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PhD in Behavioural Economics


gnayamykzir

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Hi I have MSc in Behavioural Economics from Nottingham. But unfortunately I got a low merit, do you think it will be possible for me to get into LSE, Oxbridge, UCL. Since for the US it defo has kicked me out. Or should I try Warwick, UEA, EUR? Would really like to hear any suggestions!
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I also got my MSc in Behavioural Econ from Notts, and I had a mid to high Merit.

 

LSE, Oxbridge and UCL are 100% out of the question Im afraid. Warwick too. UEA as you know now has NIBS set up with Notts and Warwick Business School, so maybe you could try out with these ones, ask Prof. Starmer, he s the guy responsible for it I think.

 

EUR could be a possibility, but it is also quite competitive, maybe look for specific research projects. Otherwise Konstanz in Germany would be another interesting pick, though they specifically focus on Experimental economics, more than theoretical behavioural economics. So if you fall on the experimental/empirical side of this, you'd be fine there too.

 

Köln (or Cologne) could also be a viable choice, though they dont do as much behavioural as Konstanz. Here in Mainz we have a couple of professors who work in that field, one from a theoretical side, the other more from an empirical and more traditional side, with a kink of public policy.

 

But why not just stay at Nottingham? It is a very good university for behavioural and experimental. And the campus is great and the city too :)

 

Lastly, Trento in Northern Italy also has a very good experimental department, and like all experimental departments, they do a little behavioural too :)

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Hi jrdonsimoni,

 

Nice to talk to you again! Thanks for you suggestion after these last few years lol. Finally following you to graduate from Notts. Yeah been thinking about that, I need to rule out LSE Oxbridge UCL and Warwick from the list. What about Zurich? Am I still dreaming?

 

Notts is a wonderful city, been a year and I am still missing it. I am thinking about Notts but still not sure which profs and whether they would accept me or not given the overall score. My supervisor was a theoretical one while I did an empirical dissertation. I am gonna look at UEA after this, trying to match my qualification with them. It think UEA is very much similar with Konstanz, no? With a focus on experimental one. I am also looking at this site https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.cbe.html everyday lol.

 

Are PhD students in Germany get paid like in most of Netherlands? Or it depends on the research project. I am aware that you have experience with BGSE, I look at their website but they refer me to PhD choices in Pompeu Fabra or Autonoma de Barcelona. So PhD in BGSE are all in collaboration with those unis?

 

Do you have any tips on contacting the targeted supervisor? I think that one is also my problem, I do not know how to write well in the email to get the supervisor interested in me and my research topic. Thank you very much!

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Zurich is also very selective, so unless you get a glowing LOR from Gächter or Starmer, or potentially Cubitt or Renner, I dont think so. It wont cost you much to apply though so why not, but I wouldnt keep my hopes up.

 

UEA is pretty good, definitely a solid choice in behavioural/experimental. Im not super familiar with Norwich as a city though, so cant comment on that aspect, but the uni is definitely one of the better ones, especially in our field.

 

PhD students in Germany are usually hired as TA/RAs at, what are called, 50% positions. These are called like that because they are paid at "50% of a full post-doc". The actual amount varies a bit state to state, but it's in the €1.6k range, gross. There are some 75% and also 25% positions and these are then paid accordingly. Inomics is your best resource for those, they'll advertise when something is available in Germany, usually pretty quickly.

Also: the traditional phd way in Germany is like in the UK: so just pure research while you usually teach some classes. There are some more structured programmes, Frankfurt, Bielefeld, Mannheim, etc. If you want to have a more solid foundation in theory and economics, I'd definitely advise you to go for those. However, be warned that you genuinely cannot manage a job while studying for the first year exams. These are usually BRUTAL. So unless you have a scholarship, it'd be tough. On the plus side: tuition doesnt cost much in germany, just some admin fees and thats it.

 

BGSE = Pompeu Fabra's + U Autonoma's econ departments together. It's just that they decided to pool resources together to better attract graduate students. Both are very very good universities, if I recall one is more theoretical macro and the other more empirical (cant remember which is which though).

 

Generally I'd advise to look at positions that are already offered, so for Professors who are actively seeking people. It will make it easier to find something to say since they'll often ask you pointed questions if they're interested and ask you for stuff like maybe a brief research proposal. It will vary a lot from Professor to Professor.

 

Good luck mate!

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