96 Overall, no subtest lower than Reading 23; Listening 23; Speaking 23; Writing 24

Tests taken from 21 January 2026

98 overall with no subtest less than Writing and Listening at 5 and Reading and Speaking at 4.5

Pearsons PTE Academic (test centre only)

70 overall with no subtest less than Reading 62; Listening 62; Speaking 75; Writing 68
We do not accept the online PTE Academic

Cambridge C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency

185 overall, no subtest less than 176

Oxford ELLT

8 overall with Reading and Listening no less than 7 and Writing and Speaking no less than 8

LanguageCert Academic SELT/Academic/Academic Online

75 overall with two subtests at 75 and no subtest less than 70

Password Skills Plus

7.0 overall with no subtest less than 6.5

Trinity College Integrated Skills in English II

105 overall with no subtest less than 105

Kaplan Test of English

Any two subtests at 510 or higher, and any two subtests at 480 or higher

PSI Skills for English

C1 Pass

Duolingo English Test

130 overall with Writing at 130 and no subtest less than 120

Oxford Test of English Advanced

146 overall with no subtest less than 136

Alternatives to English language qualification

Degree from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)

Students must have studied for a minimum of their final year at Undergraduate level, or 9 months at Master's level, and must have completed their degree in that majority-English speaking country within 6 years of programme start.

TNE degree for UK University taught at a campus outside of the UK.

Students must be awarded the degree by the UK university and must have completed the degree within 6 years of programme start.

Pre-sessional courses

The University of Glasgow accepts evidence of the required language level from the English for Academic Study Unit Pre-sessional courses. We would strongly encourage you to consider the pre-sessional courses at the University of Glasgow's English for Academic Study (EAS) Unit. Our Pre-sessional courses are the best way to bring your English up to entry level for University study. Our courses give you:

direct entry to your University programme for successful students (no need to take IELTS)
essential academic skills to help you study effectively at University
flexible entry dates so you can join the right course for your level.

For more detail on our pre-sessional courses please see:

Pre-sessional courses

We can also consider the pre-sessional courses accredited by the below BALEAP approved institutions to meet the language requirements for admission to our postgraduate taught degrees:

Heriot Watt
Kingston Upon Thames
Middlesex University
Manchester University
Reading University
Edinburgh University
ST Andrews University
UCL
Durham

Fees and funding

Fees

2027/28

UK: To be confirmed [26/27 fee was £5,238]
International & EU: £28,275

Fees are based on the annual fee for full-time study. Tuition fees for part-time study will be charged at half the full-time annual fee.

Irish nationals who are living in the Common Travel Area of the UK, EU nationals with settled or pre-settled status, and Internationals with Indefinite Leave to remain status can also qualify for home fee status.

Fee status and policies

Alumni discount

We offer a 15% tuition fee discount to eligible self-funded alumni starting a Postgraduate Taught (PGT) Masters or Postgraduate Research (PGR) programme in the 2027/28 academic year.

This includes University of Glasgow graduates and those who have completed a Study Abroad programme, Exchange programme, International Summer School or Erasmus programme with us. This discount can be awarded alongside most University scholarships. No additional application is required.

Full details of our Alumni Discount

Possible additional fees

Re-submission by a research student £540
Submission for a higher degree by published work £1,355
Submission of thesis after deadline lapsed £350
Submission by staff in receipt of staff scholarship £790

Depending on the nature of the research project, some students will be expected to pay a bench fee (also known as research support costs) to cover additional costs. The exact amount will be provided in the offer letter.

Fully funded scholarships

Support

Resources

We provides financial support for PhD students to attend international academic conferences to present their co-authored research.

eSharp is an international online journal for postgraduate research in the arts, humanities, social sciences and education. It is run entirely by graduate students and aims to provide a critical but supportive entry into the realm of academic publishing for emerging academics.

The School hosts seminars, workshops and conferences open to staff and research students.

Training opportunities

Information technology services - core computer skills and also specialist training, such as Finding and Using Library Special Collections Material and use of quantitative data analysis software.
Staff development service - Personal effectiveness, working with people, business skills.
English language unit - English and study skills.
Learning and teaching centre - compulsory training for Graduate Teaching Assistants and also a more in-depth training course, 'Approaches to Teaching, Learning and Assessment', useful for students considering an academic career.
Researcher development - personal development planning, effective research skills, business skills.
Research skills and professional development - a single website for research students to find out about college-based and university-wide training initiatives, resources and courses which develop their generic research and employability skills, and support their professional development.
Careers service - one-to-one guidance interviews, careers workshops, practice job interviews with recruitment experts, networking opportunities with a variety of potential employers.
Student employability - access to a range of resources designed to help students get the most out of their University careers and to give them the best possible head-start when they enter (or re-enter) the job market.

A PhD in Economics offers a number of different sources of training:

Economics MSc and MRes (Level 5) courses - Economics PhD students may be able to attend relevant Economics MSc and MRes courses.
Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics (SGPE) - as an Economics PhD student you may be able to become an affiliate of the SGPE who provide a number of training opportunities.
Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE) - occasionally SIRE runs PhD classes which are typically advertised by the SGPE. It also runs workshops and conferences.
In addition to the above possibilities, our economics subject area also regularly offers intensive courses or workshops in different areas of economics and finance, such as courses in Matlab, Panel Data and other topics in Microeconometrics, and topics in Finance. These are typically offered on a 2-year cycle.

Graduate School

The College of Social Sciences Graduate School draws together internationally recognised scholars and respected practitioners to offer a range of research programmes.

Our programmes are based on thorough training in research methods and we encourage you to take part in numerous exciting seminars, conferences and events. We offer modern library, IT services and a wide-range of support services. You will be living in one of Europe’s most exciting cities which has a vibrant cultural and social life.

Our Graduate School Researcher Development Programme will support you to plan your professional development over the course of your PhD and ensure your employability.

For more information get in touch with us at socsci-gradschool@glasgow.ac.uk.

Our PhD students

List of our PhD students

Career prospects

Recent PhD graduates of the University of Glasgow have secured employment at universities and central banks in the UK and other countries. Examples include:

University placements in the UK

Bournemouth
Dundee
Durham
Lancaster
Kent
Nottingham

University placements outside the UK

American University in Bulgaria
University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands)
University of Bari (Italy)
Catholic University in La Paz (Bolivia)
University of Napoli (Italy)
Quaid-i-Azam University (Pakistan)
Shandong University (China)

Central Banks

Deutsche Bundesbank (Germany)
Central Bank of Ireland
Reserve Bank of Malawi

How to apply

Identify potential supervisors

All Postgraduate Research Students are allocated a supervisor who will act as the main source of academic support and research mentoring. You may want to identify a potential supervisor and contact them to discuss your research proposal before you apply. Please note, even if you have spoken to an academic staff member about your proposal you still need to submit an online application form.

You can find relevant academic staff members with our staff research interests search.

Also see our Research Clusters & members:

Gather your documents

Before applying please make sure you gather the following supporting documentation:

Final or current degree transcripts including grades (and an official translation, if needed) – scanned copy in colour of the original document.
Degree certificates (and an official translation, if needed): scanned copy in colour of the original document.
Two references on headed paper and signed by the referee. One must be academic, the other can be academic or professional. References may be uploaded as part of the application form or you may enter your referees contact details on the application form. We will then email your referee and notify you when we receive the reference. We can also accept confidential references direct to pg-research-admissions@glasgow.ac.uk, from the referee’s university or business email account.
CV
Name of potential supervisor
Research proposal. Candidates are required to provide a single page outline of the research subject proposed (approximately 1000 words). This need not be a final thesis proposal but should include:
- a straightforward, descriptive, and informative title
- the question that your research will address
- an account of why this question is important and worth investigating
- an assessment of how your own research will engage with recent study in the subject
- a brief account of the methodology and approach you will take
- a discussion of the primary sources that your research will draw upon, including printed books, manuscripts, archives, libraries, or museums
- an indicative bibliography of secondary sources that you have already consulted and/or are planning to consult