DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ECONOMICS

Overview

The programme will be covered in eight semesters over a period of four academic years and will involve full time study by coursework, examination and thesis.  The first three semesters will be totally devoted to course work.  The fourth semester will be devoted to preparations for the comprehensive examinations and thesis proposal development.  The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth semesters will be devoted to research, seminars, writing and defense of the thesis.

Course Structure

In the first year of study students will take a total of 6 (six) compulsory course units in the core areas of microeconomics, macroeconomics and quantitative methods, two from each area. In the first half of the second year, students will continue with further coursework by taking 4 (four) elective course units selected from the list of electives on offer.  Students shall take the course units from two elective fields only, e.g. Agricultural Economics and Monetary Economics.  In the second half of the second year, students would then prepare for and take comprehensive examinations.

Students who successfully finish the coursework shall, in the second half of the second year, select their dissertation topics and prepare their thesis proposals, which have to be presented in a proposal seminar in the School. On approval, the proposal will be forwarded to the Board of Postgraduate Studies for thesis registration.

During the third year, students will be involved with thesis research, fieldwork, and data gathering and analysis under the guidance of their supervisors.  This process will end with a post-fieldwork seminar, where students will present preliminary analyses of their research.  The fourth and final year will be devoted to final thesis write-up and defense.  There will be two distinct parts to this period.  The draft thesis will be prepared during the first half of the year and presented at a thesis seminar in the School.  The draft thesis will be finalized during the second half of the year and defended in accordance with established procedures.

Exams Regulations

Written Examinations - Core and Electives

  1. All candidates shall be required to take and pass examinations in the core courses before proceeding to the second year.
  2. All candidates shall be required to take and pass examinations in the four electives during the second year of study.
  3. Continuous assessment shall consist of timed tests, assignments, class presentations and seminar papers.
  4. Each course shall be examined through a three hour written examination at the end of the semester during which the course was offered.
  5. The final examination shall account for sixty percent (60%) of the total marks in each course while the continuous assessment shall account for the remaining 40 per cent.
  6. The pass mark shall be fifty percent (50%).
  7. The pass mark for the supplementary examinations shall be fifty percent (50%), which is also the maximum attainable mark.
  8. A candidate who fails not more than 50% of the units in any academic year will be allowed to sit for supplementary examinations in the failed units when next offered.
  9. A candidate who fails more than 50% of the units in any one academic year shall, at the recommendation of the School Board of Examiners and approval by Senate, be discontinued.
  10. A candidate who fails in two consecutive supplementary examinations of any one unit shall, at the recommendation of the School Board of Examiners and approval by Senate, be discontinued.

Written Examinations - Comprehensives

  1. All candidates who have fulfilled 6.1 and 6.2 above shall prepare and sit for comprehensive examinations in three subject areas, which shall include Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and another subject area of their choice.
  2. The Comprehensive Examinations shall be graded out of one hundred percent (100%).
  3. The pass mark for each Comprehensive Examination shall be fifty percent (50%)
  4. A candidate who fails a Comprehensive Examination in any one unit shall take a supplementary examination the next time offered.
  5. A candidate who fails more than 2 Comprehensive Examinations shall, at the recommendation of the School Board of Examiners and approval by Senate, be discontinued.
  6. A candidate who fails in two consecutive supplementary comprehensive examinations in a particular subject area shall, at the recommendation of the School Board of Examiners and approval by Senate, be discontinued.

Thesis

  1. A candidate who successfully finishes the coursework and the Comprehensive Examinations shall proceed to prepare and present a thesis proposal.
  2. Candidates will be allocated at least two supervisors, one of whom shall be a member of the academic staff in the School.
  3. Each supervisor shall be required to compile and submit at least one progress report of the candidate’s work each semester.  The report shall be submitted to the Director, School of Economics with a copy to the Director, Board of Postgraduate Studies for appropriate action.
  4. Candidates shall be required to present one seminar paper each semester.
  5. The candidate shall write and submit for examination a Thesis compiled from the research work carried out under the direction of not less than two supervisors.
  6. The format of the Thesis shall be as prescribed in the common regulations for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in all Faculties of the University.
  7. The thesis is equivalent to 12 core units or 2 academic years of coursework.

The common regulations for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in all the faculties of the University of Nairobi shall apply.

The following shall be eligible for admission:

  1. Holders of a Master's degree in economics from the University of Nairobi.
  2. Holders of a Master's degree in economics from an institution recognized by the University of Nairobi Senate as of comparable academic status.
  3. Holders of qualifications deemed by the Senate of the University of Nairobi to be equivalent to (a) and (b) above
  • Private limited Companies
  • Public Institutions(e.g KRA,KNBS,CAK, Government Departments)
  • International Multilateral Institutions (IMF, World Bank, IFPRI,CIMMYT)
  • Professional Economists
  • Planning Officers
  • Statisticians/Econometrician
  • Multilateral/Bilateral Trade Negotiators
PHD Economics-X80  
YEAR 1 - 6units  
TUITION @57600                  288,000.00
EXAMINATION (PER UNIT @1000)                       6,000.00
LIBRARY (PER YEAR)                       5,000.00
MEDICAL FEE (PER YEAR)                       6,500.00
ICT SERVICES - (PER YEAR)                       7,000.00
REGISTRATION (PER SEMESTER@2250)                       4,500.00
CAUTION - (ONCE)                       5,000.00
ID CARD ( PER YEAR)                       1,000.00
ACTIVITY-( PER YEAR)                       2,000.00
STUDENT ORGANISATION(PER YEAR)                       1,000.00
Total                  326,000.00
YEAR 2 - 4units  
TUITION                  288,000.00
EXAMINATION (PER UNIT @1000)                       4,000.00
LIBRARY (PER YEAR)                       5,000.00
MEDICAL FEE (PER YEAR)                       6,500.00
ICT SERVICES - (PER YEAR)                       7,000.00
REGISTRATION (PER SEMESTER@2250)                       4,500.00
ID CARD ( PER YEAR)                       1,000.00
ACTIVITY-( PER YEAR)                       2,000.00
STUDENT ORGANISATION(PER YEAR)                       1,000.00
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM                       3,000.00
Total                  322,000.00
YEAR 3 - proposal and thesis  
TUITION                  288,000.00
LIBRARY (PER YEAR)                       5,000.00
MEDICAL FEE (PER YEAR)                       6,500.00
ICT SERVICES - (PER YEAR)                       7,000.00
REGISTRATION (PER SEMESTER@2250)                       4,500.00
ID CARD ( PER YEAR)                       1,000.00
ACTIVITY-( PER YEAR)                       2,000.00
STUDENT ORGANISATION(PER YEAR)                       1,000.00
Total                  315,000.00
YEAR 4 - proposal and thesis  
TUITION                  288,000.00
LIBRARY (PER YEAR)                       5,000.00
MEDICAL FEE (PER YEAR)                       6,500.00
ICT SERVICES - (PER YEAR)                       7,000.00
REGISTRATION (PER SEMESTER@2250)                       4,500.00
ID CARD ( PER YEAR)                       1,000.00
ACTIVITY-( PER YEAR)                       2,000.00
THESIS EXAMINATION                    50,000.00
STUDENT ORGANISATION(PER YEAR)                       1,000.00
Total                  365,000.00
   
Grand total     1,328,000.00
   
AERC SPONSORED STUDENTS - YEAR 1 & 2 DONE IN TANZANIA (UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM)  
YEAR 3  
TUITION                  288,000.00
LIBRARY (PER YEAR)                       5,000.00
CAUTION - (ONCE)                       5,000.00
MEDICAL FEE (PER YEAR)                       6,500.00
ICT SERVICES - (PER YEAR)                       7,000.00
REGISTRATION (PER SEMESTER@2250)                       4,500.00
ID CARD ( PER YEAR)                       1,000.00
ACTIVITY-( PER YEAR)                       2,000.00
STUDENT ORGANISATION(PER YEAR)                       1,000.00
Total                  320,000.00
YEAR 4  
TUITION                  288,000.00
LIBRARY (PER YEAR)                       5,000.00
MEDICAL FEE (PER YEAR)                       6,500.00
ICT SERVICES - (PER YEAR)                       7,000.00
REGISTRATION (PER SEMESTER@2250)                       4,500.00
ID CARD ( PER YEAR)                       1,000.00
ACTIVITY-( PER YEAR)                       2,000.00
THESIS EXAMINATION                    50,000.00
STUDENT ORGANISATION(PER YEAR)                       1,000.00
Total                  365,000.00
   
Grand total         685,000.00