Graduate Admissions Webinars: PhD program in Economics

© Joanna Malinowska freestocks.org

Graduate admission webinar was opened by Mrs. Oxana P. Budjko, Head of the International Office at the Faculty of Economic Sciences, who started by welcoming and greeting all online participants from West Africa, Pakistan, and other parts of the world. 

Presenters for the webinar were: Associate Professor Olga Demidova, Academic Director of the HSE Doctoral School of Economics in 10.2014 - 11.2022 and Ms. Milica Simonovich, a third year doctoral student, HSE Doctoral School of Economics

Associate Professor Olga Demidova, Academic Director of the HSE Doctoral School of Economics in 10.2014 - 11.2022

I'd like to greet you all and wish you luck in the application process to the HSE University Doctoral School in economics.

You need to be aware of the important timeline. For international students, there is an application deadline of March 1, 2023 and a period of final decision. International students do not have any exams. Their admission consideration is based on their academic credentials, so it is necessary to develop a strong portfolio.

Second important step towards enrollment is to find an academic supervisor before your application is due. If one doesn't have an academic supervisor, this applicant has rather low chances of admission. Hence it is preferable for you to find an academic supervisor and learn about the research projects available.

Next 

You can send an email to any of the professors whose research interests align with yours. To obtain professors emails please email to the head of International Office Oxana P. Budjko

If you feel unsure how to find a supervisor or feel like you are missing important courses or academc training, it makes sense to start from our two-year Master's program. The program, along with required  courses, will provide you with the opportunity to be supervised by an academic supervisor and will engage you in a variety of research activities, providing you with the necessary research skills upon completion.

List of academic supervisors  

List of all Research Centers and Labs

List of available projects at the Faculty of Economic Sciences 2022

List of all Research Projects at HSE

The Doctoral School in Economics offers training in the following fields: Economic Theory; Mathematical, Statistical and Instrumental Methods of Economics; Regional and Sectoral Economy; Finance; The World Economy. Traditionally the most popular academic areas for international applicants are Finance and The World economy. 

The term of our PhD program is three to four years. During your first year you will have Economic theory, Econometrics, and two obligatory courses. You must select your dissertation topic within the first year.  In the second year, it's necessary to choose two elective courses, a research seminar and pass the qualification exam. Additional requirements include two published papers. You also attend seminars and conferences and have your teaching practice.

Milica Simonovich, a third year doctoral student, HSE Doctoral School of Economics

I am from Belgrade, Serbia, and I am currently in my third year of the HSE PhD . I started applying to HSE' Doctoral program in Moscow at the end of 2019. I completed my bachelor's and master's degrees in economics at the Faculty of Economics, Belgrade University. I was also an exchange student at RANEPA University in Saint Petersburg during my master's studies. Following that, I decided to pursue my PhD in Russia. And, of course, when discussing Russia, the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the HSE University must be taken into account. My main consideration during my application was to choose a topic that was as interesting, important, and recent as possible. As Professor Demidova previously stated, a strong portfolio is critical in the application process. That is, your bachelor's and master's diplomas must be accompanied by a good research proposal.

I believe it is essential to include any published works, articles, or conferences where you have presented, as well as any awards. Having professors' recommendations also helps. I had a couple of interviews with my professor during my application, but there were no entrance exams. After my first interview, we had several interviews about my future research work and what I wanted to do. The entire process was completed in May, and I received an email from HSE informing me that I would be one of their PhD students. I didn't believe it at first because HSE is a highly esteemed university in Russia, it was fantastic news for me. I remember receiving this news two days after my birthday, and I was really excited. 

Next 

We started writing our research proposals in the first year, and for me, this was a very difficult moment. I am now in my third year. We also had five exams. We had philosophy, and English, which is similar to Academic writing, Econometrics exams. This is likely one of the most important exams. We also took economic theory exams, which were divided into two parts: micro and macro. If you majored in economics, macroeconomics at the bachelor's or master's degree level, but not more complicated.

We wrote a bibliometrics exam, which I believe everyone can pass. This is also critical for future research, and we had research seminars and workshops with Professor Olga as part of that. We are required to publish articles, and I believe that getting your research published and accepted by a highly ranked journal is one of the most difficult parts. 

We should also attend research seminar with a professor. I took part in a program that involved corporate finance, real estate and corporate investments.

I also helped to organize lectures by a consultant from E&Y and also my duty was to to help students if they had questions and to help them whenever they need it.

I also had pedagogy exams and two elective exams. In this case, it was behavioral economics and international finance. I chose something related to my field of study; I'm a finance student, so I chose these exams.

The final exam is like a qualification exam. It's the sum of everything you learned over the previous two years, so it consists of five questions. Questions are from microeconomics, macroeconomics, or econometrics and are related to your research work. One question is also related to your area of expertise.

As a third-year student you must have at least two published articles, preferably three.

 

It is highly advisable to write a good research proposal that goes along with one of the projects that are running at the HSE university in order to increase your chances for admission. A good research proposal will include the following parts: a rationale and relevance of the research, the purpose of the research, key research issues, a summary of the main research papers published in the field, the main hypotheses to be tested, and/or a model. structure, description of the methodology used in the study, and bibliography

For example, you should explain in detail the methodology and data sources. Why it is important to solve this problem. Since you may be not the first to do research in your chosen field, it is necessary to demonstrate that you know the literature. In addition, you must be able to justify how you intend to fill the gaps and demonstrate a possible link to the existing academic literature in your field of study.

If you write good research proposals, you will be able to build a strong portfolio and have a good chance to be favorably considered for admission to the PhD program.

Admission with full funding starts 1 February and ends 1 March, 2023
Eligibiliity: International and stateletss applicants holding a Master’s degree  
Application Term:  February 1 - March 1,  2023 
Complete your online application: 
1. CV 
2. Motivation letter
3. Letters of recommendation (up to 2)
4. Research papers, if any
5. Reearch proposal 
6. Recommendation letter of your prospective academic supervisor from HSE based on your reserach proposal (by email) 
7. Valid language proficiency certificate (English, French or German) 
(Can be submitted in Russian or English).

More details are available here. Documents that you will need to apply are listed here

Apply online 1 Feb - 1 Mar 2023

The aim of the Doctoral School of Economics is to prepare future researchers and faculty who are able to ensure a high level of economic research and economic education in Russia and globally, as well as to ensure further integration into the global economic research community.

While in training, doctoral students have the opportunity to:
- take modern courses on economics, finance, and economic research methods
- use HSE’s wealth of library resources and databases
- take part in research projects at HSE
- participate in numerous research seminars and conferences in Russia and internationally
- prepare and defend a dissertation for a Candidate of Economic Sciences degree

High academic standards for the Doctoral School of Economics give its graduates an excellent starting position in the labour market, as well as open up opportunities for future academic growth and fruitful professional dialogue with colleagues both in Russia and abroad. 

In the library at Pokrovka Campus

Milica Simonovic, from Belgrade, Serbia, a doctoral student at the HSE University Faculty of Economic Sciences

Zaruhi Hakobyan, from Armenia, about her experience at HSE University master's program and Ph.D. Program

Muddassar Malik, Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) candidate in Economics and Business Administration at the University of Turku, Finland

Kerlyns Martínez, a Ph.D. Student in Mathematics from the Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile