The Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics (SGPE), formerly known as the Scottish Doctoral Programme, was established in 1989. Its main objective is to provide post-graduate education in economics. It is a collaborative arrangement between the Departments/Subject-units of Economics at the following eight Scottish Universities: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot Watt, Stirling, Strathclyde and St. Andrews. Currently the five Scottish post-1992 universities are not included in the programme.
The programme consists of two main components. The first is a one-year taught MSc in Economics or Economics (Finance) by coursework and dissertation. The second is a PhD in Economics by dissertation. Currently the MSc component is hosted by the University of Edinburgh. Teaching staff are selected from the eight institutions participating in the programme (hereafter referred to as the "SGPE institutions"). That is, teaching staff travel regularly to Edinburgh to deliver lectures and seminars, liaise with students, attend staff/student meetings, etc.
A student who achieves a certain standard on the MSc. is then eligible to enroll for a PhD at any of the SGPE institutions. Students who have the equivalent from other ESRC-recognised institutions are also eligible. Applications from outside the United Kingdom, are vetted on by the SGPE Executive Committee.
An SGPE PhD student is required to fulfill any additional training requirements of that institution. As was described in our recent successful re-application for 1+3 and CASE recognition , there is considerable variation across SGPE institutions in what is required. However, at none are PhD students required to participate in further training in "economics". Some students of course do undergo further economics training by attending, on an ad hoc basis, conferences, workshops, summer schools, etc. Such activities for students holding ESRC studentships are often funded through the training stipend included in such studentships.
The SGPE MSc builds logically on the undergraduate experience. It stresses the importance of microeconomics, macroeconomics and quantitative methods as prerequisite knowledge that is needed for the successful understanding of specialist areas of economics. Therefore, the SGPE is structured so that students complete courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics and quantitative methods before moving on to three option courses. Once these option courses are completed, the students write a dissertation, where they can showcase the skills obtained through the successful completion of the coursework.
In this respect, the SGPE MSc is similar in structure to most MSc programme at other universities in the UK and in North America. Graduates of the MSc routinely go on to complete PhDs at other universities in the UK and in North America. This suggests that the SGPE MSc is both competitive and of high academic quality.
Where the SGPE does not so favourably compare to North America programmes relates to the training requirements of PhD students. As mentioned above, the SGPE PhD is "by dissertation" and students are not required to participate in any further training in economics beyond the masters level. However, they must complete a range of generic skills training courses which are required by the institution where they are registered. This is in sharp contrast to most Ph.D. programmes in North America, where PhD students are typically required to complete at least one year (and sometimes two years) of course work after the master's degree and sit a set of qualifications examinations in core areas.
It is not difficult to believe that this additional training likely gives North America graduates a competitive advantage in the job market. However, it also likely increases the probability that North American graduates will be more successful researchers and teachers because of the wider range of skills and understanding that they obtain via their additional training.
With this brief background in mind, the Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics, through its Executive Director, is applying to the Researcher Development Initiative for funding for a three year programme aimed at providing additional training in economics primarily for SGPE PhD students. Since there is very little provision of postgraduate education in economics in the post-1992 universities in Scotland, the proposed training programme will fulfill a regional requirement. It is also hoped that this additional training will reduce the serious problem of the low number of students who go on to the PhD after completing the MSc.