Why Sheffield?

Pursue a PhD in Economics at the University of Sheffield to conduct groundbreaking research that advances academic knowledge and benefits society. You will be part of our vibrant research environment and receive first-class economics training and support, as well as the facilities necessary to conduct your research. In a 2023 PGR Voice survey, 95% of the PhD students in our school rated their overall experience positively.

Research at the School of Economics:

• The School of Economics at the University of Sheffield has an international reputation for practical and real-world economics. We are a leading research unit in a Russell Group University. 90% of our research was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent by the 2021 Research Excellence Framework. Visit the Research Themes page to learn about the school’s recent academic achievements.
• The school conducts research with various UK Government Departments and international organisations. The school also engages local partners and makes a positive contribution to the local community. Visit the Impact and Knowledge Exchange page to see how our research impacts public policy and helps the society.
• The school has a lively, multicultural community of more than forty full-time academic staff members and over thirty PhD students across various fields of economics.

Opportunities for PhD students:

• You will have an opportunity to join one or more of the seven research groups, based on your research interests. Research groups organize regular meetings, reading groups, workshops and conferences, where PhD students can improve their skills and learn about the research within and outside of the school.
• You can attend weekly seminars, workshops and conferences organised by the school. This will expose you to new ideas in your research area and across the various fields of the discipline. You will also be able to interact with researchers outside the school.
• The school provides a range of scholarships that cover maintenance and tuition fees. These will be awarded on the basis of outstanding academic achievement and research potential. The studentships are open to all nationalities and subject areas. Other PhD funding is also available via the ESRC White Rose Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership Studentships and the China Scholarship Council.

PhD Training

• We are part of the White Rose Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership (WRDTP), providing research students with a world-class environment to develop their discipline-specific and interdisciplinary research skills.
• You will receive advanced doctoral training in econometrics, research methods and other areas that are relevant for your research.
• The skills you develop throughout the PhD are highly applicable and transferable across a wide range of subjects and occupations, with our alumni working in academia, NGOs, government agencies and the private sector. In the recent years, some of our PhD students continued their academic career in universities such as the University of Cambridge, University of Birmingham, University of Lucerne, University of Sussex, University of Southampton, University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University. Others were employed at agencies such as the Bank of England, Bank of Mexico, JRC at the European Commission, HMRC, Ofcom, Institute for the Future of Work and the Department of Business and Trade.

Facilities for PhD students:

• You will receive financial support for research and training activities, such as presenting in conferences, attending workshops and summer schools and participating in other training activities.
• You will be provided with office space and desktop PCs or laptops. The university network provides access to the local resources, supercomputers in other parts of the country and organisations around the world.
• Our PhD students can work remotely on the ONS SRS and the UK Data Service secured data labs.
• The University provides the latest software necessary to conduct research, including Microsoft Office, statistics software (e.g. Stata) and other specialized packages (MATLAB, ArcGIS etc.).