The Naples Ph.D. in Economics is a 4-year program offered by the Department of Economics and Statistics (DISES) of the University of Naples Federico II that aims to produce high quality researchers with strong analytical skills and international exposure. In 2020 five students have been admitted to the program. Four of them have been offered scholarships (one of which reserved for non -italian students).

The first 2 years are devoted to course work, and the last 2 to dissertation work. Each course is followed by an exam, and good performance in each year's exams is a pre-requisite for admission to the subsequent year. The program is structured as follows: 

Year-1 is devoted to developing a strong foundation in quantitative methods and in economics, via advanced courses in mathematics, statistics, microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics. The course schedule from October to April is divided in 5 terms of 5 weeks each, followed by exams. In June, students will produce a term paper and attend short field courses taught by international visitors.

Year 2 comprises:

• a semester of study in a non-Italian host university, including Harvard, Indiana, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Montreal and Stanford in America, Essex and UCL in Great Britain, and Amsterdam, Bielefeld, EHESS, Essex, Nova, Louvain, Mannheim, Paris 1, and UPF in Europe. The allocation of students across these universities will depend on their year-1 performance and research interests, as well as on approval by the host university;
• a semester of field courses and reading seminars to help students identify their field(s) of interest and potential advisors.

The last two years will be devoted to thesis writing under the supervision of faculty members, possibly in collaboration with an external advisor. By the beginning of year 3, each student will submit a "thesis proposal", which should include a first complete draft of a research paper. 

Besides doctoral work, students will provide part-time assistance in research projects and/or teaching activities. This is meant to be an integral part of their training, as it will help them hone their teaching and research skills.

Faculty: The diversity of research areas covered by the faculty allows students to write their thesis in several fields of economics and finance.  Doctoral students are exposed to a vibrant research environment, by participating to the weekly seminars organized by CSEF, and interacting with its Research Fellows as well as the international visitors frequently present at CSEF.

For further information about the Ph.D. program structure, please consult the NSE website: www.nse-unina.it