Center for Economic Research & Graduate Education - Economics Institute

Program Outline

The overview of the CERGE-EI MA/Ph.D. program is divided into following sections:

The Preparatory Semester

Before the start of each academic year, candidates for the MA/Ph.D. program at CERGE-EI attend a summer Preparatory Semester, during which they receive intensive training in intermediate Micro- and Macro-economics, Mathematics, and take an English exam. This is in view of the fact that a) many applicants do not have a background in modern economics equivalent to “western” standards and b) their knowledge of mathematics and English are frequently at different levels. The Preparatory Semester thus allows CERGE-EI to provide future students with a common background on which to build their graduate study.

Candidates must exhibit satisfactory performance in the Preparatory Semester in order to be admitted to the program. Along with providing an education in basic modern Economics, the Preparatory Semester serves as a selection process for the MA/Ph.D. program. Typically about 60 students attend the Preparatory Semester and about 30 students are offered admission to the MA/Ph.D. program in the fall.

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Core Study: The First and Second Years

First Year

There are three semesters of study in the first year at CERGE-EI: Fall, Spring, and Summer. In this first year, students follow a common curriculum designed to provide a strong foundation in the following areas:

  • Microecnomics
  • Macroeconomics
  • Statistics
  • Econometrics
  • English Academic Writing

Second Year

The second year of study at CERGE-EI provides students with the opportunity to investigate more specific fields of interest. Several two-semester sequences of courses are offered each year, and second-year students must enroll in at least three courses each semester. The courses offered in any given year cover several of the following areas:

  • Advanced Macroeconomics
  • Advanced Econometrics
  • Urban Economics and Public Economics
  • Money and Banking
  • Industrial Organization
  • Labor Economics
  • International Trade and International Finance
  • Economic Development
  • Economics of Transition
  • Political Economy and Public Choice, European Integration
  • Financial Markets

In addition to these courses, all second-year students must enroll in Combined Skills, an Academic Skills Center, two-stage course and the Research Methodology Seminar during the second year.

Final examinations

During the first two years of study, students must take final examinations after each semester and General Exams at the end of the academic year. Passing General Exams is required for continued study in the program (one make up is allowed for each exam).

M.A. degree

Students who successfully complete the first and second year coursework and pass the General Exams with grades "MA Pass" or "PhD Pass" are granted a Master of Arts degree which is chartered by the New York State Board of Regents.

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Specialized Study (PhD Students Only) : Dissertation Research and Preparation

In the Fall semester of the third year, the student is required to submit and present a Dissertation Proposal, which is evaluated by a faculty committee. The student should choose a tentative Dissertation Chair during this process, subject to approval by the evaluation committee. After the successful defense of the proposal, students select the remaining members of the Dissertation Committee. This committee guides and supervises the student's research work. At least one member of the dissertation committee must be affiliated on a long-term basis with CERGE-EI. In the Spring of the fourth year of study the student is required to submit her or his current written dissertation work completed and present the contents. This presentation is also evaluated by a faculty committee.

CERGE-EI provides partial funding of student “mobilities” on a competitive basis. Students also have many opportunities to secure funding from other sources to be able to do research at another university.

In addition, students at CERGE-EI in the dissertation writing stage work as Teaching or Research Assistants. These graduate students work under close faculty supervision in order to develop their teaching skills, acquire practical teaching and research experience, and develop their professional research skills.

A student’s Dissertation Committee recommends the defense of the completed dissertation. Two external opponents are nominated who certify that the dissertation meets standards for doctoral work and can be defended. Based on the recommendations of the opponents the student works with his or her committee to revise the dissertation for public defense. Defenses are open events attended by any member of the Charles University faculty who desires to come. The formal approval of the dissertation rests with a defense committee composed of local and external faculty. After the student successfully passes the general exams and defends the dissertation, the Director of CERGE-EI, with the approval of the Graduation Council, proposes to the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences that the student be awarded a doctoral degree.

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Student Mobilities

In addition to studying in Prague, CERGE-EI helps students whose academic careers would benefit from studying at another institution may to visit an appropriate university in the United States or Western Europe. Students who go on mobility benefit not only from the advice and knowledge they receive from the faculty members of the host universities but also from the general experience of living and studying at a western university.

In the last few years, CERGE-EI students have gone on mobilities to the following institutions (among others):

North America

Europe

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