outside of Ross Building at night
PhD in Business and Economics

As a Business and Economics PhD student, you’ll examine a broad range of economic issues, providing critical insights into all aspects of business and public policy. In this joint doctoral program with the Department of Economics at the University of Michigan, you can leverage the strengths of two top-ranked programs and explore the research topics that matter to you. Develop your teaching and research skills, mentored by world-renowned faculty, as you prepare for tenure-track positions at leading academic institutions. 

Evelyn Smith, Phd
I chose the joint doctorate program in business and economics at U-M because I felt it brought together the best elements of both areas. More broadly, I was drawn to the highly supportive environment Michigan Ross offers to its graduate students. Students have ample access to faculty, to the resources they need to complete their PhD programs successfully, and to an excellent placement office to help them compete in the job market.
Business and Economics Doctoral Curriculum

Throughout the five-year program, you will prepare for academic positions at top business schools through rigorous coursework, research papers, and field examinations. 

Business and economics coursework applies the rigor of economic logic to understand consumer behavior, firm strategy and the impact of public policies on individuals, organizations, and social welfare. Economics research provides critical insights into all aspects of business and public policy. 

You will devote the first two years of the program to meeting core and secondary requirements. 

Core requirements include: 

  • Microeconomic theory (4 courses of 1.5 credits each, and a preliminary exam in the summer of the first year) 
  • Macroeconomic theory (2 courses of 3 credits each, and a preliminary exam in the summer of the first year) 
  • Methods (math for economists and 3 econometrics courses of 3 credits each) 

Secondary requirements include: 

  • BE seminars (5 courses of 1.5 credits each, with a B+-average grade requirement) 
  • A field of economics, such as industrial organization, international economics, or labor economics (2 courses, plus a field exam in the summer of the second year) 
  • Additional courses as necessary 
     

You will complete an empirical research project by the end of your third year. 

You are expected to fulfill core and secondary requirements, including micro and macro preliminaries, and a field exam in one chosen field by the end of the summer of your second year to pass into candidacy. The remainder of the program is devoted to the dissertation.

Business and Economics PhD Faculty

World-renowned faculty will become your mentors, providing support in your research and throughout your career. Faculty in the Business Economics and Public Policy are experts in a wide range of research topics including: economic organization and contracting, antitrust, regulation, energy, environmental policy and sustainability, international trade and finance, developing economies, entrepreneurship, taxation, and healthcare. 

Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy
Business and Economics Faculty Doctoral Coordinator
Waldo O. Hildebrand Professor of Risk Management and Insurance
Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy
William Davidson Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy
Professor of Economics, LSA
Dow Professor of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce
Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy
Professor of Environment and Sustainability
Sanford R. Robertson Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Assistant Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy
Buzz and Judy Newton Professor of Business Administration
Area Chair, Business Economics and Public Policy
Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy
David Bradford Distinguished University Professor of Economics Paul W. McCracken Collegiate Professor of Business Economics
Professor of Economics
Chair, Department of Economics
Faculty Director, Office of Tax Policy Research

Learn more about the faculty and research contributions of the business and economics area at Michigan Ross.

Recent Business and Economics Placements

Jaedo Choi, 2022
Federal Reserve Board of Governors

Paul Organ, 2022
​Office of Tax Analysis

Giacomo Meille, 2021
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Frank Li, 2020
Stanford University Post-doc

Jordan Rhodes, 2020
Federal Trade Commission

Yulia Chhabra, 2019

 

Yue Fang, 2019
Zhejiang University

Dan Zhao, 2019
Post-doc, Washington University in St. Louis

Jin Woo Chang, 2018  
Mercer

Xu Zhang, 2018
London Business School

Danial Asmat, 2015
Economic Analysis Group at the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice

Michael Olabisi, 2015
Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business

Current Business and Economics PhD Students

Current PhD students, the next generation of scholars preparing to solve the complex issues facing business and economics. 

Mingxuan Spencer Ge

Mingxuan Spencer 
mkgg@umich.edu

yuqing gu

Yuqing Gu  
guyuqing@umich.edu

no-photo available

Ryan Fraser 
rcfraser@umich.edu

Rex Hsieh

Rex Hsieh 
rexhsieh@umich.edu

no-photo available

Jeongwon Jang 
jwjang@umich.edu

manasi kutwal

Manasi Kutwal 
mskutwal@umich.edu

William Mandelkorn

William Mandelkorn 
mandelko@umich.edu

Yiman Ren

Yiman Ren 
yimanren@umich.edu

no-photo available

Wei Wang 
cweiwang@umich.edu