PhD in Economics
Lancaster's Department of Economics offers an active and stimulating research environment in which PhD students play an important part. As a PhD student in the Department you will be working within a high-quality research-active environment and a Top-10 UK university with a world-class reputation for excellence in teaching and research.
Study is possible on a full- or part-time basis, and we currently supervise around 20 students on our MPhil/PhD programme in Economics.
Funding and scholarships
A range of funding opportunities, in the form of scholarships, studentships and bursaries, are available to help you finance your PhD study, see the Economics PhD Funding and LUMS PhD funding pages.
Departmental involvement and research training
"Joining the NWDTC expands the choices of training courses at Lancaster, Manchester and Liverpool universities. The NWDTC provides a platform for exchanging research ideas and experiences"
The Department forms part of the ESRC-funded North West Doctoral Training Centre (NWDTC), the largest centre for PhD training in England, and provides wide access to advanced post-MSc training courses in order to ensure that PhD graduates are competitive in the international job market. A summary of the PhD programme can be found here.
PhD students form an integral part of the research environment and participate fully in departmental activities. This includes attending and contributing to our regular departmental seminars. There is an extensive programme of seminars by leading external speakers in Economics and across the other departments within Lancaster University Management School. In addition, there are more informal research workshops where staff and postgraduate students present their work in a more informal atmosphere. Computing and office facilities are provided for PhD students as well as full access to the University's library and computing facilities.
Potential areas for PhD study
Research in the Department can be broadly categorised into four research groupings, as shown in the left-hand menu. You will also find more information about the specific expertise of individual staff members in our staff profiles. Students should contact the relevant staff to help develop a research proposal.
Subject to the availability of staff for supervision, PhD study may be undertaken in any of the research areas. However, each of the groups has also indicated a number of specific areas where we would particularly welcome applications (see the Research Groups pages for more information). This enables us to offer the kind of high-quality supervision which is vital for PhD study.
Most of our students are studying for a PhD in Economics but others are researching economic topics as part of the School’s PhD in Management. Some of our students are registered on the 'Integrated' PhD, a four-year programme of study where an MRes course is completed in the first year. To find out which approach may be most suitable to you, see Types of PhD.
Supervision
You will be supervised by an Economics staff member with research interests related to your field of study and by other members of the Department, the wider Management School or members of NWDTC partner institutions. Both the full-time and the part-time PhD programmes may accommodate some period of research away from the University, providing you can demonstrate the necessary capabilities. However, it is recommended that the first year is undertaken at Lancaster so that you have on-hand supervision to guide you in the initial stages.
Online application
Applications should be made online via the University's online application system.
