Business Economics
Questions about these requirements? See the contact information at the bottom of the page.
Program of Study
The PhD degree in business economics is a jointly offered program between the Economics Department at the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Business School.
Students will collaborate with faculty from both the Economics Department and Harvard Business School (HBS), and take courses offered by each. Each candidate’s program of study will be developed in consultation with the chair of the Programs and Admissions Committee. The normal program is outlined below.
Coursework and Research Preparation
Students complete the following required courses during the first year of the program:
- Fall: Econ 2010a (Microeconomic Theory), Econ 2010c (Macroeconomic Theory), Econ 2120 (Principles of Econometrics) or higher-level econometrics course, and either a business history course, field course, or time.
- Spring: Econ 2010b (Microeconomic Theory), Econ 2010d (Macroeconomic Theory), Econ 2140 (Econometric Methods) or higher-level econometrics course, and either a business history course, field course, or time.
During the second year, students designate two fields of study and complete two approved courses in each of the two fields. Business Economics students may take up to four courses in a field. Fields include Behavioral Economics, Contracts and Organizations, Development, Econometrics, History, Financial Economics, Industrial Organization, International Economics, Labor Economics, Macroeconomics, Political Economy, Public Economics, and Theory. Although “applied econometrics” is not a field at Harvard, the department considers a student qualified in “applied econometrics” if they have taken one second-year econometrics course and one empirical elective. All courses should be completed with a grade of B or better.
Students who begin the program after August 2026 are required to take one and a half additional courses in any of the fields outside their two designated fields. Students who began the program before fall 2026 must complete the Business History requirement.
Students who began the program before August 2026 must complete the Business History requirement. Below is the list of pre-approved classes:
- HBS 4810: Business History Seminar
- HBS 1160: Creating the Modern Financial System*
- HBS 1180: Institutions, Macroeconomics, and the Global Economy*
- HBS 1122: The Coming of Managerial Capitalism: The United States*
- HBS 1130: Entrepreneurship and Global Capitalism*
- HIST 1965: International History: States, Markets, & the Global Economy
- GOV 2755: International Political Economy
- ECON 2325: Comparative Historical Economic Development
- ECON 2330: History and Human Capital.
MBA Courses
All HBS doctoral students are required to complete 2 MBA courses, including a minimum of 14 case-based discussions. The goal is to help students identify managerially relevant research opportunities and build relationships with MBA faculty instructors. Students enrolled in MBA classes must receive a grade of I or II for the class to count toward MBA course credit; a student who receives a grade of III or IV will be required to complete an additional MBA course.
In addition to regularly assigned coursework, doctoral students must meet with their MBA instructors at least twice during the semester to discuss connections between course material and research opportunities. Students are responsible for setting the agenda and scheduling these meetings during faculty office hours.
Students in good standing may simultaneously complete the teaching requirement and one MBA course requirement by completing a teaching assignment in the HBS MBA program.
The First Two Years
Advising
Regular guidance through contact with faculty advisors is an essential component of doctoral education. Students should maintain close contact with their official advisor(s) throughout their enrollment in the program. Students are encouraged to develop informal advising relationships with several faculty members in addition to their official advisor.
First-year advisors assist in the initial stages of the program but do not necessarily advise the student throughout their studies. Students are matched with initial advisors based on their research interests. As students familiarize themselves with faculty during coursework, research, seminars, and other activities, they may change their official advisor(s) as their academic and research interests develop. During the early years of study, students should become acquainted with many program faculty members to identify advisors who share their research interests.
Third-Year Research Paper (Econ 3000)
In the third year, all Business Economics students must enroll in Econ 3000, a research preparatory course in which they complete a research paper under the guidance of their faculty advisor. Students must identify their primary advisor before enrolling in the course in the fall of their third year.
Business Economics students must email their papers to their advisor, with a copy to the Doctoral Programs Office by May 15. Students who need an extension must request one from the Doctoral Programs Office and their advisor(s), copying program co-chairs Jesse Shapiro and Sam Hanson, at least two weeks before May 15. The deadline may be extended until September 1. Students who do not meet the May 15 deadline and have not requested an extension will receive a letter indicating that they are not in good standing and must submit a paper by September 1. Students who do not meet the September 1 deadline may be withdrawn from the program.
Graduate Student Workshops
Students are required to begin presenting in a Graduate Student Workshop during the spring semester of the third year. Students continue to attend and present in at least one workshop each semester. Business Economics students must report their presentations in the HBS Annual Planning Survey to check this requirement off annually. Business Economics students may request an exception for a semester by reaching out to the faculty chair(s) and Doctoral Programs Office prior to the end of the semester. If a student does not present in a workshop for two semesters after their third year, they may be withdrawn from the program.
Teaching Requirement
To fulfill the teaching requirement, all HBS doctoral students must teach or assist with teaching in a formally offered course for one full academic term, including at least 8 hours of front-of-class teaching and 16 hours of teaching preparation time. The requirement may be fulfilled at any Harvard University school, including the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Kennedy School, or the Extension School. Co-teaching with other doctoral students satisfies the requirement.
Field Research Requirement
The field research requirement is specific to students at Harvard Business School. Its purpose is to give students the opportunity to engage directly with practitioners—in business, public policy, or nonprofit organizations—as part of their research. Asking students to consider their research interests and to learn how to study those interests in the real world, through organizations and markets grappling with real challenges aligned with a student's individual research agenda, is a valuable skill and a comparative advantage of doctoral education at Harvard Business School.
Students may satisfy the requirement in one of three ways:
- as a qualitative research component of a dissertation chapter
- as a separate research project, such as a case or field research paper
- a product as agreed upon between the student and the chair/coordinator of the program.
Where travel is needed to carry out the research, the Doctoral Office offers support of up to $3,500.
By the end of the fourth year, students must submit a field research proposal describing the scope of the project, including the practitioners or field site they intend to engage and their planned activities. Experiences may range from a two- to three-day site visit to a longer-term internship or embedded research experience, depending on what is most beneficial to the student's research (see the Outside Activities Policy). International students should also consult with the Harvard International Office (HIO), as applicable.
Faculty advisors are responsible for approving the proposed plan to ensure it aligns with the student's research agenda and represents a meaningful scholarly experience. Students should obtain faculty advisor approval before submitting the proposal to the Doctoral Office. The Doctoral Office will review and approve the plan and, where travel is involved, confirm budget parameters and travel guidelines based on the proposed project.
Students are responsible for carrying out the approved plan, providing their advisor and the Doctoral Office with a summary of the outcomes of the engagement and submitting any required travel reimbursement materials to the Doctoral Office after completion of the engagement.
Research Proposal
During the fall of their fourth year, students are required to present and submit their research ideas to a committee comprising at least two faculty members. Business economics students must send the committee a preliminary research plan of at most five pages before the presentation. The committee provides feedback and decides whether the student is making satisfactory progress toward the degree, offering coordinated advice and detailed recommendations for future research plans, particularly with respect to the possible job market paper and dissertation. If all committee members attend a scheduled presentation (e.g., the PhD finance lunch), this may fulfill the presentation portion of the requirement, provided the student also schedules a follow-up meeting with the full committee for coordinated feedback.
Research proposals must be emailed to the Doctoral Programs Office (Marais Young) and the student's advisor(s) by December 15 of the fourth year. Students who need an extension must request one from the Doctoral Programs Office and their advisor(s), copying Program Co-Chairs Jesse Shapiro and Sam Hanson, at least two weeks before December 15. The deadline may be extended until May 30. Students who do not meet the December 15 deadline and have not requested an extension will receive a letter indicating that they are not in good standing and must submit by May 30. Students who do not meet the May 30 deadline may be withdrawn from the program.
The Dissertation
The student selects a faculty dissertation committee consisting of three members of the Harvard faculty, one of whom must be a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and one who must be from the Business School. Under the dissertation committee’s advisorship, the student will proceed to complete the dissertation research. The dissertation should demonstrate the candidate’s ability to perform original research that develops in a scholarly way and is a significant contribution to the knowledge and understanding in the chosen special field. For the student to meet the requirement, analysis and evaluation of relevant data must yield significant and independent conclusions.
Advising
Regular guidance through contact with faculty advisors is an essential component of doctoral education. Students should maintain close contact with their official advisor(s) throughout their enrollment in the program. Students are encouraged to develop informal advising relationships with several faculty members in addition to their official advisor.
First-year advisors assist in the initial stages of the program but do not necessarily advise the student throughout their studies. Students are matched with one of the program chairs as an initial advisor. As students familiarize themselves with faculty through their coursework, research, seminars, and other activities, they may change their official advisor(s) as their academic and research interests develop. During the early years of study, students should become acquainted with many program faculty members to identify advisors who share their research interests.