graduate programme

Postgraduate training

The group has over a period of two decades maintained a strong program in the area of environmental and natural resource economics and rural development with a number of taught masters and PhD’s being offered on these topics. We encourage applications from qualified candidates interested in doctoral study in this field. Members of the group who are active in supervising doctoral students include Stephen Hynes, Hugh Kelley, Cathal O’ Donoghue, Eithne Murphy, Mary Silles and Tom van Rensburg,  In addition to teaching and supervising students and pursuing academic research, members of the group have provided counsel on environmental policy issues to international, national, and state agencies.

 The group supports a Masters programme in Economic and Environmental Modelling as well as PhD research.  These are described in more detail below.

M.Econ.Sc. in Economic and Environmental Modelling

Our group offers a course based on many years teaching graduate students in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Agricultural Economics and Rural Development. The programme aims to equip graduates with quantitative modelling skills to meet the diverse challenges of global climate change, sustainable development and environmental governance. It deals with the underlying causes of environmental degradation, linkages between the economy and the environment; the way in which economic regulations such as pollution taxes and tradable permits can impact on the environment; and the valuation of environmental goods in monetary terms and how these values might be used in cost-benefit analysis. The programme also looks at the economics of renewable and non-renewable resources.

This is not a course in ecological economics, nor is it a course in environmental management.  Many of the modules are taught by economists who are not part of this group and consequently our students find themselves using analytical techniques more or less identical to those encountered in more mainstream economics. This enables students to move to other branches of economics if they so wish.

The programme includes an internship in a research institute or development agency, which allows you to apply the skills learned on the programme in a real-world environment.  For more details see the section on Placement of Recent Graduate Students.

PhD Training

The PhD research degree provides an opportunity to undertake sustained supervised research leading to a doctoral thesis.  The PhD programme in economics has expanded rapidly since its initiation in 2003 and now has 56 PhD students, 16 of which work on resource economics or rural development topics with about 8 staff involved in supervision.

The duration of this programme is 3-4 years and in the first year, all students are admitted to the MPhil programme and are registered as MPhil students.  During the first year, each student is also assigned a supervisor who will have a specialist interest in the topic being investigated as well as a small group of other staff in a related field (Thesis Advisory Team).  Graduate study emphasizes a firm foundation in economic analysis and quantitative methods, as well as their application to environmental and resource issues. Consequently the first year includes some courses and is dedicated to economic theory, econometrics, seminars and the completion of a detailed research proposal. During the second year students focus entirely on their thesis and the dissertation normally takes two to three additional years to complete.

The student is entitled and encouraged to transfer to the PhD programme in year 2 if he/she obtains a pass grade in all courses and at least an honours grade in the presentation of an advanced research proposal, normally between 5,000 and 7,000 words in length.  During year 2 and year 3, the student continues to write his/her thesis; he/she is also expected to undertake annual assessments of their progress, that include a presentation of their work to fellow students and staff during the PhD (normally three presentations over three years) and an internal review board. This provides students with the opportunity to present work before presenting externally at conferences. 

Students are expected to attend staff seminars and are required to attend some of them as part of their course.  The department also strongly encourages participation in national and international conferences (some financial assistance is available to students who are invited to present papers).  Students also have the possibility to have their completed chapters included in the department’s working paper series.

The group has an outstanding record at winning fully funded competitive externally funded fellowships to support doctoral research in environmental economics and rural development and marine resource economics.  All of the current 16 doctoral students are fully funded on externally funded studentships and fellowships throughout their course of study and all of the students that have completed their PhDs were similarly funded. 

For more information on the PhD programme as well as information on applying to the program and current research activities by staff in the Economics Department please check the Research section of the Department webpage.

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