Western's Graduate Program in Economics offers a firm grounding in both the theory and applied tools of Economics. Our program is challenging – a rigorous program is necessary to prepare students to undertake leading-edge research in Economics, and to apply this knowledge and skills to understand and solve a wide-range of economic problems in different institutional settings. Western Economics is convinced that students benefit from a supportive and interactive environment. Hence, we offer a unique setting that generates a substantial level of interaction between students and faculty both inside and outside the classroom and contributes to the overall learning experience. Our goal at Western Economics is to train first-rate economists. For this purpose, we recruit the best students not only from within Economics and the Social Sciences, but also from Physics, Math, and Engineering, even if they have no previous economics background.

Because of the variety of backgrounds and interests amongst our incoming students, we offer three different degrees including a new professional masters program:

Ph.D.-stream Master in Economics Program 

For students who desire a Ph.D. but have yet to attain a MA degree and for students who wish to explore whether it makes sense to pursue a Ph.D. after receiving a MA degree

Ph.D. Program in Economics

Our PhD degree trains students to become independent researchers capable of producing original contributions in a broad range of economic fields and communicating their findings efficiently. During the first two years, the curriculum consists of intensive coursework in top-of-the-art theoretical and empirical tools. In subsequent years, we closely follow our students during the various stages of their dissertation writing. We offer various classes that help them polish their writing and presentation skills. Upon exiting the program, our graduates are equipped with the necessary skills to rigorously analyze complex economic problems, enabling them to find jobs in academia, policy, and industry sectors.

A professional finance degree.

Master of Financial Economics Program 

All programs share a three week first-year summer orientation session where some of our best faculty members offer review courses in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Mathematics and Econometrics. The orientation session also includes a book discussion club which encourages faculty and students to discuss books centered on economics usually written for a lay audience. Finally, the orientation session includes a variety of enjoyable social activities that allow students to form close relationships with each other and to immediately become comfortable with our faculty.

Contact Information

Graduate Director: Juan Carlos Hatchondo

Graduate Coordinator: Sandra Augustine

Graduate Office
Department of Economics
Social Science Centre, Room 4077
Western University
London, Ontario, Canada
N6A 5C2
Telephone: 519 661-3505
Fax: 519 661-3666
General Inquiries: Sandra Augustine (econ-gradcoordinator@uwo.ca)