To be admitted to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) a candidate presents a thesis on the advanced study. The thesis must contain original work and material which is deemed worthy of publication. The candidate also presents the work in an oral examination.

Word Limit

The department sets an upper word limit for a PhD thesis of 50,000 words. This limit is lower than the recommended length for thesis in the Social Sciences, because of the more technical nature of much research in economics, and because most economics research is published in the form of journal articles, not books. The limit is strict, and includes Tables, Figures, Appendices and Bibliography. There is no lower limit. The recommended length for a thesis which does not contain much peripheral relevant material is 30,000 words.

Format and Structure

In line with the leading economics departments in the world, we view the PhD thesis as a preparation for academic life, and believe that the format and structure of the thesis should reflect this: nowadays, practically all research in economics, unlike in other social sciences, is disseminated in the form of articles. So many thesis in Leicester will take the form of "three chapters on...", which can be read independently of one another. Also to reflect the practice in the economics profession, it is normal for theses to contain joint work, often with other PhD students or with academic staff, including, of course, the research student's supervisors. Many of our research students have chapters of their PhD published as papers in international refereed journals.

To be admitted to the degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) a candidate also needs to present a thesis and attend an oral examination. The thesis for an MPhil should not normally exceed 50,000 words, and has lower originality content than a PhD.

Research Degree Supervision Arrangements