Preliminars

[israelecon]

asquare, i think you are right for some schools, but not all. for example, this is princeton's requirements:

Requirements

Satisfactory performance in the six first-year courses is required for passing the first part of the general examination. Students need to demonstrate competency in basic mathematics by passing a written examination. A course in mathematics for economists (ECO 500) is offered annually by the department and entering students with inadequate preparation are advised to take this course.
Students are expected to take at least six advanced courses during their second year. At the end of the second year, they are required to take examinations in two fields that are usually chosen from among the following list: (1) advanced macroeconomic theory, (2) advanced microeconomic theory, (3) behavioral/experimental, (4) demography, (5) econometrics, (6) economic development, (7) financial economics, (8) industrial organization, (9) international money and finance, (10) international trade, (11) labor economics, (12) political economy, and (13) public finance. Students may also participate in the Program in Political Economy. Participation in this program requires that students take two designated graduate courses in politics and that they choose political economy as one of the two fields for the examination. Students are advised to consult with appropriate faculty members on the extent and the coverage of the fields.
In the second year, students are also required to write a research paper on a topic of their choice.
All students are encouraged to attend weekly seminars in their area of interest. Students who have passed their generals are expected to regularly attend one weekly seminar. There is no language requirement.
Students are granted a master’s degree providing they pass the six first-year courses with an average of 2.5 or better and two field examinations, or six courses beyond the first-year core.
To obtain the Ph.D., the qualified candidate must also submit an acceptable written dissertation and pass a final public oral examination.

so they call all the requirements together "general examination", but there is no separate exam testing your knowledge of micro/macro/metrics other than the course exams themselves.

[italos]

Originally Posted by israelecon

so they call all the requirements together "general examination", but there is no separate exam testing your knowledge of micro/macro/metrics other than the course exams themselves.

This is also the impression I had about preliminary examination.

[paradox3696]

Some schools (eg, Washington State Uni) dont even require you to take the prelim in core theory (macro or micro) if you pass the courses with A's.

Perhaps, there are even schools where preliminary exam is NOT even part of the requirement as long as you pass the courses.

[italos]

Originally Posted by paradox3696

Some schools (eg, Washington State Uni) dont even require you to take the prelim in core theory (macro or micro) if you pass the courses with A's.

Perhaps, there are even schools where preliminary exam is NOT even part of the requirement as long as you pass the courses.

Can you provide us with some examples?

[paradox3696]

Originally Posted by italos

Can you provide us with some examples?

hmmmmmmmmm I thought my example of Washington State UNi is one of those progmams that does NOT require you to take preliminary if you score A in both Macro and Micro courses. This was confirmed by telephone with one of the current phd students there.

[israelecon]

according to what i posted about princeton, princeton is an example too, and you don't even need an A.

[Mr.Keen]

Berkeley and MIT do not have those examinations either. At Duke you are exempt if your GPA is above certain cutoff. At Chicago we have three core examinations: macro, micro and econometrics.

[asquare]

Princeton doesn't have prelims in the first year classes The requirement is that you pass the first year courses, and the final exams are part of the grade in the courses, of course.

For schools that do have prelims, they are not final exams in the regular courses. But Princeton and some other schools don't have prelims separately from regular courses

[israelecon]

does anyone think that there is an advantage to the prelim system?
the way i see it is that it is more a way for the school to weed out students they don't want, rather than a way to teach the students more. also it seems to me that the non-prelim students will get a headstart with their second year research paper (or at least a vacation) during the summer after first year while the prelimmers spend the summer studying.

[paradox3696]

Originally Posted by israelecon

does anyone think that there is an advantage to the prelim system?
the way i see it is that it is more a way for the school to weed out students they don't want, rather than a way to teach the students more. also it seems to me that the non-prelim students will get a headstart with their second year research paper (or at least a vacation) during the summer after first year while the prelimmers spend the summer studying.

yea i ditto that.

U can relate that to a scenerio when a candidate is defending his/her master thesis or doctoral dissertation (oral presentation) and the candidate is being told that you are expected to answer any questions that may or maybe not part of the courses you have taken for that degree. Failure to answer the questions in a satisfactory manner might NOT get your degree LOL.