department handbook research students 2016/17 · progression panels, examiners of research degrees,...

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Department Handbook

Research Students 2016/17

Department of Economics & Related Studies

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Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3

The purpose of this handbook ................................................................................................. 3

The York Graduate Research School (YGRS) ........................................................................ 3

University Policy on Research Degrees .................................................................................. 3

Where to go for more information ............................................................................................ 4

Your department ....................................................................................................................... 5

Welcome to the Department of Economics & Related Studies ................................................ 5

Introduction to the department ................................................................................................ 6

Postgraduate Administrative Team ......................................................................................... 8

Academic Staff contacts .......................................................................................................... 8

Communicating with the department ....................................................................................... 9

Departmental facilities ............................................................................................................. 9

Health, safety and security .................................................................................................... 10

Psychological and mental health support .............................................................................. 11

Governance and committees ................................................................................................ 12

Student representation .......................................................................................................... 12

Student evaluation and feedback .......................................................................................... 13

Accessibility and disability support ........................................................................................ 14

Equality and diversity ............................................................................................................ 14

Your research degree ............................................................................................................. 15

Departmental programmes ................................................................................................... 15

Programme aims................................................................................................................... 15

Research integrity ................................................................................................................. 17

Research Integrity Tutorial .................................................................................................... 17

Ethics .................................................................................................................................... 18

Academic misconduct ........................................................................................................... 19

Academic progression ........................................................................................................... 20

Your supervisor ..................................................................................................................... 20

Thesis Advisory Panel .......................................................................................................... 23

Formal reviews of progress for PhD and MPhil students ....................................................... 23

Key milestones for your research degree ............................................................................ 29

Cohorts of students starting in the academic year 2016-17 or later ....................................... 29

Programme structure ......................................................................................................... 29

Cohorts of students who started in the academic year 2015-16 and earlier............................. 1

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Programme structure PhD ................................................................................................... 1

First year (and part-time equivalent) milestones PhD and MPhil milestones ........................... 1

Cohorts of students who started in the academic year 2015-16 or earlier ............................... 1

Researcher training and development .................................................................................... 3

Becoming an Effective Researcher Tutorial ............................................................................ 3

Research training modules/courses ........................................................................................ 3

Other departmental training .................................................................................................. 18

Research Excellence Training Team (RETT) ........................................................................ 18

Library Research Support Team ........................................................................................... 18

Research Computing ............................................................................................................ 19

Departmental conferences/seminars/fora/publications .......................................................... 19

Publication of research ......................................................................................................... 20

Financial support for research ............................................................................................... 20

Your thesis .............................................................................................................................. 22

Thesis content and style ....................................................................................................... 22

Thesis submission ................................................................................................................ 25

Continuation period ............................................................................................................... 25

Thesis examination ............................................................................................................... 26

Change of plan? ..................................................................................................................... 28

Leave of absence.................................................................................................................. 28

Full-time/part-time ................................................................................................................. 28

Change programmes ............................................................................................................ 29

Extension .............................................................................................................................. 29

Withdrawal ............................................................................................................................ 30

Professional development and employability ...................................................................... 31

Teaching/demonstrating opportunities .................................................................................. 31

Public engagement ............................................................................................................... 32

Careers/employability ........................................................................................................... 32

Appeals and complaints ........................................................................................................ 33

Disclaimer ............................................................................................................................... 34

Glossary .................................................................................................................................. 35

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Introduction

The purpose of this Handbook

This Handbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the Department of Economics and

Related Studies (DERS) and information on all aspects of your studies and research. It is a

reference guide to help you and should be kept alongside the Graduate Research School

handbook. The Graduate Research School handbook can be downloaded at:

http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/

This Handbook and other useful information can be found on the departmental website at:

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/current-students/phd-students/. You are advised to check this

version periodically for any updates that might be made during the year. Please notice that the

details in this research Handbook apply to all students who started their PhD programme or

MPhil Programme in the academic year 2016-17 or later. For convenience we report the

research degree key milestones for both earlier and later cohorts; but for earlier cohorts please

refer to the Research Handbook 2015-16 for more details.

The York Graduate Research School (YGRS)

The York Graduate Research School exists to ensure research students receive the highest

quality supervision and training, and are treated consistently and fairly. The School coordinates

resources from across the University to help research students achieve successful outcomes.

The York Graduate Research School Board has oversight of all matters relating to research

students and leads the strategic development of this vitally important section of the University

community. The YGRS webpages http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/

are the main source of information for research students and research supervisors. The YGRS

newsletter provides additional updates. All registered research students should automatically

receive this.

University Policy on Research Degrees

The Policy on Research Degrees sets out University policy on research degree programmes for

research students, supervisors of research students, members of Thesis Advisory Panels and

Progression Panels, examiners of research degrees, and other University staff with

responsibility for research students. This document provides vital information for all those

concerned with research and it is recommended that all are familiar with it.

To read the University Policy on Research Degrees in full, visit:

https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/policies-documents/research-degree-

policy.


http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/current-students/phd-students/


https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/policies-documents/research-degree-policy/


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Where to go for more information

The Graduate Research School handbook provides information on central services and support,

including accommodation, finance, living in York and further information on Careers, the Library,

and other University services.


Useful information for PhD students in Economics can be found in


and in the VLE

https://www.york.ac.uk/students/




5

Your department

Welcome to the Department of Economics & Related Studies

As one of the largest economics departments in the UK we offer a great diversity of research

expertise and research-led teaching. The Department has been constantly ranked top 10 in the

UK and top 70 in the world. We are an innovative department that has made pioneering

contributions in areas such as health economics, econometrics, experimental economics,

economic theory, economic history and public economics. Our academic community of staff,

students and visitors is both intellectually vibrant and international in perspective. We aim to

deliver research excellence via contribution to discipline, research supervision and relevance to

the broader economy and society.

Our academic faculty are drawn from across the world and are research leaders in their fields.

We have a strong record of top quality research, with recent publications appearing in leading

journals such as Econometrica, Economic Journal, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of

Economic Theory, Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economics and Statistics, and so on.

Our research is funded by prestigious and highly competitive research bodies, and has a

significant and identifiable impact on wider society both in the UK and internationally.

Our research strategy is founded on six research clusters, Microeconomic Theory,

Macroeconomics and Finance, Econometrics, Applied Microeconometrics, Health Economics,

and Economic History, which promote, sustain and monitor research excellence and embrace

opportunities for external funding, as well as engagement with research users and impact.

Every year the Department organises high-calibre international conferences and has become a

research hub that has attracted both distinguished scholars and active young researchers,

where our PhD students get more opportunities to access cutting-edge research and present

their own papers.

We actively encourage, and expect our research students to participate in, and contribute to the

research environment of the Department as well as the wider academic community here at the

University of York. We consider this engagement crucial for you to maximise your own research

potential as well contributing to the vibrancy of the research experience for all our students. We

support our research students through their PhD via the PhD supervisor(s), TAP member(s) and

dedicated administrative support in the Department.

We wish you a very happy, intellectually challenging and successful period of research study

with us over the next few years.

Professor Jo Swaffield Dr Yuan Ju

Head of Department Chair, Department Research Committee

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Introduction to the department

You are now a member of the Department of Economics and Related Studies (DERS). The

Department consists of academic staff involved in teaching and research, support staff and

students.

Academic staff - may have the title Professor, Reader, Senior Lecturer, or Lecturer. They

are leaders in their fields and engaged in teaching and research. Most will supervise

research students and some also hold certain key administrative roles within the

Department.

Research staff - members of staff employed to conduct research projects within their

field of expertise. They may not be involved in teaching or supervision, instead

concentrating on their research projects.

Support staff – make the Department run smoothly. They communicate important information, provide technical assistance and help signpost you to other services and support you might need within the University.

Students – can be enrolled in undergraduate programmes (UG students), postgraduate

teaching programmes such as an MSc (PGT students), or postgraduate research

programmes, in particular the PhD programme in Economics. PhD students (also called

PGR students or research students) can decide to be involved in teaching and to

become a teaching scholar. PhD students who are teaching scholars are called

postgraduate students who teach (PGWT students).

All postgraduate programmes in DERS are organized by the Graduate School of Economics

one of the UK's top postgraduate education centres in economics and econometrics. Our staff

members are strongly committed to graduate work and you will be working in a friendly,

supportive, international environment.

The vast majority of a PhD student’s time is devoted to his or her personal research work, which is conducted in regular consultation with the student’s supervisor(s); but in the first two years a PhD student has also to take some taught PhD modules.

As well as pursuing your own studies, we are also keen that you should be involved in the

general research and teaching of the Department. There are two main weekly seminars:

the Department Seminar given by outside speakers on Wednesday afternoons; and

the Thursday Workshops which are usually given by internal speakers. PhD students are

strongly encouraged to attend these, and indeed a free buffet lunch is offered at the latter. For

more informal discussion and presentation of preliminary research, there are also the Research

Clusters. You should choose, in consultation with your supervisor(s), at least one of the

research clusters and become a student associate. You are expected to actively participate in

seminars and workshops organised by DERS and to play an active role in the Department

research clusters by participating in their meetings, seminars and workshops on a regular basis.

The Department has 6 main research clusters (1) Microeconomic Theory, (2)

Macroeconomics/Finance, (3) Econometrics, (4) Applied Microeconometrics, (5) Health

Economics and (6) Economic History. For each of these clusters details are available at

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/news-and-events/events/wednesday-seminars/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/news-and-events/events/thursday-workshops/



http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/research-clusters/micro/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/research-clusters/macrofin/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/research-clusters/econometrics/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/research-clusters/ame/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/research-clusters/health/


http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/research-clusters/cherry/


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One of the key aims of the clusters is to stimulate interaction between academics and PhD

students, and this can be through presentations by PhD students, round-table discussions, or

whatever format the cluster may choose. In addition, research students in York present their

work in the Research Student Workshop which is usually attended by the TAP and all research

students. Students are also expected to present their work in international conferences and

workshops. The department can offer financial support to students who present their work at

leading academic conferences around the world. Applications must be made well in advance to

the Director of Research Students using the form “Applying for financial assistance from the

Department”. This form can be found on the departmental website at:


Any PhD students can also apply to become a "Teaching Scholar" (previously called Teaching

Fellow). Many of our research students take up this opportunity – it adds to your CV and gives

access to training for teaching. Teaching Scholarships provide financial support towards the

completion of the degree in exchange for undertaking a limited amount of teaching in the

Department (for which Scholars will be trained). Scholarships may be held by Home, EU and

Overseas students. Vacancies for Teaching Scholarships are usually advertised internally. All

current and prospective PhD students whose PhD application has already been accepted are

informed about Teaching Scholarships by e-mail.

Students who are going to be in the job market are requested to approach our PhD Placement

Officer who can provide help and advice regarding the job search process, organize mock

interviews for you and put your CV on the departmental website for PhD job market candidates

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/jobmarket/

We encourage all PhD students to have their own webpage in the departmental website with

details of your biography, research, publications and teaching. For some examples, consult

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/our-people/phd-students/

As a PhD student in DERS you will be experiencing life in a major UK economics department,

located in a historic city with many tourist attractions. As a large Department, we can offer high-

quality PhD supervision and teaching across most fields of economics; the chance to hear

visiting speakers from important international universities and research institutes; and

opportunities to gain experience of undergraduate teaching. You will also obtain a PhD which

will give you a good chance of employment in major universities around the world and in

prestigious organisations such as central banks and the IMF.




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Postgraduate Administrative Team

Student Services Office– Room A/D/002

(Opening Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm during term time and 9:00am – 4:00pm

during vacation periods)

Postgraduate Administrator Katie Walton [email protected]

01904 323789

Assistant Postgraduate

Administrator

Jamie Stephenson 01904 323755

Assistant Postgraduate

Administrator (part-time)

Alex-Jane Hardstaff [email protected]

01904 323788

Room A/EC/023

Research Student

Administrator

Michael Shallcross [email protected]

For a full up to date list of the administrative team please see the department website:

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/our-people/support-staff/

Academic Staff contacts

The following members of staff are key contacts in the Graduate School in Economics and

Related Studies.

Role

Name Contact details

Director of Research

Students

Professor Cheti Nicoletti

[email protected]

Head of Department

Professor Joanna

Swaffield

[email protected]

Chair of the Graduate School

Board

Professor Subir

Chattopadhyay

[email protected]

Director of Teaching

Scholars

Dr. Andrew Picketing

[email protected]

PhD Placement Officer

Dr. Emma Tominey

[email protected]

A full list of academic staff contacts can be found on the Department website:

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/our-people/academic-staff/

mailto:[email protected]



http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/our-people/support-staff/






http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/our-people/academic-staff/

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Communicating with the department

Official communications to PhD students from the Department are usually sent by e-mail. PhD

students have a personal pigeon hole located in A/D/102. It is your responsibility to keep track

of your e-mail and check your pigeon hole regularly.

You can contact the Department either by sending e-mail or by visiting the Student Services

Office (see page 8 for contacts). When contacting the Department by e-mail you should include

your Student ID number in the e-mail subject line to help with electronic record management.

This Handbook and other useful information can be found on the departmental website at:

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/current-students/phd-students/. You are advised to check this

version periodically for any updates that might be made during the year.

Useful material on PhD modules is usually made available in the VLE


In the VLE you will find also other relevant information for PhD students.

Departmental facilities

PhD students who regularly work on campus are entitled to have a personal desk and

computer. Research students have a communal suite of rooms in Alcuin College in the first floor

over the Porter’s Lodge (behind Alcuin Bistro).

The Head of Alcuin College, Paola Zerilli, kindly allows PhD students in Economics to use the

Alcuin College Common Room as an area for coffee or lunch breaks. Please leave the Common

Room tidy and clean and avoid using it when there are official meetings of the Alcuin College

team.

DERS allows free printing for its research students. We monitor what and how much is printed

to ensure that this facility isn't abused. There is a York Print Plus device in the PhD area, and

others around campus, where you can print, photocopy and scan.

Two PhD students are responsible for the PhD student area, and they are called PhD Area

Managers. It is their responsibility to provide all new PhD students with an induction on the

student research area, and details on printing, computer use, etc. It is also their responsibility to

allocate desks to new PhD students and to make sure that the PhD area is kept clean and tidy.

If you have issues with the PhD area, please contact the Area Managers and if the issues

persist please contact the Postgraduate Administrator. For computer issues that the area

managers cannot help you with, please contact our Technical Services Manager.

For details on computing in DERS please see

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/resources/computing/

DERS has site licences or network licences for many software packages, including: EViews,

Microfit, Mathematica, Stata, Matlab, Gauss, Scientific Workplace, OxMetrics, Datastream,

CRSP and other finance oriented software. All this software is available to research students.



http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/resources/computing/

10

Full internet access and library databases are available via the campus network. For information

on software available please see

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/resources/computing/software/

For data collection (lab experiments), data management and computationally intensive task

please see also the services provided by the Research Centre for Social Science (see below).

For details on other training courses on software provided in York please visit

http://www.york.ac.uk/it-services/training/

https://wiki.york.ac.uk/display/RCTS/University+of+York+training+resources

Current research students in DERS are also encouraged to have their own departmental

webpage with details of your biography, research, publications and teaching. Please contact the

Postgraduate Administrator (Katie Walton) or Research Student Administrator (Michael

Shallcross) with details to include in your webpage

See for some examples http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/our-people/phd-students/

Research students in York benefit from excellent research infrastructure such as the computing facilities in the Research Centre for Social Science, https://www.york.ac.uk/social-science/ and close links to interdisciplinary research centres such as the Centre for Health Economics.

You can find details on central facilities (Library, IT rooms, etc.) in the Graduate Research

School handbook, http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/

Health, safety and security

In an emergency you can call campus security on 01904 32 (3333)

For information about the University’s Health, Safety and Security policy, visit:

www.york.ac.uk/admin/hsas/

If you have any queries or concerns about health and safety in DERS please contact the

Departmental Safety Officer (DSO): Paul Hodgson ([email protected], ext 3760).

The Health, Safety and Welfare Department has introduced on-line accident/incident reporting

to speed up communication and to ensure that all necessary people are promptly informed if an

incident occurs, this must be completed for any incident or near miss.

https://www.york.ac.uk/univ/mis/cfm/accidents/

Health and Safety is a very important part of your working environment. In DERS we endeavour

to do all that is possible to help you in this respect. However, there is a duty of care for all staff

and students, which means it is important to complete any training and assessments in an

accurate and timely manner so that we can act quickly to resolve any issues.

It is also the responsibility of every member of DERS, staff and students alike, to ensure that

your actions do not endanger the health and safety of yourself or others. Carelessness, like

leaving a chair, bag or books in a corridor or chaining a bicycle so as to obstruct a pedestrian

way, may seem trivial but can lead to a serious accident. We reserve the right to remove without

notice any object, which, in our opinion, is causing a real or potential safety hazard. No liability

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/resources/computing/software/







http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hsas/

https://www.york.ac.uk/univ/mis/cfm/accidents/

11

will be accepted by the University or any of its members for any damage or loss, direct or

consequential, which may be caused as a result of such a removal.

Electrical Equipment

All Department equipment is regularly checked and should be in accordance with the relevant

Health and Safety at Work legislation. If you look on any piece of electrical equipment within

DERS, you should see a sticker that says that it has been electrically tested and when it needs

to be tested next. This is a ‘PAT’ (Portable Appliance Test) certificate. You should not use

equipment after the date on the sticker. No one should use such equipment until it has been re-

checked. If you find an out-of-date sticker, report it to the DSO as soon as possible.

Fire

If you hear the Fire Alarm you should make your way immediately to one of the fire assembly

points. Do not run, do not stop to pick up belongings, do not use a lift. If in doubt, in all

University buildings the location of the fire assembly point is displayed on notices in the

corridors.

Psychological and mental health support

The University team can help you through difficult stages and psychological issues. You can

contact the open door team. Have a look at details in

https://www.york.ac.uk/students/support/health/opendoor/index.html?utm_source=york&utm_m

edium=redirect&utm_campaign=%25252Fopendoor

https://www.york.ac.uk/students/support/student-support-hub/

If you prefer to have a confidential chat with somebody within DERS, you can contact Diane

Atkinson (room A/D/019; Tel: 01904 323753; Email: [email protected]). Diane will be

able to help you and she will keep any detail confidential.

https://www.york.ac.uk/students/support/health/opendoor/index.html?utm_source=york&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=/opendoor

https://www.york.ac.uk/students/support/health/opendoor/index.html?utm_source=york&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=/opendoor




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Governance and committees

Progress Committee/Panel

This comprises the Chair of the Graduate School Board, the Director of Research Students, the

Head of the Department and some other academic members of staff. The other members for

2016/17 are Professor Gulcin Ozkan, Professor Peter Simmons, and Professor Peter Smith.

The Progress Committee meets to discuss the progress of each first and second year research

student and to determine if a student can progress to the following year.

Graduate School Board

The Graduate School Board has overall responsibility for all postgraduate students including

teaching and learning, and quality assurance of all postgraduate programmes of study offered

by DERS. The Graduate Board of Studies meets once a term. Its membership includes all

department academic staff. Postgraduate teaching and research student representatives are

also invited to attend the meetings.

Graduate School of Economics

The Graduate School of Economics encompasses all postgraduate programmes including the

Phd Programme in Economics. It is headed by Professor Subir Chattopadhyay, the chair of the

Graduate School Board.

Staff/Research Student Forum

The Staff/Research Student Forum includes PhD student representatives, the Chair of the

Graduate School Board, the Director of Research Students and the Postgraduate Administrator.

It meets once a term to allow PhD student representatives to provide their feedback on the PhD

programme, to convey their views and interests of students to the Department and to report

potential issues.

Student representation

Research student representatives are elected by their peers to act as a two-way mechanism of

communication between the University and the student body they represent. They convey the

views and interests of students to the Department and within the Graduate Students’

Association (GSA). Academic representation is a partnership between students, through the

University of York Students’ Union (YUSU) and the GSA, and the Department. Together, we

aim to ensure that students play an essential role in monitoring, driving and developing the

quality of the academic experience. See for more details

http://www.yorkgsa.org/students/academic/postgraduate-departmental-course-reps/

The research students in the Department have their own representatives (also called Course

reps, PhD reps or PGR reps) on the main departmental committee that is concerned with

graduate affairs: the Graduate School Board. Also, there is a Staff/Research Student Forum

which meets once per term to discuss any issues of concern to research students. The main job

http://www.yorkgsa.org/students/academic/postgraduate-departmental-course-reps/

13

of the PhD student representatives is representing all PGR students in Economics and acting as

a communication channel between the students and the Department. The main obligations

include attending the Staff/Research Student Forum and Graduate School Board meetings.

Nominations for PhD reps is done by YUSU at the start of each academic year. Details can be

found on the YUSU website: http://www.yusu.org/representation/academic-reps

Several changes were introduced thanks to suggestions provided by our PhD reps. E.g. the

PhD modules programme have been revised and improved thanks to the feedback received

from our PhD reps

PhD reps are supported by the GSA, with dedicated support and training throughout the year

following the elections and initial training in the autumn term, which is coordinated jointly with

between the GSA and YUSU.

If you’d like to represent the views of your fellow students and have a say in how your course is

run, why not apply to be a course rep?

Visit: www.yorkgsa.org/site/academic/course-representatives.

Student evaluation and feedback

We take your views on your experience within the department and University very seriously.

This is an important part of the University’s programme of quality assurance and enhancement,

and in the appraisal of members of staff. As such, there are points during your degree where

you will be asked to give detailed feedback on your experiences as a student and researcher;

for example, a Review of Supervision is requested as part of each meeting of your Thesis

Advisory Panel. Your support of this process, by providing relevant and constructive feedback,

is critical in delivering the best possible research student journey, as well as in facilitating the

continued success of postgraduate research in York.

http://www.yusu.org/representation/academic-reps

http://www.yorkgsa.org/site/academic/course-representatives

14

Accessibility and disability support

Disability Services can provide support, advice and guidance for those with a diagnosed

disability, including: dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties; Asperger’s syndrome; visual

and hearing impairments and physical/medical impairments amongst others. All students with

disabilities, including research students, are encouraged to contact Disability Services to

discuss meeting your individual needs.

Please let the Department know as soon as possible if you have a disability and may require

any support. You can discuss this with your supervisor. Please note that even if you studied a

previous degree at York you will need to notify the Department’s disabilities representative

again of any disability when you enrol for a research programme, as your support needs for the

research degree are likely to be different than those for your taught degree.

Our departmental disability representative is Diane Atkinson, Tel: 01904 32 3753, Email:

[email protected], Office: A/D/019,

For further information, visit: www.york.ac.uk/students/support/disability

Equality and diversity

The University of York values the diversity of its students and staff and is committed to the

creation of a positive environment which is fair, welcoming and inclusive, and where everyone is

treated with dignity and respect.

Our departmental Equal Opportunities Officer is Sarah Maynard, Tel: 01904 32 3752, Email:

[email protected], Office: A/D/107.

For further information about the University’s equality and diversity policies, visit:

www.york.ac.uk/admin/eo.


http://www.york.ac.uk/students/support/disability


http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/eo

15

Your research degree

Departmental programmes

The most advanced research degree offered by DERS is the PhD in Economics and there are

two programmes leading to it:

The 3 year PhD programme in Economics, which is for students who already hold an

MSc in Economics.

The 1+3 programme in Economics, which is for students who do not hold an MSc in

Economics but have a Bachelor degree in Economics.

We also offer a less advanced MPhil programme, the standard length of which is two years;

this is usually suggested for PhD students who do not meet the progression requirements.

Programme aims

The PhD programme in Economics: The normal expectation is that a PhD student in

Economics passes the chosen PhD and MSc modules with an average of 60 or more in each of

the first two years and completes a PhD thesis in 3 years of ‘full-time’ enrolment. Over Years 1

and 2 together, you must take at least three 10-credit assessed modules and at least 20 out of

the cumulative total of 30 credits are to be done in the core modules for PhD students.

By the end of the first year, a student is usually expected to have completed a draft of one of

their three main chapters or to have carried out an equivalent amount of research work for more

than one chapter (or a proportional amount of work for theses with a different number of

chapters).

During the second year, the student continues to write his/her thesis and he/she is usually

expected to complete the draft of two of the three main chapters (or a proportional amount of

written work for a thesis with a different number of chapters).

The third year is devoted to the continuation of the thesis. For theses structured in three main

chapters plus introduction and conclusions, students are usually expected to have completed at

least a draft of the three main chapters by the end of the third year. For theses with a different

structure, students are expected to have completed a proportional amount of work. If required,

students may have an additional period of up to one year, called continuation period, to

complete and submit the thesis.

16

The 1+3 programme in Economics: The Year 0 requirement is to complete an MSc in

Economics (or another taught MSc programme in related topics) with an average exam mark of

at least 60 and a final MSc dissertation rated 60 or above. Years 1-3 have identical

requirements to Years 1-3 for the PhD programme.

The MPhil programme: The normal expectation is that an MPhil student in Economics passes

the chosen postgraduate modules with an average of 50 or more and completes an MPhil thesis

in two years of ‘full-time’ enrolment.

For a PhD degree, the University regulations state that the thesis must satisfy the examiners

and contain a substantial original contribution to knowledge or understanding. Moreover,

examiners at the viva must satisfy themselves that the candidate has demonstrated “the

creation and interpretation of new knowledge through original research or other advanced

scholarship, of a quality to satisfy peer review, extend the forefront of the discipline, and merit

publication”. The typical PhD thesis should contain a substantial amount of original material,

which means either developing new frameworks and extending them to old or new problems, or

extending existing approaches to new areas. The underlying philosophy which inspires the PhD

programme in York is that a PhD student should also demonstrate a sound knowledge of

economics as a whole - not just of his/her more or less narrowly defined field of expertise - as

well as have a command of research methods.

See for more details on requirements set by the University section 2 of the Policy on Research

Degrees, which is available at https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-

school/support/policies-documents/research-degree-policy/

The Graduate Research School handbook covers the QAA base descriptors, under Rules and

Responsibilities: What makes a research degree.

http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/policies-documents/




17

Research integrity

Researchers have an obligation to the research community, to the funders of research and to

society as a whole to conduct their research to the highest standards across the full research

process, from planning and conducting research through to recording, reporting and applying

the findings. This is known as ‘research integrity’. The University’s expectations are set out

online, at www.york.ac.uk/staff/ research/governance/research-integrity-and-ethics. These are:

● Code of practice on research integrity.

● Code of practice and principles for good ethical governance. Research ethics form a

subset of research integrity, focusing on the avoidance of harm within the conduct of

research. This Code sets out the University’s framework of ethical principles and

University requirements for formally reviewing and approving research which raises

ethical considerations. It includes a ‘Checklist of areas where ethical considerations

are likely to arise’.

It is important that you read these documents and ensure that you have a clear understanding

of the standards and practices expected of you. You are advised to talk through the implications

with your supervisor. Key elements include:

● ensuring that your research data and supporting records are accurate, complete and

retrievable, and stored securely, taking particular care in relation to any sensitive

information.

● taking responsibility, supported by your supervisor, for identifying any areas of your

research project which fall within the University’s ethical framework, and referring

them for University review and approval prior to commencing the activity.

Research Integrity Tutorial

The Research Integrity Tutorial (RIT) is a compulsory requirement for all postgraduate research

students and must be completed prior to your first TAP meeting. The RIT is tailored to the

specific needs of postgraduate research students and has been designed to familiarise you with

the principles, policies and procedures of research integrity and ethics at the University of York.

The tutorial is divided into three main sections each of which takes approx. 45 mins to complete

and is followed by a short section test. After completing all 3 section tests you will receive a

Research Integrity Certificate and your completion will be recorded in Skillsforge. The RIT will

provide you with practical information for your research here at York and will be highly valuable

in the development of your academic career.

The Research Integrity Tutorial is located in your Yorkshare VLE module list. If you have trouble

accessing the tutorial, email [email protected]. Please note that completion of the tutorial is

mandatory for all research students and completion is a requirement for progression.

For more information and details of further support for research integrity to build on the core

training provided by the tutorial: https://www.york.ac.uk/staff/research/governance/research-

integrity-and-ethics/training-and-support-for-research-integrity.

http://www.york.ac.uk/staff/research/governance/research-integrity-and-ethics


https://www.york.ac.uk/staff/research/governance/research-integrity-and-ethics/training-and-support-for-research-integrity/

https://www.york.ac.uk/staff/research/governance/research-integrity-and-ethics/training-and-support-for-research-integrity/

18

Ethics

All PhD students whose research might give rise to ethical concerns must obtain approval from

the appropriate ethics committee within the University of York. For details on procedures for

approval please contact our Department representative on the University’s ELMPS (Economics,

Law, Management, Politics and Sociology) Ethics Committee, Dr. Vanessa Smith

([email protected]).

If your research involves the collection of primary data (e.g. a collection of data through

interviewing, recording or filming of people, surveys and questionnaires, or the running of a

randomised control trial experiment involving individuals) you will have to apply for ethical

approval before beginning the data collection. More general ethical approval will be needed for

the following activities:

1. “Research or research related activity involving humans, including through

participation, observation and/or the collection/use of personal data (e.g. in relation to

lifestyle, housing, working environment, attitudes and preferences), including images

2. Human tissue and/or other material (e.g. fluid samples)

3. Animals

4. Potential or actual application of research findings to cause harm or infringe privacy

(e.g. surveillance, defence)

5. Sensitive information, materials, techniques or findings, particularly those which might

be subject to misuse in order to cause harm

6. Impact on and/or risk of damage to the environment (i.e. beyond that covered by

standard laboratory health and safety procedures)

7. Involvement of sponsors/participants/associates whose connections or interests might

impede or be perceived as impeding the impartiality of the research process from

design through to publication/exploitation

8. Involvement of sponsors/associates with a controversial ethical record

9. Risk of psychological or physical harm to the researcher (beyond standard laboratory

health and safety procedures)

10. Activities conducted overseas or in collaboration with overseas partners, in particular

countries with emerging economies, and countries/under regimes with a poor human

rights record or identified as dangerous by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.”1

For the University’s full code of practice and principles for good ethical governance, visit:

www.york.ac.uk/staff/research/governance/policies/ethics-code/

1 Source: “Code of practice and principles for good ethical governance. Appendix A: Checklist of areas

where ethical considerations are likely to arise”

https://www.york.ac.uk/media/staffhome/research/documents/researchgovernance/codeofethics

/Appendix%20A%20-

%20Checklist%20of%20areas%20where%20ethical%20considerations%20are%20likely%20to

%20arise.pdf


https://www.york.ac.uk/staff/research/governance/policies/ethics-code/

https://www.york.ac.uk/media/staffhome/research/documents/researchgovernance/codeofethics/Appendix%20A%20-%20Checklist%20of%20areas%20where%20ethical%20considerations%20are%20likely%20to%20arise.pdf




19

Academic misconduct

The University is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and any academic

misconduct is regarded as an extremely serious matter. It is your responsibility to be aware of

the University's guidelines, policies and procedures on misconduct and act with integrity. Further

information is available at http://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-admin/registry-

services/academic-misconduct.

http://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-admin/registry-services/academic-misconduct/

http://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-admin/registry-services/academic-misconduct/

20

Academic progression

Your supervisor

Supervisors play a fundamental role in supporting research students throughout their

programme. Your supervisor or supervisory team is responsible for helping you to manage your

research, as well as being your primary link to your department and the University. Your main

supervisor is your first point of contact for any issues that arise throughout your programme.

The relationship with the supervisor is likely to change at different stages of the thesis. The

frequency at which a research student sees his/her supervisor varies between students and

supervisors. Some supervisors like to see their students at regular intervals: for example, for

an hour every fortnight. Other supervisors will see students "on demand", when they have

some particular pieces of written work to show, or a problem needing advice. At different stages

of the thesis, the frequency of meeting is likely to vary widely.

It is important that both the student and supervisor are clear about the supervisory arrangement.

It is part of the supervisor's job to supervise and to meet regularly with his/her research

students. It is also important that students do not bury themselves away and remain out of

contact with the supervisor for prolonged periods. Even if there is no formal meeting, it should

be possible to send the supervisor e-mail messages keeping him or her up to date with

progress. Normally, students should expect to be able to meet with their supervisor within a

week of requesting an appointment and should expect to get reactions to work returned within a

fortnight of its delivery. (On the other hand, it is reasonable for your supervisor to set a limit to

the number of times he/she reads the same piece of work: there is no point in him/her re-

reading a chapter if it has undergone only minor variations since the last time it was read.)

In the case of joint supervision, it is essential that a clear division of responsibility and/or time is

agreed at the outset. The student should always be able to approach at least one of the

supervisors at any particular time.

Formal supervisory meetings, at which substantial discussion of, and feedback on, research

progress and plans takes place, are vital for ensuring that a student’s research project remains

on target and should be held at least twice a quarter for both full-time and part-time students

during the normal enrolment period. This requirement may only be temporarily waived by the

Graduate School Board where the student is absent on academic grounds and unable (e.g. due

to the fieldwork location) to participate in a supervisory meeting by alternative means, normally

video-conferencing. Formal supervisory meetings normally take place in person but where this

is not possible (e.g. due to a supervisor being on sabbatical) alternative means, preferably

video-conferencing, may be used.

Further rules on supervision and on research degrees are described in https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/policies-documents/research-degree-policy/



21

Formally, a summary checklist of the supervisors’ responsibilities are:

to give guidance about the nature of the research and the standard to be expected; to

advise about the planning of the research programme and about relevant literature and

sources; to direct the student to attend taught modules whenever necessary; to encourage

students to acquire and maintain familiarity with relevant developments in the subject; to

give advice about requisite techniques (including arranging for instruction where necessary),

and about the problem of plagiarism;

to maintain contact through regular supervisory sessions and seminars in accordance with

University and departmental policy and with arrangements previously agreed with the student

and to ensure that the TAP is constituted;

to be accessible to the student at other appropriate times when advice may be needed. All

members of staff use and look at their e-mail regularly. Students can always contact staff

members by e-mail, and are encouraged to do so (staff members can read their e-mail whilst

away from York);

to give detailed advice on the necessary completion rates of successive stages of the work so

that the whole may be submitted within the scheduled time;

to request written work as appropriate, and to return such work with constructive criticism and

in reasonable time;

to arrange, as appropriate, for the student to talk about his or her work to staff or graduate

seminars;

to ensure that the student is made aware of inadequacy of progress or of standards of work

below that expected;

to advise the Chair of the Graduate School Board and the student if, in his or her opinion, there

is significant likelihood of the student failing the degree for which he or she wishes to submit;

to submit regular reports on the student's progress to the Director of Research Students;

to write objective academic references as required.

In many cases the supervisor can see how the thesis will evolve and perhaps anticipate the main

results; however, the supervisor is certainly not expected to write the student's thesis for him/her.

In practice this means that usually the supervisor suggests the structure and methods to follow in

broad outline in the very early stages but it is up to the student to work out the details and then to

develop ideas for further directions in which to take the thesis. The supervisor will of course give

advice when possible, but research students are expected to do the bulk of the work themselves.

One misconception that should be dispelled is that in order to do a good job, the supervisor should

be an expert on the specific topic selected by the student. While it is clearly the case that the

supervisor should have good knowledge of the general area (e.g. macroeconomics), it is not very

likely that the supervisor will also have a very good knowledge of the specific topic in which a

student is writing his/her thesis. In particular, it should certainly be the case that by the time a

student has finished his/her thesis, he or she should be one of the “world's experts” on his or her

topic, and should therefore know more about it than his/her supervisor.

22

In order to evaluate whether your supervisor is devoting enough energy to your thesis, you must

keep in mind that the main supervisor receives 12 hours credit per year. This works out at 4 hours

per term. As with lectures and tutorials, preparation (i.e. the time it takes to read a supervisee’s

work before a meeting) and administration (i.e. the time it takes to organise TAP meetings, or to

write reference letters) are not included in the 4 hours. If you believe that your supervisor is

devoting substantially less than 4 hours per term to your work, then you should consider the

reasons why this is so, and consider whether actions should be taken.

The Department recommends that supervisory meetings be properly recorded. To minimise

bureaucracy, the record is usually a brief note of the date of the meeting, its length, and its content.

The online system for recording supervision meetings is Skillforge

(http://www.skillsforge.york.ac.uk/). The recording of meetings in Skillforge is especially important

in cases where the student progress is not satisfactory or when there is dissatisfaction about the

supervision process.

During a three-year period of research, it is very likely that your supervisor will go on research

leave for a term or more. When this happens, you will need to arrange with your supervisor for

supervision during his or her absence. This may take the form of another TAP member who is

familiar with your work becoming a temporary supervisor, or some specific schedule of meetings

with your supervisor. Even if your supervisor is away from York for some or all of his or her

research leave, you should still keep in contact (this should be easy with e-mail).

If, for whatever reason, you are away from York for any length of time, then you should try to

remain in contact with your supervisor, even if only to send e-mails to let him/her know of your

progress. Prolonged periods of absence from the University must be reported to the Postgraduate

Administrator.

If you have any personal problems you should feel free to contact your supervisor to discuss them.

Pastoral care is included in the supervisor’s duties. For psychological issues you can also have a

confidential chat with Diane Atkinson, (room A/D/019; Tel: 01904 323753; E-mail:

[email protected]).

Students should feel free to approach the members of their Thesis Advisory Panel (see section

below) with any worries about supervision. The Thesis Advisory Panel meetings will normally end

by giving the student the opportunity to talk further with the panel members other than the

supervisor. Sometimes problems may arise in the relationship between the student and the

supervisor, even if this occurs rarely. In such cases, both the student and the supervisor must not

let the situation worsen. They should contact the TAP members, the Head of Department, the

Chair of the Graduate School Board, or the Director of Research Students to solve their problems.

More information on supervision is available at: www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-

school/support/academic/supervision.

http://www.skillsforge.york.ac.uk/


http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/academic/supervision

http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/academic/supervision

23

Thesis Advisory Panel

Your Thesis Advisory Panel (TAP) consists of your supervisor(s) and at least one other member

of academic staff from your department. Full-time students meet with their TAP at least once

every six months. The purpose of the TAP meetings is to discuss your progress and training

needs and to give advice on the direction of your research and your professional development.

You and your TAP will document your meeting on the TAP meeting form, highlighting your

progress and any goals that you should be working towards for the next meeting. The record of

your TAP meeting will be kept on Skillsforge and must be signed by you and your TAP

members.

Before a TAP meeting students must fill Sections 1-3 of the Meeting of Thesis Advisory Panel

(TAP) form and send it together with the written chapter(s) to the TAP members at least 10

working days in advance. After the first year, PhD students should also send a timetable for

completion.

After each TAP meeting, students have to meet with one of the TAP members who is not a

supervisor and fill the Review of Supervision form.

More details on TAP and forms are available at:https://www.york.ac.uk/staff/supporting-

students/issues/academic/research/thesisadvisorypaneltapmeetings/

While your supervisor receives 12 hours credit for your supervision (7 if it is a joint supervision), the

TAP members receive 2 hours credit per year. This includes TAP meetings, and any preparatory

work, academic help, reference writing, as required, and so on.

For further information, and both TAP and supervision meeting forms, visit:

www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/academic/supervision.

Formal reviews of progress for PhD and MPhil students

Formal reviews of progress: overview

All PhD and MPhil students are subject to formal reviews of progress. The purpose of formal

reviews of progress is to ensure that you are making satisfactory progress with your research

project and other elements of your PhD or MPhil programme. A formal review of progress

should give you a clear sense of the progress you are making on your degree but the decision

of a progression committee does not serve as a prediction for the outcome of the final

examination.

Formal reviews of progress take place on an annual basis, in June-July of each year of

enrolment, for full-time PhD and MPhil students and on a biennial basis for part-time PhD and

MPhil students. Formal reviews of progress are not required for entry into a continuation period

(which is the additional period beyond the three PhD years that students can require for the

completion of their thesis). Formal reviews of progress are progression points: failure to meet

the relevant University progression criteria may lead to transfer onto a different programme or

termination of enrolment.

https://www.york.ac.uk/staff/supporting-students/issues/academic/research/thesisadvisorypaneltapmeetings/

https://www.york.ac.uk/staff/supporting-students/issues/academic/research/thesisadvisorypaneltapmeetings/

http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/academic/supervision/

24

Procedure for formal reviews of process

In a formal review of progress, you will be assessed against University progression criteria (see

below) which set out the threshold requirements for progression to the next year (or equivalent

period for part-time students).

The assessment is undertaken by a progression panel (also known within the Department as

Progress Committee), which is independent of your supervisor(s) to gain an external

perspective on the progress that you are making, and to ensure that your relationship with your

supervisor remains focused on your development as a researcher.

The Progress Committee comprises the Chair of the Graduate School Board, the Director of

Research Students, Head of the Department and other academic members of staff.

DERS determines what evidence (oral and/or written) its PhD and MPhil students should

provide to demonstrate that they have met the relevant University progression criteria (see

below for details). The evidence you provide is considered alongside your supervisor’s report on

your progress (TAP reports).

In the following we provide details on the progression criteria for PhD students in

Economics who started in September 2016 or later. For previous cohorts please refer to

the Research Student Handbook 2015/2016 and to the key milestones of your research

degree reported below. Please notice that these are minimum requirements for progression

and it is usually expected that students well exceed these requirements. E.g. by the end of the

first (second) year, a student is usually expected to have completed a draft of one (two) of their

three main chapters or to have carried out an equivalent amount of research work for more than

one chapter (or a proportional amount of work for theses with a different number of chapters).

University Progression criteria and student evidence for a first formal

review of progress

For progression into year 2 of a full-time PhD or MPhil programme (or equivalent stage of a

part-time PhD or MPhil programme), a student must demonstrate that they:

(a) can describe the direction their research is taking and the research questions it

addresses;

(b) have planned in a realistic fashion the second year (or equivalent) of their research,

indicating any risks and how these will be mitigated;

(c) have sufficient acquaintance with the relevant field of knowledge to place their research

into context;

(d) have sufficient proficiency in the relevant research methods, techniques and theoretical

approaches to move their research to the next stage;

(e) have undertaken all required training;

(f) have considered ethical issues (including data management) where applicable.

25

Departmental requirements for progression to the second PhD year:

1. A mark of 50 or more for each of the PhD and MSc advanced modules taken and an

average of 60 or more (see more below).

2. A report of at least 2,000 words, with details on research achievements during the first

year and a plan for the completion of the first chapter, which is deemed to be of high

enough quality and has to be submitted electronically as pdf to the Postgraduate Office

team by the end of April of the first year.

3. A satisfactory TAP (Thesis Advisory Panel) report, i.e. a report that confirms that the

PhD progression is satisfactory, the written work is of good quality and there are no

issues with training.

Departmental requirements for progression to the second MPhil year:

1. A mark of 40 or more for two of the PhD and MSc advanced modules taken and an

average of 50 or more in two modules.

2. A report of at least 2,000 words, with details on research achievements and a plan for

the completion of the MPhil, which is deemed to be of high enough quality and has to be

submitted electronically as pdf to the Postgraduate office team by the end of April of the

first year.

3. A satisfactory TAP report i.e. a report that confirms that the MPhil progression is

satisfactory, the written work is of good quality and there are no issues with training and

with the proposed time plan for completion of the MPhil.

University Progression criteria for a second formal review of progress

For progression into year 3 of a full-time PhD programme (or equivalent stage of a part-time

PhD programme), a student must demonstrate that they:

(a) can describe in detail the research questions their project will answer and how this will

lead to a substantial original contribution to knowledge or understanding;

(b) have planned in a realistic fashion the third year (or equivalent) of their research, based

on the expectation that the project will be completed and the thesis submitted on time,

indicating any risks and how these will be mitigated;

(c) have the ability to write up their research in an appropriate academic format for it to be

critically assessed by peer reviewers and examiners;

(d) have begun to acquire the wider background knowledge of their research field required

for the degree of PhD;

(e) can apply the relevant research methods, techniques and theoretical approaches

required to make an original contribution to knowledge or understanding;

(f) have undertaken all required training;

(g) have considered ethical issues (including data management) where applicable.

26

Departmental requirements for progression to the third PhD year:

1. A mark of 50 or more for each of the PhD and MSc advanced modules taken and an

average of at least 60 (see more details below).

2. Presentation of a workshop in the Research Student Workshops series or alternatively in

the Departmental Workshop or in one of the Research Cluster Seminars series by end of

May of the second year.

3. A draft of one chapter of the three main PhD chapters (or an equivalent amount of

written work for more than one chapter) which is deemed to be of high enough quality

and has to be submitted electronically as pdf to the Postgraduate office team by the end

of April of the second year.

4. A satisfactory TAP report i.e. a report that confirms that the PhD progression is

satisfactory, the written work is of good quality, and there are no issues with training and

with the proposed time plan for completion of the PhD thesis.

Details on PhD modules requirements

PhD students in Economics must take 30 credits of assessed PhD or MSc advanced modules

(not previously taken), usually 20 credits during the first year and 10 credits during the second

year. At least 20 out of the cumulative total of 30 credits are to be done in the core modules

(Mathematics for Economists, Microeconomic for Research, Macroeconomics for Research,

Applied Econometrics for Research and Asset Pricing). Students starting in January can take 10

credits during the first year and 20 credits during the second year.

Students have to get an average of 60 or more in the modules taken and a minimum mark of at

least 50 for each exam taken.

Students who fail to get an average mark of 60 in two 10-credit modules in the first year will not

meet the requirements for progression to the second year. Students who get an average of 60

in two 10-credit modules in the first year but with one exam under 50 will also fail to meet the

requirements for progression to the second year.

Second year students failing to get an average mark of 60 or more across the three 10-credit

modules taken during the first two years and an individual mark in each exam of at least 50 will

not meet the requirements for progression to the third PhD year.

First and second year students who fail to meet the requirements for progression because of

their marks in the taught credits can be re-assessed in those modules in August for a second

progression attempt.

Students who take all the three 10-credit modules in the first year and obtain an average mark

over 60 and a minimum mark of 50 in all three exams will not need to take any additional

module in the second year. Students who take the three 10-credit modules in their first year and

do not get an average of 60 will still meet the requirements for progression to the second year if

they have an average over two exams of 60 or more and both exams are marked 50 or more.

For the failed module excluded from the computation of the two-module average, the student

can decide either to re-sit the exam in August to get a mark over 50 and an average over the

three exams of 60 or more, or to register for that or a different module in the following year.

27

Progress review meeting

The progression panel (known within DERS as Progress Committee) will consider your

evidence and the TAP report at a research progress review meeting. Based on these elements,

the progression panel will make a decision as to whether you have met, exceeded or not met

the relevant University progression criteria as well as a recommendation regarding your

progression.

The decision about whether a student has met the relevant University progression criteria, and

the recommendation regarding progression, will be taken by the Progress Committee alone

(although TAP reports will feed into this process). If the Progress Committee identifies some

issues with the progression, then a sub-set of the committee of at least two individuals, normally

including the Chair (with the right to appoint a departmental expert in the field), will be

nominated to interview the PhD student and take a final decision on behalf of the Committee.

Progression panel decision and recommendation

If a progression panel decides that you have met or exceeded the relevant progression criteria

at the first attempt, they will recommend to the Standing Committee on Assessment (SCA),

which is responsible for approving progression decisions on behalf of Senate, that you progress

into the next year of your programme.

Second attempt at progression

If the progression panel decides that you have not met the relevant progression criteria at the

first attempt, you will be permitted a second attempt at progression within three months but the

panel may recommend that it would be in your best interests to transfer to an alternative

programme or to withdraw from the University. You will need to let your department know as

soon as possible if you wish to ignore a recommendation for transfer or withdrawal.

If you make a second attempt at progression but do not meet the relevant University

progression criteria at the second attempt, the progression panel will recommend that you are

transferred to an alternative programme or that your enrolment with the University is terminated.

If you make a second attempt at progression and do meet or exceed the relevant progression

criteria at the second attempt, the progression panel will recommend that you are progressed

but this does not alter the timing of the next formal review of progression (if applicable) or the

deadline for submission of the thesis.

See https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/policies-documents/research-

degree-policy/#progress for full details of the procedure to be followed for making a second

attempt at progression.

https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/policies-documents/research-degree-policy/#progress

https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/policies-documents/research-degree-policy/#progress

28

Exceptional circumstances

If you have any exceptional circumstances that may impact on a formal review of progress then

you should contact your supervisor as soon as possible to discuss your options.

29

Key milestones for your research degree

Cohorts of students starting in the academic year 2016-17 or later

Programme structure

PhD Programme Structure

For PhD Students who started their programme at the beginning of the academic year (End of

September- Beginning of October) the following deadlines apply. For PhD Students who started

in January all deadlines should be moved forward by 3 months. For both full- and part-time

students, TAP meetings are every 6-months and the deadlines are the 31st March and 15th

September of each year.

1st Year Full time/2nd Year Part time PhD Programme in Economics

31 March: Deadline for the first TAP meeting.

30 April: Deadline for submission of the PhD student’s report for assessment by the Progress

Committee.

End of June- Start of July: Period (after the exam results are known) in which the Progress

Committee will meet to take a decision on progression for each of the first year students. The

decision will be based on the progression requirements described earlier.

August: Reassessment period for students who have not met the progression requirements for

the taught modules.

15 September: Deadline for the second TAP meeting.

September-October: Period (after the resit exam results are known) in which the Progress

Committee will take a decision on second attempt of progression for students who failed the first

attempt.

2nd Year Full time/ 4th Year Part-time PhD Programme in Economics


30 April: Deadline to submit a complete draft of a thesis chapter for assessment by the

Progress Committee.

31 May: Deadline for Presentation of a workshop

End of June- Start of July: Period (after the exam results are known) in which the Research

Student Progress Committee will meet to take a decision on progression for each of the second

year students. The decision will be based on the progression requirements described earlier.

August: Resit period for exams if the progress requirement about modules grades is not met.


September-October: Period (after the resit exam results are known) in which the Research

Student Progress Committee will take a decision on second attempt of progression for students

who failed the first attempt.

30

3rd Year PhD Programme in Economics

For both full- and part-time students TAP meetings are every 6-months and the deadlines are:



MPhil Programme Structure

For MPhil Students who started their programme at the beginning of the academic year (End of

September- Beginning of October) the following deadlines apply. For MPhil Students who

started in January all deadlines should be moved forward by 3 months. For both full- and part-

time students TAP meetings are every 6-months and the deadlines are the 31st March and 15th


1st Year Full-time/2nd Year Part-time MPhil Programme in Economics


30 April: Deadline to submit the report for assessment by the Progress Committee.


Student Progress Committee will meet to take a decision on progression for each of the first

year students. The decision will be based on the progression requirements described earlier.






2nd Year MPhil Programme in Economics

For both full- and part-time students TAP meetings are every 6-months and the deadlines are:



31

First year (and part-time equivalent) milestones PhD and MPhil milestones

Cohorts of students who started in the academic year 2016-17 or later

First formal review of progress Second attempt at first formal review of progress

Event TAP 1 TAP 2 Taught Module assessment

Submission of written evidence


Reassessment of taught modules (if applicable)

Resubmission of written evidence

Further Progress Review meeting

Full-time

Month from enrolment

6 12 8 7 9 11 11 12

Date(s) for October cohort starters

31st

March 15th

September

May-June 30th

April June/July August August September

Date(s) for January cohort starters

31st

June 15th

December

May-June 30th

July June/July (Taught Modules)

August 30th

October Dec/Jan

Requirement - - Relevant pass mark in summative assessment

2000 word report See Progression requirements (Page 23-24)

Relevant pass mark in summative assessment

2000 word report See Progression requirements (Page 23-24)

Meeting TAP meeting

TAP meeting

- - Progress review meeting

- - Progress Review meeting

Outcome Agreed TAP form

Agreed TAP form

Overall average for taught element

- Decision and recommendation



Part-time


6 & 12 18 & 24 8 & 20 19 9 & 21 11 & 23 23 12 & 24

If you commence a PhD or MPhil programme outside a cohort entry point, or if your journey goes out of sync with the rest of your cohort (e.g. due to a leave

of absence) the dates specified above may not apply to you, but will be calculated in terms of how long you have been enrolled on the programme.

32

Second year (and part-time equivalent) milestones PhD and MPhil milestones

Cohorts of students who started in the academic year 2016-17 or later

Second formal review of progress Second attempt at second formal review of progress

Event TAP 3 TAP 4 Taught Module assessment

Research seminar

Submission of written evidence


Reassessment of taught modules (if applicable)


Further progress review meeting

Full-time


18 24 20

20 19 21 23

23 24


31st

March 15th

September

May-June 31st

May 30th

April June/July August August September


31st

June 15th

December

May-June 31st

August 30th

July June/July (Taught Modules)

August 30th

October Dec/Jan


- Complete draft of a thesis chapter

See Progression requirements (Page 23-24)


Complete draft of a thesis chapter


Meeting TAP meeting

TAP meeting

- - - Progress Review Meeting

- - Progress review meeting


Agreed TAP form


- - Decision and recommendation



Part-time


18 & 24 30 & 36 32 & 44 44 43 33 & 45 35 & 47 47 36 & 48

If you commence a PhD or MPhil programme outside a cohort entry point, or if your journey goes out of sync with the rest of your cohort (e.g. due to a leave

of absence) the dates specified above may not apply to you but will be calculated in terms of how long you have been enrolled on the programme.

1

Key milestones for your research degree

Cohorts of students who started in the academic year 2015-16 and earlier

Programme structure PhD

PhD Programme Structure

For PhD Students who started their programme at the beginning of the academic year (End of

September- Beginning of October) the following deadlines apply. For PhD Students who started

in January all deadlines should be moved forward by 3 months. For both full- and part-time

students TAP meetings are every 6-months and the deadlines are the 31st March and 15th


1st Year Full time/2nd Year Part time PhD Programme in Economics


End of June- Start of July: Period (after the exam results are known) in which the Progress

Committee will meet to take a decision on progression for each of the first year students. The

decision will be based on exam results, whose average will have to be 60 or more, and the TAP

report with a statement that the student progress has been satisfactory.

August: Reassessment period for students who have not met the progression requirements for

the taught modules.


September-October: Period (after the resit exam results are known) in which the Progress

Committee will take a decision on second attempt of progression for students who failed the first

attempt.

2nd Year Full time/ 4th Year Part-time PhD Programme in Economics

31 March: Deadline for the first TAP confirmation meeting.

31 May: Deadline for Presentation of a workshop


Student Progress Committee will meet to take a decision on confirmation for each of the first

year students. The decision will be based on (i) exam results, whose average will have to be 60

or more; (ii) the TAP confirmation meeting with a positive report; (iii) presentation of a workshop

in the Research Student Workshops series or alternatively in the Departmental Workshop.


15 September: Deadline for the second TAP meeting or for the second TAP confirmation

meeting if the fist confirmation attempt failed.


Student Progress Committee will take a decision on second attempt on progression for students


2

3rd Year PhD Programme in Economics

For both full- and part-time students TAP meetings are every 6-month and the deadlines are:



MPhil Programme Structure

For MPhil Students who started their programme at the beginning of the academic year (End of

September- Beginning of October) the following deadlines apply. For MPhil Students who

started in January all deadlines should be moved forward by 3 months. For both full- and part-

time students TAP meetings are every 6-month and the deadlines are the 31st March and 15th


1st Year Full-time/2nd Year Part-time MPhil Programme in Economics



Student Progress Committee will meet to take a decision on progression for each of the first

year students. The decision will be based on (i) exam marks of 40 or more and an average mark

of 50 or more; (ii) TAP meeting with a positive report.






2nd Year MPhil Programme in Economics

For both full- and part-time students TAP meetings are every 6-month and the deadlines are:



1

First formal review of progress Second attempt at first formal review of progress

Event TAP 1 TAP 2 Taught Module assessment Progress review meeting Reassessment of taught modules (if applicable)

Further Progress Review meeting

Full-time


6 12 8 9 11 12


31st

Mar 15th

Sep May-June June/July August September


31st

Jun 15th

Dec May-June June/July (Taught Modules) August Dec/Jan


(i) exam results – relevant pass mark; (ii) TAP confirmation meeting with a positive report



Meeting TAP meeting TAP meeting

- Progress review meeting - Progress Review meeting


Agreed TAP form


Decision and recommendation Overall average for taught element

Decision and recommendation

Part-time


6 & 12 18 & 24 8 & 20 9 & 21 11 & 23 12 & 24

First year (and part-time equivalent) milestones PhD and MPhil milestones

Cohorts of students who started in the academic year 2015-16 or earlier

2

Second year (and part-time equivalent) milestones PhD and MPhil milestones Cohorts of students who started in the academic year 2015-16 or earlier

Second formal review of progress Second attempt at second formal review of progress

Event TAP 3 (Confirmation meeting)

TAP 4 (Potential 2nd confirmation attempt)

Taught Module assessment

Research seminar

Progress review meeting Reassessment of taught modules (if applicable)


Further progress review meeting

Full-time


18 23 20

20 21 23

23 24


31st

March 15th

September

May-June 31st

May June/July August August September


31st

June 15th

December

May-June 31st

August June/July (Taught Modules) August 30th

October Dec/Jan


- (i) Relevant pass mark on taught modules (ii) TAP confirmation meeting with a positive report; (iii) presentation of a workshop


Complete draft of a thesis chapter


Meeting TAP meeting TAP meeting

- - Progress Review Meeting - - Progress review meeting


Agreed TAP form


- Decision and recommendation Overall average for taught element


Part-time


18 & 24 30 & 36 32 & 44 44 33 & 45 35 & 47 47 36 & 48

If you commence a PhD or MPhil programme outside a cohort entry point, or if your journey goes out of sync with the rest of your cohort (e.g.

due to a leave of absence) the dates specified above may not apply to you but will be calculated in terms of how long you have been enrolled

on the programme.

3

Researcher training and development

Being a research student isn’t just about producing a piece of academic work. It’s about

developing skills that will help you succeed in your chosen career. Your department and

supervisor will help you with skills specific to your subject, and training and support is also

provided centrally.

Becoming an Effective Researcher Tutorial

The ‘Becoming an Effective Researcher Tutorial’ is an online induction available through the

VLE to all postgraduate research students and supervisors. The tutorial is organised in six easy

to navigate sections so that, following completion of the tutorial, you are able to come back to

the information as you need it throughout your PhD. You are expected to complete this tutorial

as part of your induction at the University and are encouraged to discuss it with your supervisor

and TAP. On completion of all six sections of BERT (as it is affectionately known) you will be

issued with a certificate which you can use to demonstrate to your supervisor that you have

completed the tutorial. You can access BERT directly from the VLE or by clicking the link:

http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/

Research training modules/courses

We provide a comprehensive postgraduate taught programme at PhD and MSc advanced level.

PhD students must take 30 credits of assessed PhD or MSc advanced modules, 20 credits

during the first year and 10 credits during the second year. At least 20 out of the cumulative total

of 30 credits are to be done in the core modules while the remaining credits can be done

choosing other PhD or MSc modules. We recommend PhD students to audit extra PhD modules

to get advanced knowledge in different economic areas and to audit more than once modules

whose programme changes from year to year.

We have 5 core modules for PhD students: Mathematics for Economists (Autumn and Spring terms, 10 credits) organised by Subir Chattopadhyay

Microeconomics for Research (Autumn and Spring terms, 10 credits) organised by Anindya Bhattacharya

Macroeconomics for Research (Autumn and Spring Term,10 credits) organised by Paulo

Monteiro and Michal Horvath

Applied Econometrics for Research (Spring Term, 10 credits) organised by Laura

Coroneo

Asset Pricing (Autumn term, 10 credits) organised by Peter Smith and Peter Spencer

We also have an additional PhD module explicitly targeted to health economists, “The Research

Seminar in Health Econometrics” (Spring Term, 10 credits, organised by Andrew Jones), and a

large set of MSc modules, see http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/postgrad/taught-

masters/module-list/

http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/postgrad/taught-masters/module-list/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/postgrad/taught-masters/module-list/

4

The outlines of the PhD modules are reported below. The outlines of the MSc modules can be

found on the MSc webpages:

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/current-students/gsp/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/current-students/gsp/

5

Mathematics for Economists

Module Code: ECO00057M Credits: 10 Term: 1 and 2

Contact Hours: 16-18 Hours of Lectures; Student Presentations.

Module Organiser: Professor Subir Chattopadhyay

Overview

The module serves as an introduction to formulating and analysing economic problems in a

mathematically rigorous manner. It is aimed primarily at those doctoral students who wish to

work in areas in which they will have to read material that is technically demanding. There will

be lectures on optimization, a narrow area that will be studied in some depth, followed by

student presentations on topics chosen with the lecturer's approval.

Aims

To introduce students to optimization at an adequate level. Emphasis will be laid on both an

intuitive grasp of the material (by using geometry in the exposition and examples) and on formal

proofs. The topics covered include elementary analysis, Lagrange's method, convex analysis,

separation theorems, Kuhn-Tucker result on local maximization, concave programming,

quasiconcave programming, Euler-Lagrange conditions, discrete time dynamic programming

under certainty, and a study of the corresponding Bellman Equation.

Objectives

On completing the course of lectures the student is expected to recognize a proof, and to

identify the technique appropriate for resolving optimization problems that one encounters in

economics. By extension, the training should permit the student to access other tools from

mathematics that are used in economic analysis. The presentations will allow students to

develop the technical skills necessary to engage in research in areas of their choice.

Assessment

There will be no written examination. 75% of the final mark will be based on the student’s

presentation and answers to questions asked by the lecturer and fellow students; the remaining

25% will be based on a short report on another student's presentation and questions by the

lecturer on the report.

If a reassessment is needed, it will take place in August. The format will be as close as

practically possible to the structure of the “first attempt”.

6

Main References

SUNDARAM, R. K.: A First Course in Optimization Theory, Cambridge, 1996.

DIXIT, A. K.: Optimization in Economic Theory, Oxford, 1976/1990.

MANGASARIAN, O. L.: Nonlinear Programming, McGraw Hill, 1969.

RUDIN, W.: Principles of Mathematical Analysis, McGraw Hill, 1976.

STOKEY, N. L., AND R. E. LUCAS: Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics, Harvard, 1989.

7

Microeconomics for Research


Contact Hours: 18 hours of lectures.

Module Organiser: Dr Anindya Bhattacharya

Overview

This module is based on recent research developments and areas of expertise in the

department. The topics treated in this module are not covered by the MSc level courses and

this module aims to take the students to some frontiers of research in the respective areas.

Aims

This module aims to provide research-level (MPhil/PhD) students with the skills necessary to

understand research in microeconomics in preparation for writing their thesis.

Objectives

Upon completing this module successfully, a student should be able to:

have a working knowledge of much of the important formal tools that are used in the

study of microeconomic problems;

provide an informed interpretation of published microeconomic models in journal articles;

start on his/her own research in certain fields of microeconomics: for example,

industrial organisation theory, some topics in game theory and mechanism design etc.;

utilise/incorporate ideas and techniques from these fields of Microeconomics into other

areas.

Assessment

By assessed essay(s); to be submitted at the beginning of Term 3 (Summer).

Should a reassessment be needed it will be in the identical pattern as the 1st attempt: i.e., by

assessed essay. The deadline for resubmission is Monday 14th August 2017.

Main References

Teaching of this module will be mainly based on research papers. However, some preliminary references are: M.Armstrong and R Porter (Eds) (2007): Handbook of Industrial Organization, vol 3. North Holland. Borgers, T (2015): An Introduction to the Theory of Mechanism Design. Oxford. Jackson, M. O. (2008): Social and Economic Networks. Princeton. Maschler, M., E. Solan, S. Zamir (2013): Game Theory. Cambridge.

Vohra, R.V. (2011): Mechanism Design: A Linear Programming Approach. Cambridge.

8

Macroeconomics for Research


Contact Hours: 18 Lectures

Module Organiser: Dr. Michal Horvath

Overview

The module covers a selection of topics based on recent macroeconomic research

developments and areas of macroeconomic expertise in the department. Topics and teachers

change from year to year. In the year 2016-17, the module will focus on setting up, solving and

estimating dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models, and their use in the context

of (optimal) macroeconomic policy analysis.

Aims

The module aims to provide research students with the skills necessary to understand and

undertake theoretical and applied research in macroeconomics in preparation for writing their

thesis.

Objectives

After the completion of the autumn term, the module participants should be able to formulate an

optimal policy problem, apply a generic method to a range of models, including a simple model

of a New Keynesian economy, solve approximations to optimal policy problems analytically, use

Matlab to obtain a second-order accurate solution to an optimal policy problem and interpret the

results of optimal policy exercises. In addition, after the spring term, the students should be

able to conduct their own estimation of linear DSGE models using Dynare, and solve as well as

estimate indeterminate DSGE models.

Assessment

There will be two small research projects at the end of each term carrying equal weight in the

final mark.

Should a reassessment be needed you will be given a new topic chosen by the module

lecturers and asked to write two small research projects (the same as in the summer). The

deadline for resubmission is Monday 14th August 2017.

Main References

A detailed list of supporting references will be provided by the lecturers for each lecture. In

addition to journal articles, the following textbook will be very useful for those wishing to gain a

detailed understanding of policy analysis in New Keynesian framework:

Woodford, M., 2003, Interest and Prices: Foundations of a Theory of Monetary Policy,

Princeton University Press.

9

Applied Econometrics for Research

Module Code: ECO00070M Credits: 10 Term: Spring

Contact Hours: 18 (12 Lectures, 6 Practical Lectures)

Module Organiser: Dr Laura Coroneo

Module Lecturers: Dr Laura Coroneo, Dr Francesco Bravo, Dr Thomas Cornelissen

Module Overview

The module provides an advanced treatment of selected topics on Applied Econometrics that

can change from year to year, depending on what is considered to be most relevant and up to

date.

The academic year 2016/17 the module will cover the following three topics

1) Nonparametrics and Semiparametrics (Dr Francesco Bravo)

2) Factor Models (Dr Laura Coroneo)

3) Instrumental Variables with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects (Dr Thomas Cornelissen)

Aims

A set of specialist lectures specialising in Econometric Theory.

A complementary set of practical classes to teach the implementation of Applied Econometrics.

Objectives

The topics for the academic year 2016/17 are:

1. Nonparametric and Semiparametrics - Dr Francesco Bravo (4h Lectures + 2h Practical

Lectures)

Nonparametric and semiparametric models have become increasingly popular in

Econometrics. This set of lectures provides an introduction to the basic ideas and

concepts of nonparametric and semiparametric estimation focusing in particular on

kernel methods. Topics covered in the lectures include nonparametric density and

regression estimation, partially linear models, conditional moment restrictions models

and single index models. The lectures will emphasize some theoretical aspects of non

and semiparametric estimation, whereas the practical lectures will introduce and discuss

available software that can be used to compute some of the proposed estimators

2. Factor Models - Dr Laura Coroneo (4h Lectures + 2h Practical Lectures)

Factor models allow to analyze high dimensional time series, which are becoming

increasingly more available in the era of “big data”. The topics on factor models covered

10

in this module include: principal components, dynamic factor models, identification,

maximum likelihood estimation and the kalman filter. The module overviews the main

applications of factor models: forecasting, missing observations, structural identification

and counterfactual analysis. Real data applications in macroeconomics and finance will

be presented.

3. Instrumental Variables and Marginal Treatment Effects - Dr Thomas Cornelissen (6h

Lectures/Practical Lectures)

The objective is for students to gain a thorough understanding of Instrumental Variable

(IV) estimation, which is one of the most important tools economists use to estimate

causal effects. This part of the Module will set out the fundamental econometric

challenge of estimating causal effects and discuss how IV estimation addresses this

challenge. After briefly reviewing the basics of IV estimation with a constant causal

effect, the module will focus on IV estimation with effect heterogeneity (i.e., when the

causal effect of interest varies across individuals). Modern extensions in this area, such

as the Marginal Treatment Effects (MTE) framework will be discussed. This topic

combines a formal presentation of the methodology with providing an intuitive

understanding, drawing on examples from important empirical applications in the

economics literature.

Assessment

By take home assessment(s) to be submitted at the beginning of Term 3 (Summer).

Should a reassessment be needed, you will be issued with another take home assessment, to

be submitted by Monday 14th August 2017.

11

Asset Pricing

Module Code: ECO00073M Credits: 10 Term: 1

Contact Hours: 18 (12 lectures, 6 classes)

Module Organiser: Peter Smith

Module Lecturers: Laura Coroneo, Adam Golinski, Paulo Santos Monteiro, Peter

Smith, Peter Spencer

Module Overview

To provide an advanced treatment of modern asset pricing theory for economists with a

technical training, building on basic discrete time concepts they are already familiar with like the

Stochastic Discount Factor used in modern macroeconomics. This will be based on J.

Cochrane, (2005) Asset Pricing, Princeton University Press and J Campbell, A Lo and

MacKinlay, (1996) The Econometrics of Financial Markets, Princeton University Press. J

Hamilton, (1994) Time Series Analysis, Princeton University Press offers a very good

introduction to stochastic processes, which should be familiar from time series econometrics.

We will discuss the empirical performance of these different models.

Delivery

Each topic will be taught through 2 hours of lectures and 1 hour of student-led discussion of the

key papers on that topic. The lectures and discussion will focus on theoretical and empirical

modelling issues. Assessment will be by submission of a 1,500 word paper which can be based

on the student discussion of key papers.

Should a reassessment be needed, a redraft of your original paper should be submitted by

Monday 14th August 2017.

Topics

1. Intertemporal Optimisation and SDF Asset Pricing (Paulo Santos Monteiro)

This aligns pricing models with macroeconomics, based on Cochrane Ch 2 and Sections 9.1 to

9.3. Discussion of consumption-based inter-temporal CAPM (CCAPM) pricing model, risk

premia and asset allocation. Unfortunately the CCAPM is not very good empirically and the

recent literature has focussed on variants that work better including employing alternative utility

functions. We will look at models with habits and durability in consumption and long-run risk

models.

12

2. Using the Stochastic Discount Factor and Risk Neutral Pricing models to value

Discount Bonds (Adam Golinski)

This is basically the single-factor Vasicek (1979) arbitrage-free model in discrete time. The SDF

algebra is taken from Campbell, Lo and MacKinlay Ch 11. We will show that the RN approach

uses the same steps but is much simpler to use. To do use this we specify the interest

dynamics under the risk neutral measure. We will look at basic extensions like CIR, multifactor

variants etc.

3. Macro finance models of the term structure (Laura Coronoeo)

We will look at how to construct Macro-Finance models for the term structure of interest rates.

Starting from the seminal paper of Ang and Piazzesi (2003) we will see how to make the macro-

dynamics explicit. We will then review Moench (2008) that uses a large amount of macro

information. Joslin, Priebsch and Singleton (2013) and Duffee (2011) introduce “unspanned”

factors, meaning that they affect the risk premia but not yields. We will review the econometric

techniques used to estimate these models including Joslin Singleton and Zhu (2013) and

Hamilton and Wu (2013).

4. Predictability and Volatility (Adam Golinski)

Predictability of returns and evidence on time-varying risk premia based on several predictors

including dividend yield and those based on aggregate wealth, see Cochrane Ch 20.1. We will

study the Campbell and Shiller (1988) present value model of stock prices and its implications

for returns and dividend growth predictability and discuss their limitations. We will discuss the

complex approaches to the joint hypothesis testing of return and dividend growth predictability

proposed by Cochrane (2008) and Binsbergen and Koijen (2010). We will follow with the

extension of the present value model to the consumption-aggregate wealth and consumption-

aggregate dividend ratios and their applications for the returns and dividend growth forecasts

(Lettau and Ludvigson, 2001, 2005) and for the conditional CAPM model (Lettau and Ludvigson,

2001). We will review the critique (Goyal and Welch, 2008) and discuss the latest advances in

stock return predictability (Kostakis, Magdalinos and Stamatogiannis, forthcoming).

5. Equity Market Pricing and Factor Models (Peter Smith)

We will examine the cross section of security returns: CAPM, value, size, momentum and

anomalies. We will examine how to assess models which use returns or other quantities as

pricing factors, giving direct measures of the price of risk. We will use the two-stage Fama-

MacBeth regression approach or GMM to find the prices of risk. These methods will be used to

scrutinise recent models and anomalies e.g. betting against beta. This material would be based

on parts of Cochrane, Chapters 9, 12, 13 and 15 as well as a number of recent papers.

6. Credit Risk (Peter Spencer)

Earlier lectures have looked at prices and returns on equities and bonds. Assets like U.S.

Treasuries are highly liquid and have very low credit risk since they are issued by governments

that are unlikely to default. Treasury yields form the baseline for all other yields, which also

reflect liquidity and default risk. Subtracting a Treasury yield from the yield on another bond

13

gives the ‘spread’ or mark-up on the baseline. Spreads tend to increase as liquidity deteriorates

and the credit rating (from agencies like S&P) declines. Apart from the bond market, default risk

is also reflected in the prices of equities and derivatives, like Credit Default Swaps, and must be

priced consistently across all three markets. We analyse these effects in this lecture, using the

forward and risk-neutral measures and other tools. We look at the structural model which

analyses the default decision in terms of the net asset value of the firm and the reduced form

model which assumes that the hazard rate follows a diffusion process similar to the spot rate in

an affine term structure model.

14

Research Seminar in Health Econometrics (HEDG Seminars)

Module no: ECO00038M Credits: 10 credits Term: 2

Module coordinator: Professor A Jones

Pre-requisites: Econometric Methods for Research (2080048), Econometrics

(2080003), Applied Microeconometrics (2080026) or equivalent.

Candidates must be pursuing a thesis topic in an appropriate area

of research (as judged by the module coordinator).

Duration: Meetings held weekly during Spring term

Contact hours: 18 hours.

Workload: This module should take 100 hours

The research seminar

This is a weekly research seminar, held on Wednesdays in the Health Economics Resource

Centre. This programme is known as the ‘HEDG seminar’ (there is more about HEDG at:

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/postgrad/herc/hedg/ ). The seminar is attended by doctoral

students, DERS staff and CHE staff. The doctoral students present work and get feedback on

their research and also have the opportunity to discuss presentations by staff and visitors.

Learning aims of the module

Given the extensive use of individual level data sources in empirical analysis of health data, it

has become increasingly important to understand the microeconometric techniques available in

applied research. Moreover, it is just as important to be aware of the limitations and pitfalls

associated with each microeconometric technique. The purpose of this research seminar is to

give participants practical experience of preparing, presenting and disseminating their own work

and of critically appraising work by other researchers.

Learning objectives of the module

1. linking complementary research ideas and skills;

2. acting as an ‘early warning system’ for recently published papers and working papers;

3. obtaining peer group comments on draft papers and proposals;

4. preparing for conference presentations;

5. preparing papers for submission to peer-reviewed journals;

6. sustaining expertise in the knowledge base and manipulation of routine data sources;

7. providing a focal point for contacts with similar research groups or individuals in the wider

research community.

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/postgrad/herc/hedg/

15

The Programme

The Programme focuses on innovations in the use of microeconometric methods in health

economics. The methodological research concentrates on the analysis of large and complex

datasets, both longitudinal and multilevel, and on the use of computationally intensive methods.

Contact hours

The module runs in the Spring term. Students are expected to attend the weekly seminars.

The remaining time will be spent in preparing presentations and papers.

Assessment

Formative Assessment: The module involves continuous formative assessment by the module

coordinator. All PhD students who participate in the programme (whether or not they are doing

it for credit) will be expected to make at least one presentation, based on:

their own research;

a “journal club” session, in which they critique a published study or comment on relevant

software or datasets;

or a “skills workshops”, which can have the following kinds of theme:

Funding – preparing a funding proposal

Papers – reading (including peer review) and writing research papers

Conferences – participating in and organising conferences or seminars

Reference management

Programming in Mata

Summative assessment: The final mark for the module is assessed by a research paper that

should be submitted for evaluation by the end of Week 10 in the Spring Term. The paper

should be between 2,000 and 4,000 words and be based on one of the presentations made

during the seminars. It should be submitted to the module leader.

Should a reassessment be required, another research paper should be submitted by Monday

14th August 2017.

Full details of the postgraduate assessment rules are given in the Introduction to Graduate

Studies booklet.

Recommended Reading

1. The seminars involve applications of microeconometric methods. These methods are

discussed in depth in:

Cameron, A.C. and Trivedi, P.K. (2005) Microeconometrics. Methods and applications,

Cambridge University Press (ISBN 0-521-84805-9)

2. Summaries of some previous work by the HEDG group and the general state-of-the-art in

health econometrics can be found in:

16

Jones, A.M. (2000) Health econometrics, in Handbook of Health Economics, Elsevier.

Jones, AM. (2008) Panel data methods and applications to health economics. In Palgrave

Handbook of Econometrics Volume II: Applied Econometrics, Mills TC, Patterson K (eds)

Palgrave MacMillan (in press, available at www.york.ac.uk/res/herc/hedg_papers.html).

Jones, A.M. (2011) Models for health care, Oxford Handbook of Economic Forecasting,

Hendry, D. and Clements, M. (eds.), Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Jones, A.M. and Rice, N. (2011) Econometric evaluation of health policies, in Oxford

Handbook of Health Economics, Glied, S. and Smith, P.C. (eds.), Oxford, Oxford

University Press.

3. The following texts show how to apply relevant methods in Stata:

Cameron, A.C. and Trivedi, P.K. (2008) Microeconometrics using Stata. Stata Press

(ISBN: 1-59718-048-3)

Deaton, A. (1997) The Analysis of Household Surveys. World Bank & Johns Hopkins

Press. (ISBN: 0-0818-5254-4)

Jones, A.M. (2007) Applied Econometrics for Health Economists. A Practical Guide. 2nd

edn, Radcliffle (ISBN: 1-846619-171-8)

Jones, A.M., Rice, N., Bago d’Uva, T. and Balia, S. (2013) Applied Health Economics,

Second Edition, Routledge (ISBN: 978-0-415-67682-3).

O’Donnell, O., van Doorslear, E., Wagstaff, A. and Lindelow, M. (2008) Analyzing Health

Equity using Household Survey Data. The World Bank. (ISBN: 978-0-8213-6933-4).

4. The following should help to get you thinking about research questions and skills:

Blastand, M. and Dilnott, A. (2007) The Tiger that isn’t. Seeing through a world of

numbers. Profile Books Ltd (ISBN: 978-184668111-0).

Creedy, J. (2008) Research without tears. From first ideas to published output. Edward

Elgar (ISBN: 978 1 84720 834 7) {Devotes a lot of attention to doing a PhD. Also

appeared as 3 papers in the Australian Economic Review 34(2001): 116-124, 39(2006):

103-113, 40(2007): 463-470}

McCloskey, D. (1985) Economical writing, Economic Inquiry 24: 187-222.

{see also McCloskey, D. (2000) How to be Human – though an economist. The University

of Michigan Press (ISBN: 0-472-06744-3). In fact, I recommend that you read the whole

book!}

McCloskey, D. and Ziliak, S.T. (1996) The standard error of regressions, Journal of

Economic Literature 34: 97-114. {For an extended version of their argument see also

http://www.york.ac.uk/res/herc/hedg_papers.html

17

McCloskey & Ziliak (2008) The cult of statistical significance. How the standard error

costs us jobs, justice and lives. The University of Michigan Press (ISBN: 0-472-05007-9).}

Miller, JE. (2005) The Chicago guide to writing about multivariate analysis. University of

Chicago Press (ISBN: 0-226-52783-2).

Thomson, W. (2001) A guide for the young economist. Writing and speaking effectively

about economics. The MIT Press (ISBN: 0-262-70079-4) {Very focused on presenting

theory but has a useful chapter on writing a referee’s report. Also see his paper in the

Journal of Economic Literature 37(1999): 157-83}.

Tufte, E.R. (1983) The visual display of quantitative information. Graphics Press

(http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/)

Yau, N. (2013) Data points. Visualization that means something. Wiley (ISBN: 978-1-

118-46219-5).

http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/

18

Other departmental training

Besides the 30 credits of assessed PhD or MSc advanced modules, students are also

expected to attend the Research Student Workshops and other training and specialist lectures

organised for PhD students, to actively participate in seminars and workshops organised by

DERS and to play an active role in the Department research clusters by participating in their

meetings, seminars and workshops on a regular basis.

Transferable skills

We also provide a set of transferable skills lectures for PhD students. The main lectures usually

include:

PhD exams/viva, for 3rd & 4th year students (organised by Peter Simmons)

Conferences, for 1st year students (organised by Andrew Jones)

Publishing in economics journals, for all years PGR students (organised by Karl Claxton

and Zaifu Yang)

The PhD job market, for all years PGR students (organised by Emma Tominey)

Academic Writing: Some Suggestions for PhD Students, for all years PGR students

(organised by Cheti Nicoletti)

Specialist lectures

Each academic year extra lectures and seminars are organised for PhD students and presented

by distinguished visitors or academic members of the Department.

Research Excellence Training Team (RETT)

The University’s Research Excellence Training Team (RETT) provides a range of training and

support to help you develop the skills you need to progress your research and your career. For

information about the workshops, public engagement events, and resources available to support

you, please visit the RETT pages: http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/researcher-development/

To view information on workshops and to make a booking, visit

http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/researcher-development/students/.

Library Research Support Team

The Library’s Research Support Team (RST) provides support and guidance on research data

management, open access, and copyright. The team also provide training sessions on these

topics and on searching the literature. For further information on the team, visit

http://www.york.ac.uk/library/info-for/researchers/support/.

The Library also provides a wide range of services for researchers in addition to the RST, for

more information, visit http://www.york.ac.uk/library/info-for/researchers/.

http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/researcher-development/

http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/researcher-development/students/

http://www.york.ac.uk/library/info-for/researchers/support

http://www.york.ac.uk/library/info-for/researchers/

19

Research Computing

All researchers use computers at some point in the research process and IT Services provide a

wide range of services and support, from e-mail to Tier 3 High Performance Computing. The

Research Computing team provide training and one-to-one support so that you can make the

most of the systems and resources provided at York. Whatever your level of experience, help is

on hand to get you started and choose the right tools for your research or project.

Designed with the aim of making research easier, faster and more productive, our systems and

resources could be of use to all researchers, regardless of discipline or research project. To

discuss what help we can provide, email: [email protected]

Additional information can also be found at: http://www.york.ac.uk/it-services/research-

computing/

Departmental conferences/seminars/fora/publications

There are two main weekly seminars: the Department Seminar given by outside speakers, on

Wednesday afternoons; and the Thursday Workshops which are usually given by internal

speakers. PhD students are strongly encouraged to attend both seminar series and to present

at the Thursday workshop series. For more informal discussion and presentation of preliminary

research, there are also the Research Clusters . PhD students should choose, in consultation

with their supervisor(s), at least one of the research clusters and become a student associate.

You are expected to actively participate in seminars and workshops organised by DERS and to

play an active role in the Department’s research clusters by participating in their meetings,

seminars and workshops on a regular basis. DERS has 6 main research clusters (1)

Microeconomic Theory, (2) Macroeconomics/Finance, (3) Econometrics, (4) Applied

Microeconometrics, (5) Health Economics and (6) Economic History. For each of these clusters

details are available at http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/

One of the key aims of the clusters is to stimulate interaction between academics and PhD

students, and this can be through presentations by PhD students, round-table discussions, or

whatever format the cluster may choose. In addition, research students in York present their

work in the Research Student Workshop which is usually attended by the TAP and all research

students.

If you want to present at the Research Student Workshop please contact our Postgraduate

Administrator to fix a date and inform your TAP members about the date. To fix a slot for

presentation in the Thursday workshop, or in one of our research clusters, please contact the

organizers. Details can be found on the DERS website.

Students are also expected to present their work in international conferences and workshops.

The Department can offer financial support to students who present their work at leading

academic conferences around the world. Applications must be made well in advance to the

Director of Research Students using the form “Applying for financial assistance from the

department”. This form can be found on the departmental website at:



http://www.york.ac.uk/it-services/research-computing/

http://www.york.ac.uk/it-services/research-computing/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/news-and-events/events/wednesday-seminars/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/news-and-events/events/thursday-workshops/


http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/research-clusters/micro/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/research-clusters/macrofin/

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/research-clusters/econometrics/




http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/research-clusters/cherry/



20

Publication of research

PGR students are encouraged to publish their research work. Once you have a finalized draft of

your job market paper (this is usually the best of your thesis chapters and is the paper that you

will have to disseminate through participation at international conferences) discuss with your

supervisor(s) a strategy for publication in academic journals.

Research students may publish discussion papers in the departmental series; as a condition for

acceptance the paper has to have been approved by your supervisor as suitable for inclusion.

Details on the Discussion Paper in Economics Series are provided at

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/discussion-papers/

Financial support for research

The Department can offer financial support to students who present their work at leading

academic conferences around the world and for paying subscription fees for submission to

international journals. Applications must be made well in advance to the Director of Research

Students using the form “Applying for financial assistance from the department”. This form can

be found on the departmental website at: http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/current-

students/phd-students/

A detailed guideline for the application for financial support is provided at the end of the form.

The form asks for the following information: 1) title, length of the paper(s) to be presented and

format of the presentation; 2) information about the workshop or conference (organisers,

scientific committee, local committee, sessions, date, etc.) 3) a detailed breakdown of expected

costs with justifications (state alternative and complementary funding possibilities when they

exist). The following files should be attached to the application: 1) the paper to be

presented/submitted or short description of the research design; 2) proof of acceptance of the

paper. Your supervisor should provide a brief note of her/his view of the application directly to

the Director of Research Students. An application has to be made well in advance of the

conference or workshop (at least 2 months in advance or as soon as the paper has been

accepted for presentation).

Generally applications for participation to summer schools are considered only if the student has

the opportunity to present his/her research work and to receive feedback during the summer

school. An application for participation in a summer school with no presentation is only

exceptionally accepted and requires justifying why its content is required and essential for the

research to be undertaken by the student and the extent to which it exceeds the content

provided by DERS lectures (PhD and MSc modules). In response to demand for training in

certain areas DERS may organise a series of specialist lectures on these subjects.

For holders of external studentship awards (e.g. ESRC funded) there may be an annual

personal research allowance. ESRC funded students can claim their expenses through the

departmental Finance Officer, Vin McDermott, Room A/D/101. There is no need to contact the

Director of Research Students in this case. External award holders who do not have a personal

http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/research/discussion-papers/



21

research allowance or who have exhausted their allowance are also entitled to apply for

financial assistance from DERS. In this case they have to verify that alternative sources do not

exist or that they have been exhausted.

Refunds require the production of receipts for the expenses incurred, and confirmation in writing

of your participation in the conference. After the conference you need to obtain a claim form

from the DERS Reception; complete it, and provide documentary evidence of your participation

in the conference and, of course, receipts (e.g. ticket stubs or invoices) to cover the sum

involved. You will also have to include the final programme of the conference where your

presentation and affiliation clearly appear. No reimbursement will be made without the

document. The claim form should be submitted to Vin McDermott (Room A/D/101).

An application for financial support will not be considered if it was not made well in advance of

your project and if there is no statement from the supervisor. Please also note that DERS will

not cover expenses for subsistence (i.e. meals), unless they are included in the event fees and

for the use of a taxi (unless an important reason is provided).

22

Your thesis

Thesis content and style

DERS sets an upper word limit for a PhD thesis of 50,000 words. This limit is strict, and includes

Tables, Figures, Appendices and a Bibliography. The recommended length for a thesis (which

does not contain much peripherally relevant material) is 30,000 words. A thesis might have an

introduction/survey of 5-20 pages, and three further chapters of about 25-40 pages each. You

should not think that length is, in itself, a "good thing": indeed, excessive length is often a signal

that the research student has not sorted out what is important and what is not. The best theses are

written in a concise manner that is easy to read and shows that the candidate has a clear

understanding of the results he/she has obtained. To the extent that chapters will be submitted for

publication in refereed journals, you will soon find that, as an almost unbreakable rule, editors will

always require that the paper submitted be shortened as a condition for publication; and typically

revisions are required.

Theses need not necessarily have a uniform structure but, in many cases, there is a common

pattern of:

An introduction: this states the problem or phenomenon on which the thesis focuses, and

summarises the main conclusions of each chapter.

There may be a survey of the literature (as a separate chapter, or together with the above).

This should make clear how other people have approached the topic of the thesis and what

the established results are. This may also highlight existing areas of ignorance, and the

contribution that the thesis will make to the existing literature. A survey of the literature

should be included only if it constitutes a contribution to knowledge, for example because it

organises existing contribution in a novel way, or because it links the material covered to

new areas of economics, or simply because there are no current surveys on the topic. The

criterion for inclusion in the thesis should be, as with the rest of the thesis, its publishability

(see below).

Some chapters containing the main body of original work in the thesis. These may develop

sequentially, with each chapter developing from the previous ones, or they may be in

parallel (developing a basic idea in different directions/applications, or looking at different

approaches to related phenomena). It is not necessary that the chapters cover related

topics. Indeed, many theses could be entitled “Three Essays on [insert broad area here]”.

It is important from early on to get an idea how the final product might look.

It is common to have a special page, where acknowledgements are made: on this page the

reader should be informed explicitly which parts of the thesis are written jointly with

somebody else. On this page you should also indicate whether any part of the thesis has

been published, or presented at conferences.

A conclusion which answers your main research questions and outlines areas for further

research.

On the length and number of chapters, there are several factors. There is obviously a trade-off

between the number of chapters and their substance. Therefore while three substantial chapters

might be sufficient, three short notes are unlikely to be sufficient. The requirement which many

examiners work on is that there should be two publishable contributions. Publishability, however, is

23

in the eye of the beholder, and what you or the supervisor may think is publishable may be

insufficient to the examiner’s eye. It is therefore helpful to have at least some buffer of extra

material, in the event of a “conflict of opinion” with the examiner in respect of the quality of one of

the chapters. Short notes may count for a fraction of one publishable chapter.

It is not uncommon for theses to contain joint work, developed by the research student and the

supervisor, or with another research student. This is to be encouraged, and is a good way of

learning how to do research. In the case of joint work, there is some need for a greater quantity:

roughly speaking, you get slightly above 50% credit for writing a joint chapter. In the case where

the work is joint with another research student, the same chapter can appear in the theses of both

students. However, in the case of joint work, its co-authorship should be made absolutely

clear when the work is written up for PhD thesis examination.

There is no compulsion for a research student to do joint work with his/her supervisor. Clearly, the

input of the supervisor to a research student's work will usually be considerable in the normal

course of events. Whilst it may be useful and appropriate to have some chapters of the thesis as

joint work, it is best to keep some of the chapters "sole authored": There should be a clearly

identified part of the thesis that is your own independent work. Otherwise, there is a danger that

your ability to undertake independent research may be questioned. There is one exception to this

general rule: where a PhD is funded by and linked to a research project, then most (if not all) of the

PhD might be joint work with the supervisor or other members of the research team. If you have a

disagreement with your supervisor about how to treat research, you should feel free to discuss this

matter with the Director of Research Students, or the Chair of the Graduate School Board.

Some examiners may also take a dim view of chapters similar to each other. So, if you have a

chapter called “An important theorem on the theory of competition in duopoly”, containing a

publishable contribution and another chapter called “An important theorem on the theory of

competition in oligopoly”, which extends the previous chapter to the case of n firms, the examiner

may view each chapter publishable, but not both (because they view the contribution of the second

chapter as marginal, given the first chapter).

24

To sum up, consider the following two extreme thesis shapes:

Thesis 1 Thesis 2

By By

A. Very Confident Risk A. Verse

Title Title

Two very important papers The theory of something

Table of contents Table of contents

1 Introduction 1

2 A fundamental result 3

3 Empirical estimation 36

Index 60

1 Introduction 1

2 Literature Survey 8

3 First chapter (joint with A. Friend &

M.Y. Wife)

22

4 Second chapter: A small variation on

the above theme (joint with A. Friend)

31

5 Yet another variation 45

6 Comment on the paper by A. Bigname 49

7 Application to Vietnamese data (joint

with M.Y. Supervisor)

56

8 Application to Peruvian data (joint with

M.Y. Supervisor)

79

9 Instrumental Variable estimation of the

Peruvian data

95

10 Concluding remarks 119

Index 135

Thesis 1 has two chapters, one theory and one empirical, both of good length, and clearly different

in topic and approach (also showing that the candidate can handle both theory and empirical work).

The introduction is very short (probably just two short abstracts). The second has 10 chapters.

But, Chapter 1 is an introduction [which the examiners would probably count as a 0 contribution],

the literature survey has little original material (by definition) [1/4], ch 3 is joint [1/3], ch 4 is joint and

a variation on a theme [1/2 * 1/3 = 1/6], ch 5 is also a variation and is a note [1/3 * 1/3 = 1/9], ch 6 is

a comment [1/4], ch 7 is joint [1/2], ch 8 is joint and a variation on a theme [1/2 * 1/3 = 1/6], ch 9 is a

variation on a theme [1/3], ch 10 has no original material [0]. While examiners do not follow this

strict accounting, totting up the contributions of each chapter we get 2 and 1/9. The first thesis

seems preferable. The second is probably also exceeding the word limit. Clearly the two are

extreme cases, and most theses fall somewhere in between.

For detailed information about the style, formatting and sequence of material standards for your

thesis, go to www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/academic/thesis/format.

In addition to online guidance on preparing and formatting your thesis, the University also offers

courses to help you through the Library’s research support team and through RETT.

For more information visit: http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/researcher-development/students

and http://www.york.ac.uk/it-services/training/materials/thesis.

https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/academic/thesis/format/

http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/researcher-development/students/

http://www.york.ac.uk/it-services/training/materials/thesis

25

Thesis submission

Before submitting

You should discuss your submission plans with your supervisor, though ultimately it is your

decision when to submit your thesis for examination. About two months before you expect to

submit your thesis, you should complete the notification of Intention to Submit in e-vision. This

allows the department to make the necessary arrangements for your examination. You do not

need to be over-exacting in calculating your submission date, provided that you adhere to your

deadline for submission.

You can find the Intention to Submit form in your Skillsforge account under:


When to submit

You must submit your thesis by the final deadline, though it is a good idea to plan to submit

long before that, in order to give yourself time to deal with unexpected events in both your

research and your personal life. You can see your submission deadline in your Skillsforge

account. Late submissions will only be accepted once an extension has been applied for and

approved. A pending extension request is not sufficient.

How to submit

Theses may be submitted to the Research Student Admin Team (RSAT) by hand, by post, or by

courier service. It is your responsibility to ensure that the thesis reaches the RSAT by the

deadline.

Continuation period

The normal expectation is that a PhD student in Economics completes a PhD thesis in 3 years

of ‘full-time’ enrolment. If required, students may have an additional period of up to a maximum

one year, called continuation period, to complete and submit the thesis.

PhD students should plan to submit at the end of the normal period of enrolment. The purpose

of the continuation period is only to allow for contingencies.

Your continuation period: http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-

school/support/academic/thesis/continuation/

begins at the end of your normal period of enrolment. During this time you will retain access to

the Library and IT facilities. You may only access departmental facilities with the written

permission of the Chair of the departmental Graduate School Board. Students entering a

continuation period will be liable to pay a continuation fee.


http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/academic/thesis/continuation/

http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/academic/thesis/continuation/

26

Thesis examination

Appointment of examiners

Once a notification of your intention to submit has been presented, the Chair of the Graduate

School Board nominates examiners and submits the recommendation to Standing Committee

on Assessment for approval. Your supervisor(s) will have been consulted on who will be

suitable examiners and you should be asked to confirm that there are no known conflicts of

interest with the selected examiners. There will be at least two, and not more than three,

examiners, including at least one external examiner from another university.

Oral examination

Following the submission of your thesis or dissertation for examination, MPhil and PhD

candidates will be required to sit an oral examination known as a viva. The purpose of an oral

examination is to allow your examiners to explore your work and satisfy themselves that:

● the work is of appropriate quality;

● you are well acquainted with your subject matter;

● you have applied appropriate research methods;

● the work is your own, or if a collaborative piece, that your contribution is

adequate.

The oral examination also allows you to respond to any shortcomings identified by the

examiners. Your oral examination will take place within three months of submitting your thesis.

Oral examinations for all research degrees will be recorded. These recordings are used only in

event of an appeal based on the conduct of the examination, or when an additional examiner

has been subsequently appointed to resolve a dispute. Recordings will be destroyed one year

after the result of the examination has been confirmed, or one year after appeal proceedings

have been concluded.

Examination outcomes

Following the submission and examination of your thesis, your examiners will recommend one

of the following outcomes:

● pass with no corrections. The degree should be awarded;

● pass subject to minor corrections. The degree should be awarded subject to

corrections to the thesis, to be completed within three months of the candidate

receiving the list of corrections, to the satisfaction of the internal or another of the

examiners;

● thesis referred for revision and resubmission within 12 months of receiving the list of

revisions, previously referred theses cannot normally be referred again;

● that the student should be awarded a degree at a lower level than the degree that

they are enrolled, possibly with corrections first being made;

● fail. No degree should be awarded.

27

The outcome will then be ratified by the Standing Committee on Assessment (SCA) and you will

be informed of the decision and advised on how to proceed. You have the right to appeal

against the examiners' recommendations on the grounds of unfair or improper conduct of the

examination, prejudice on the part of the examiners, or procedural irregularity.

More information

Full details on thesis submission and examination can be found on the University website, at:

www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/academic/thesis.

https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/academic/thesis/

28

Change of plan?

Leave of absence

A leave of absence allows you to take an authorised break of a month or more in your studies.

You may apply for a leave of absence for a documented medical or personal reason. Breaks of

less than 2 months can be approved at departmental level, but will not then result in an

extension to your submission deadline.

Any student can apply for a leave of absence. It can be a good solution for a research student

who genuinely finds that medical or personal difficulties are preventing their study for a period of

time. However, approval remains at the discretion of the Special Cases Committee.

As far as possible, you should apply for a leave of absence in advance. Departments should not

submit requests to the Special Cases Committee later than one month after the proposed start

date of the leave period. Leave of absence that is entirely retrospective will not be considered or

approved.

For more information on when and how to apply for a Leave of Absence, visit

www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/change/loa.

Students on Tier 4 visas should be aware that a Leave of Absence is likely to have an impact on

their eligibility to remain in the UK, and so should consult with immigration advice before making

any decision.

Full-time/part-time

You may be able to switch between part-time and full-time attendance at University. Not all

programmes have a part-time option, so you should check with your department first.

Speak with your supervisor and discuss the options available to you. This decision should not

be taken lightly. It is essential that you understand the implications that changing your mode of

attendance may have.

Changing your mode of attendance will affect the end of your period of registration, your

submission deadline and the tuition fees payable for the remainder of your programme. It will

alter how you fulfil the University's requirement of a minimum period of registration.

Changing your mode of attendance may also affect your entitlement to:

● Financial support

● Funding

● Student visas

● Accommodation

● Council Tax exemptions.

● Tuition fees and accommodation.

https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/change/loa/

29

Your funding body may place restrictions on whether and how often you can change status.

RSAT can give you further guidance.

For more information, visit www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/change/full-time-

part-time.

Change programmes

While we do not encourage research students to change programme, situations may arise

which make a change worthwhile.

Reasons may include:

● you're progressing well at a lower level and wish to upgrade to a degree at a higher

level;

● you have not met the requirements for the degree for which you are registered and

are transferring to a lower degree;

● a change in personal circumstances means you need to end your programme early,

but still want to receive a qualification;

● your supervisor is moving to a different department.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Reasons for a change of programme are often unique to

your situation. If you think a change of programme may be right for you, you should speak to

your supervisor.

For more information, visit www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/change/transfer.

Extension

If exceptional circumstances are affecting your ability to work in the final 3 months before your

submission deadline, you may be permitted to extend your submission deadline, but only in

proportion to the documented impact on your work. You should be planning to submit

considerably before the deadline to allow for less exceptional but still unpredictable events that

might affect your work.

There is no guarantee that you will be able to extend your programme in this way, especially if

the circumstances could have been remedied with a leave of absence at an earlier stage.

Extensions are normally limited to a maximum of six months. In exceptionally compelling

circumstances, a longer extension of up to one year may be granted. Multiple extensions

exceeding a total period of two years will not normally be granted.

Applications for extensions should be made before your current submission deadline. If you

need to apply for an extension of submission date, you should speak to your supervisor. This

date should be justified by the circumstances and approved by the departmental graduate chair

or the Director of Graduate Studies.

For more information, visit www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/change/extension/

https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/change/full-time-part-time/#tab-4

https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/change/full-time-part-time/#tab-4

https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/change/transfer/

https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/change/extension/

30

Withdrawal

Withdrawal is the term used when a student decides to permanently leave the University before

completing their programme of study. Before deciding to withdraw you should meet your

supervisor to discuss any issues you may have and explore your options. It may be more

appropriate for you to take a leave of absence, switch to part-time study, or change

programmes.

If you need more advice, or want to speak to someone other than your supervisor, support is

available from:

● RSAT;

● the Student Support Hub;

● GSA.

For more information, visit www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/change/withdraw

https://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/support/change/withdraw/

31

Professional development and employability

Teaching/demonstrating opportunities

As a research student, you work at the cutting edge of your field. You live, breathe and care

passionately about your subject. We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities

available to teach and share some of your expertise with other students. Each department has

a designated Postgraduates-who-teach (PGWT) co-ordinator who organises the teaching

opportunities and provides support. In DERS, PGWTs are known as “Teaching Scholars”.

The Director of Teaching Scholar (also called PGWT co-ordinator) in DERS is Dr Andrew

Pickering, [email protected].

Many of our research students take up the opportunity to gain experience of teaching and it

adds to your CV and gives access to training for teaching.

All PhD and MPhil students can apply to become a "Teaching Scholar". Teaching Scholarships

provide financial support towards the completion of the degree in exchange for undertaking a

limited amount of teaching in the Department. Scholarships may be held by Home, EU and

Overseas students. Teaching Scholars can be given up to 55 hours per year of undergraduate

seminar teaching and for this they will receive a scholarship of up to £3,500 per year. Teaching

scholarships are divided into three bands

Tier A, 25 teaching hours, £1,500 per year,

Tier B, 40 teaching hours, £2,500 per year,

Tier C, 55 teaching hours, £3,500 per year.

Teaching Scholars normally have, on average, less than 6 contact hours per week. In addition

to contact hours, Teaching Scholars are obliged to attend training and review sessions, plus

‘Shadowing’ and ‘Buddy’ sessions. Other obligations include reading, commenting on, grading

and providing feedback to students on weekly assignments; office hours; monitoring and

pursuing unsatisfactory students; and completing end-of-term tutorial reports.

Why teach? It can: ● improve your confidence;

● enhance your ability to explain and engage people with your research;

● allow you to reflect on the impact of your research and why it is important;

● develop skills of creativity and innovation in you and your students;

● increase your resilience and resourcefulness;

● assimilate you into the faculty as a recognised expert in your field.

Vacancies for teaching scholars are usually advertised internally or on our departmental

webpage. All current and prospective PhD students whose application has already been

accepted are informed about Teaching Scholarships by e-mail and they can apply by sending a

formal application.


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Assessment of your suitability for a Teaching Scholarship is undertaken by the Director of

Teaching Scholars in consultation with the Head of Department. Provisional allocations are

usually made in late summer. The final allocation is made, and your teaching workload is

usually confirmed, in late September/October.

The PGWT co-ordinator contacts can be found at: http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-

school/pgwt/

All students who wish to teach at the University must attend the ‘Introduction to Learning and

Teaching’ workshop. The training for PGWTs is designed to help you develop the skills and

confidence you need to support your students. For more information on training opportunities,

visit: www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/researcher-development/pgwt/.

RETT additionally advertises teaching opportunities for PGWTs on behalf of academic and

support departments (e.g. Maths Skills Centre and Writing Centre Tutors), visit:

http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/researcher-development/pgwt/pgwt_adverts.htm.

Public engagement

Another way to share your expertise and enthusiasm for your research is through public

engagement. The University runs a range of one-off and ongoing public events and initiatives

that are fantastic opportunities for you to share your research and its findings with a broad

audience. This includes events such as YorNight, York Talks and the Festival of Ideas. For

more information, visit https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events.

Like teaching, public engagement activities can:

● improve your confidence.

● enhance your ability to explain and engage people with your research.

● allow you to reflect on the impact of your research and why it is important.

● assimilate you into the faculty as a recognised expert in your field.

Careers/employability

The University Careers service offers information and advice to support postgraduate

researchers with their skills development and career planning. For more information, visit

www.york.ac.uk/students/work-volunteering-careers/student-groups/postgrad-research.

DERS provides assistance for research students in their job seeking process towards the

completion of their studies. While your supervisor will be able to give you general advice, DERS

has a PhD Placement Officer. The latter organises the website with the information about

current PhD job market candidates (http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/jobmarket/ ), arranges

mock interviews and is happy to provide further general advice, for example about important job

market events. The PhD Placement Officer is currently Dr Emma Tominey.

We would like to emphasize the importance to have a personal webpage where you can share

details on your research. Please contact our Postgraduate Administrator (Katie Walton) or

Research Student Administrator (Michael Shallcross) with details to include in your webpage.

For some examples, visit http://www.york.ac.uk/economics/our-people/phd-students/

http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/pgwt/

http://www.york.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/pgwt/

http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/researcher-development/pgwt/

http://www.york.ac.uk/admin/hr/researcher-development/pgwt/pgwt_adverts.htm

https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events

https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events

https://www.york.ac.uk/students/work-volunteering-careers/student-groups/postgrad-research/



33

Appeals and complaints

A complaint is about any service received. An appeal is about an academic decision reached.

Appeals

You can appeal against a procedural error in arriving at the academic decision or on the basis of

mitigating circumstances if you have a good reason for not having declared these at the

appropriate time. You cannot appeal against an academic judgement of the quality of your work.

Complaints

You may complain about your experience of any academic or non-academic service you have

received as a student. If you are not happy with the outcome of an initial investigation of your

complaint you can pursue your complaint further under the formal Complaints Procedure.

The GSA has a dedicated advice service to guide students through these procedures. If you

are considering making an appeal or a complaint, e-mail [email protected], or visit

http://www.yorkgsa.org/site/welfare/arrange-an-appointment-with-the-gsa.

For more information on complaints and appeals, and how to complain or appeal, visit:

https://www.york.ac.uk/students/help/appeals.


http://www.yorkgsa.org/site/welfare/arrange-an-appointment-with-the-gsa

https://www.york.ac.uk/students/help/appeals

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Disclaimer

Whilst the University tries to ensure that information contained in this document is accurate

when published, the University does not accept liability for any inaccuracies contained within it.

Where circumstances occur or change outside the reasonable control of the University, the

University reserves the right to change or cancel parts of, or entire, programmes of study or

services at any time without liability, before or after students have registered at the University.

Circumstances outside the University’s reasonable control include: industrial action, over or

under-demand from students, staff illness, lack of funding, severe weather, fire, civil disorder,

political unrest, government restrictions and concern regarding risk of transmission of serious

illness. The University’s contract with its students does not confer third party benefits under the

Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

35

Glossary

Check the table below for accuracy within your own department (some terms will vary) and add

in any further acronyms etc. used in departmental revisions to this template handbook,

alternatively link to an online glossary if applicable. Add in other useful shorthand terms.

Term Meaning Index [relevant sections -

page number]

CELT Centre for English Language Teaching

CDT Centre for Doctoral Training

BoS Board of Studies

DERS Department of Economics and Related

Studies

DRC Departmental Research Committee

DTC Departmental Teaching Committee

DTP Doctoral Training Partnership

YGRS (York) Graduate Research School

GSA Graduate Students’ Association

PGWT Postgraduate(s) Who Teach(es)

RETT Research Excellence Training Team

RSAT Research Student Administration Team

RST Research Support Team (Library)

SCA Standing Committee on Assessment

SCC Special Cases Committee

TAP Thesis Advisory Panel

YUSU University of York Students’ Union

department handbook research students 2016/17 · progression panels, examiners of research degrees,...

Documents