Student Directory
PhD Program Structure and Curriculum
Requirements for the doctoral degree have been developed by the Ford School and the Departments of Economics, Political Science, and Sociology. Departmental requirements vary so we encourage you to read the program descriptions carefully.
• PhD in Public Policy and Economics
• PhD in Public Policy and Political Science
• PhD in Public Policy and Sociology
Public Policy Requirements
Policy Seminar
Research Internship
Required Ford School Classes
Policy Specialization
Third-Year Paper
Thesis
Departmental Requirements
Economics
Political Science
Sociology
First and second year students at the Ford School attend a biweekly seminar series offered for 1 credit. This biweekly seminar is intended to introduce students to applied policy research early in their doctoral career. The seminar series consists of 6-8 presentations per term of applied policy research (e.g. K-12 education policy or international trade policy) papers. Both domestic and international policy issues will be addressed. Students will have the opportunity to serve as presenters or respondents in the seminar series in their third, fourth, and fifth year in the program.
Students must complete a research internship by the end of their second year in the program. This requirement can be satisfied through a paid summer internship with a faculty member, through a research assistantship, or by collaborating on a paper with a faculty member. The internship, like the biweekly seminar, is designed to involve students in the research process early in the doctoral program.
Students typically begin taking non-departmental required policy courses in their second year. Students are required to take a microeconomics course (either in the Ford School or the Economics department), at least one doctoral course on policy institutions, a program evaluation course, and a course that covers qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. The course on methods of data collection may be satisfied by a Ford School course, the Sociology research practicum, or Economics 675.
Students must choose a substantive policy specialization area and take two courses in this area. Courses may be taken in the Ford School, in the home department, or elsewhere in the University. At least one of these courses must be taken outside the home department.
To help students make the transition from coursework to research, the Ford School requires students to write a third year original research paper on a policy-related topic under the supervision of one or two faculty supervisors.
Students are required to write a dissertation on a policy-related topic under the supervision of Ford School and departmental faculty. In many cases, the thesis will grow out of the third-year paper.
Departmental Requirements
Students in the Joint Economics and Public Policy Program take mathematics (Economics 600), the microeconomics sequence (601-604), the macroeconomics sequence (605, 607), the econometrics sequence (671, 672), and one two-course field sequence. Fields include: advanced theory, econometric theory, health economics, industrial organization, international economics, labor economics, monetary theory and economic stabilization, population economics, public finance, and comparative economic development. Students must take and pass three preliminary examinations: one in microeconomics, one in macroeconomics, and a field examination.
For more information about graduate offerings in Economics, please contact the department at (734) 764-2355 or visit the Department of Economics Website.
Years 1 and 2 in the program are devoted to taking courses and preliminary examinations. The typical first year student takes mathematics, microeconomics, the first semester of macroeconomics, econometrics, and the policy seminar. At the end of year 1, students take a preliminary examination in microeconomics. In year 2, students take their field courses in Economics, begin their required policy courses, and take preliminary examinations in macroeconomics and in their chosen field in Economics. In year 3, students finish up the course requirements and write an original policy research paper for their third-year paper requirement. In years 4 and 5, the students complete a dissertation under the supervision of Ford School and Economics Department faculty.
Students in the Joint Political Science and Public Policy Ph.D. program are required to take 5 courses in a major field and 3 courses in a minor field, to complete the departmental statistics sequence (Political Science 599, 699), and to pass a major preliminary exam. The major preliminary exam and the second minor must be in fields other than public policy. Fields include political theory, American politics, law and politics, comparative politics, world politics, and methods of political analysis. Since many new research directions in Political Science do not fall neatly within these six broad fields, students are allowed to develop fields that combine elements of several areas and sit for examinations in those fields. In recent years, subfields that been created include: political economy, organizational theory, political development and urban politics, and race, ethnicity, and politics.
For more information about graduate offerings in Political Science, please contact the department at (734) 764-6313 or visit the Department of Political Science Website.
Typical first-year students take Political Science courses in their major and minor fields, the political science statistics sequence, and the policy seminar. In year 2, students begin taking their required policy courses and finish up their courses for the political science major and minor fields. Students usually take the political science major preliminary examination by the end of year 2. In year 3, students finish up their required courses and write an original research paper for their third-year paper requirement. In years 4 and 5, students complete a dissertation under the supervision of Ford School and Political Science faculty.
Students in the Joint Sociology and Public Policy Ph.D. Program must take Sociology 505-506 (Theories and Practice of Sociology), Sociology 507 (Logic and Strategies of Sociological Research Inquiry), the statistics sequence (510, 610), a research practicum (Detroit Area Study) or Qualitative Research Methods or Comparative and Historical), four elective courses; and must pass a preliminary exam in one program area. Program areas include: power, history and social change, social psychology, culture and knowledge, sociology of the life course, economic sociology and organizations, health and aging, social demography, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity.
For more information about Sociology offerings, please contact the department at (734) 764-6324 or visit the Department of Sociology Website.
The typical first-year student takes Theories and Practice of Sociology, Logic and Strategies of Sociological Inquiry, the Sociology Statistics sequence, field courses in Sociology, and the Policy Seminar. In the second year, students begin taking required policy courses, and start their Sociology research practicum. Students typically take a written field examination in Sociology in the fall of their second or third year. In the third year, students finish up course requirements and write an original research paper for their third-year paper requirement. These papers may grow out of the final paper for the Sociology research practicum. In their final two years, students complete a dissertation under the supervision of Ford School and Sociology faculty.
NOTE: Students applying to Sociology must designate a program area at the time they apply (this can be changed after enrollment).
