Coursework and reviews

Coursework: direct-entry PhD

Last reviewed 17 September 2026

PhD enrolment

Enrol yourself in ECON5000 Research Economics Full-Time, or ECON5001 Research Economics Part-Time if you study part-time, through myUNSW. You must be enrolled every term, including Summer Term, for the whole of your PhD.

Year 1 courses

The four Term 1 and Term 2 courses are the compulsory core courses: you must take them, unless exceptional circumstances apply. We also recommend the second course in both the macroeconomics and microeconomics sequences, offered in Term 3.

• Term 1
  • ECON7001 Microeconomic Theory I
  • ECON7004 Mathematical Economics
• Term 2
  • ECON7002 Macroeconomic Theory I
  • COMM8102 Econometric Analysis
• Term 3 (recommended)
  • ECON7101 Microeconomic Theory II
  • ECON7102 Macroeconomic Theory II

You may also want to take additional elective courses in your first year. Talk to your supervisors as early as possible about your course load. Courses outside the School of Economics (SOE) may also be useful; see below.

Apart from ECON5000, which you enrol in yourself, the SOE handles enrolment in your courses. Once you have agreed your courses with your supervisors, contact the SOE office or the Postgraduate Research Coordinator (PGRC).

Continuing after Year 1

To continue in the PhD program, you must achieve an average of at least 85 in the four core courses, with at least 75 in each, and an average of at least 75 in any other courses.

Years 2 to 4

• There is no recommended course load for direct-entry PhD students. You must agree which courses you take, and when, with your supervisors and the PGRC.
• In general, take courses during the first two years of your program and leave the last two years for research.
• Besides SOE courses, you may benefit from courses in other disciplines, such as finance, mathematics and statistics, or computer science. For a course outside the SOE, you also need permission from the course's Lecturer in Charge (LIC).
• To take a course that is not on the list below, talk to your supervisors first, then contact the PGRC.
• The SOE handles enrolment in your courses. Once you have agreed them with your supervisors, contact the SOE office or the PGRC.
• To continue in the PhD program, you must keep an average of at least 75.

Economics electives offered in 2026

For other years, check the current UNSW timetable.