Doctoral program "Quantitative Psychology and Economics"

UW                           logo-zip-kolor.jpg

 2nd PHASE OF REGISTRATION IS OPEN 

FROM AUGUST 23 TO SEPTEMBER 1

https://irk.uw.edu.pl/en-gb/offer/SzD2021/programme/4-SzD-MSD-QPE/

 

Find a Supervisor.

Compose a research plan of 14k characters.

Upload your documents and sign up!

Interested in applying? Please check the recruitment rules in the tabs: "Recruitment calendar and evaluation criteria", "Documents required in the recruitment process" and "Potential Supervisors".

Recruitment calendar and evaluation criteria

Detailed information about the recruitment process for the 2021/2022 Academic Year can be found on the website of Interdisciplinary Doctoral School.

Recruitment calendar for next academic year will be soon released by the Doctoral School.

Find out how to register for the QPE program in our short guide: "The IRK Quick Start Guide" - PDF (in English only).

All the answers to frequently asked questions are constantly updated here: https://szkolydoktorskie.uw.edu.pl/pytania-i-odpowiedzi/ (in Polish only).

Please find some tips on how to prepare a research project in section: The selection process for the QPE program.

Recruitment schedule - 2ND PHASE 2021/2022

From August 23, 2021 candidates may submit an application to the Internet Registration of Candidates (hereinafter: IRK) for admission to the QPE Program at the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School. Registration will last until June 28.

Find out how to register for the QPE program in our short guide: "The IRK Quick Start Guide" - PDF (in English only).

All the answers to frequently asked questions are constantly updated here: https://szkolydoktorskie.uw.edu.pl/pytania-i-odpowiedzi/ (in Polish only).

Recruitment fee: 150 PLN.

Due to the epidemiological situation, the schedule can be changed. Information about the changes will be posted on the website of the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School and IRK.

Important Dates & Deadlines:

  1. August 23 - September 1: submission of documents to the IRK system
  2. September 6-10: evaluation of candidates’ documents
  3. September 13: selected candidates invited to the second stage
  4. September 20: second stage (interviews)
  5. September 21: announcement of the ranking list
  6. September 22-28: accepting documents from qualified candidates
  7. September 29: announcements of the list of the accepted candidates

In the 2021/2022 academic year, we expect to accept up to 10 candidates.

The selection process for the QPE program

In the recruitment procedure, candidates can get up to 100 points:

Stage I (max. 40 points*)

  1. 0-30 points for the research project
  2. 0-10 points for the scientific activity

* the number of points needed to qualify to stage II is 20 points

Stage II – Interview (max. 60 points**)

  1. 0-30 points for the presentation
  2. 0-30 points for the discussion

** to be accepted into the QPE program you must obtain at least 50 points in the whole selection process, including at least 20 points in stage I and at least 30 points in stage II of the selection process.

For recruitment purposes, it is prefered to prepare a research project in English. It is worth remembering that each research project should have a title and its content cannot exceed 14,000 characters (spaces included).

Your project should specify research questions, hypotheses, and methods to be applied. It does not need to be detailed, it is understood that it is just the beginning of the work, but it should show your ability to review relevant scientific literature and come up with an interesting and doable research agenda. Further, it should be clear from the document (in particular: the relevant scholarly literature you cite) that your project is related to at least two different disciplines (typically among: psychology, economics, mathematics, computer science, neuroscience). Also, make sure it is written in good English.

For the interview you should prepare a short presentation of the research project. The committee will then ask questions relating to the project, the presentation, and possibly some items on your CV or your bachelor/master thesis you have uploaded. Please also consider what undergraduate courses offered by the three faculties involved in the doctoral program you could teach (e.g. microeconomics, statistics for psychologists).

Detailed information can be found in the Rector's ordinance (UW Monitor from 2021, item 13 – in Polish only). 

 

Documents required in the recruitment process
More detailed list of the required documentation can be found on the doctoral school website and in the IRK system. If you have any questions related to the recruitment process, please contact the school office.
  1. The application for admission to the School  stating inter alia the disciplines and the leading scientific discipline (if any) printed from the IRK system.
  2. A  diploma  of  completion  of  the  long-cycle  Master’s  degree  programme  or  second-cycle programme or an equivalent diploma obtained under separate regulations  or – in the case of candidates pursuing education within the European Higher Education Areas –a declaration that the diploma or certificate of obtaining a Master’s degree shall be provided by September 17 at the latest; in the case of holding a diploma equivalent to the diploma of completion of the long-cycle Master’s degree program or second-cycle program, the candidate shall justify this equivalence.
  3. Description of research project up to 14,000 characters (spaces included), in english.
  4. A resumé or curriculum vitae covering research interests and activities since 2016, particularly publications; participation in projects and conferences; awards; academic research visits; contact details of scholars who could recommend you.  All scientific activities must be confirmed by document scans.
  5. Declaration and evidence that your level of English is at least B2 (upper intermediate).
  6. Your intended supervisor’s consent, along with the information about the number of PhD students (s)he currently has has*.
  7. A photograph.
  8. A colour scan of the passport (only in the case of a candidate, who is not a Polish citizen).
  9. Declaration whether you are or were a doctoral student or participant of doctoral studies, and if yes – title of doctoral dissertation or the research project you prepared, as well as first name and surname of your academic tutor or the supervisor.
  10. Declaration that you are familiar with the content of the Resolution (english version will be available soon on schol's website), as well as Article 40 and Article 41 of the Code of Administrative Procedure.
  11. Your master or bachelor thesis or some other academic text you wrote (preferably in English). 

*Editable forms are available on the following websites:

Additional remarks:

  • Information about academic activity that is not confirmed in the submitted documents, shall not be taken into account by the selection committee when evaluating the candidate.
  • Any documents in languages other than Polish and English will only be considered if accompanied by a certified translation.
Potential supervisors

When working on your research project, please contact your potential supervisor early on, (s)he may have specific ideas for you. It could be any professor (“dr hab.” degree is required to supervise PhD theses in Poland) at the faculties involved.

University of Warsaw faculty interested in psychology and economics include but is not limited to:

Ultimately, you will have two advisors, representing different disciplines. You may also have an external (non-UW) advisor, in such a case please contact us before applying. 

To find detailed information on potential thesis supervisors please visit the website: https://promotorzy.szkolydoktorskie.uw.edu.pl/en/search

Supervisor's consent form (wzór oświadczenia promotora) can be found here:
https://szkolydoktorskie.uw.edu.pl/en/recruitment-2021-2022-2/?school=msd

Full description of the QPE program

The four-year doctoral program "Quantitative Psychology and Economics" (hereinafter: QPE), will enable students to pursue cutting-edge research in a growing and exciting interdisciplinary field. The program is mostly intended to prepare for careers in the academia and research units in the corporate world, including financial sector and the digital economy. The graduates will be ready to conduct both basic and applied research using new data and big data, such as those from the social media and Customer Relationship Management.

Students with solid background in psychology, economics, neuroscience, computer science, or related fields and possessing strong analytical skills, as well as appetite for behavioural research are encouraged to apply.

The program is highly interdisciplinary, located at the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School, creating opportunities to take courses and work with students and faculty – based at the University of Warsaw and visiting professors – representing different fields. Our PhD students take graduate-level courses in microeconomics, cognitive psychology, statistics and econometrics, machine learning and data science and more. They can also make use of the large number of master-level courses taught at the University. In the process, they are given the theoretical and methodological foundation, as well as modern tools of data analysis, to conduct their own original research, under supervision of leading scholars representing both psychology and economics.

The program is a collaborative project of three leading Faculties of the University of Warsaw, all of which have the highest academic category A+ and are routinely ranked as the best in the country: the Faculty of Economic Sciences, the Faculty of Psychology, and the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics. The program builds upon he the success of several English-language masters’ programs, such as those in data science and quantitative finance.

The official inauguration of the QPE program took place on October 7, 2019. The inaugural lecture was given by  prof. Gary Charness from the University of California, Santa Barbara. With the support from by the University’s Integrated Development Program and co-funding from the European Social Fund within PO WER, Action 3.5 it was possible to implement the QPE program in the education offer of Doctoral Schools at the University of Warsaw (for more details click here).

 Doctoral Program Overview

  • Duration: 4 academic years (8 semesters)
  • Start date: October 1, 2020
  • Schedule: Full-Time Study
  • Language: English
  • Successful completion of a dissertation: doctorate (PhD) in social science

Courses planned for 2021/2022 Academic Year

Winter semester - compulsory for 1st year of studies:

  • Higher education didactics (30 hours) - 20.10-8.12.2021 (Interdisciplinary Doctoral School)
  • Ethics (8 hours) (IDS)
  • Copyright (4 compulsory + 4 voluntary hours) - 20.01 + 27.01.2021 (IDS)
  • Microeconomics (30 hours)

Winter semester - 2nd and 3rd year of studies:

  • Acquisition of grants (scholar’s workshop) [8 compulsory + 4 voluntary hours]
  • Public speaking (scholar’s workshop) [8 voluntary hours]
  • Knowledge transfer (scholar’s workshop) [4 compulsory hours]

Summer semester -  compulsory for 1st year of studies:

  • Methodical workshop on didactics (group) [6 hours]
  • Methodical workshop on didactics (individual as part of internship) [4 hours]
  • Quantitative Research Methodology for Social Sciences (30 hours)

Courses to choose or optional:

  • "Econometric and statistical modelling" (60 hours - both semesters)
  • "Behavioral finance" (15 hours - winter semester)
  • "Psychology for economists" (30 hours - winter semester)
  • "Consumer psychology" (30 hours - summer semester)
  • "Experimental Economists" (30 hours - summer semester)

Seminars (1st, 2nd and 3rd year):

  • QPE programme seminar
  • Doctoral School seminar (in IDS or Doctoral School of Social Sciences)
  • PhD student seminar, conducted on Faculty of Economic Sciences (from 2nd year)

This unique program will provide students with an unmatched foundation to start an excellent career in research. The degree will open doors in both the academic and corporate worlds.
prof. dr. Arthur Schram, University of Amsterdam;
director of the Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making (2011-2015), founding co-editor of Experimental Economics (1998-2007).

More reviews

This doctoral program at the intersection of economics and psychology is a timely and promising venture. I am certain that it will lead to exciting scientific results and findings of high practical relevance.
prof. dr. Dorothea Kübler, director of the Department of Market Behavior at the WZB.

I hold this program in high regard. It fills a gap in interdisciplinary research (...) The graduates will be able to find employment both in the academia and research units of corporations, which are increasingly seeking for such specialists.
prof. dr. Honorata Sosnowska, head of the Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Economics, Warsaw School of Economics (SGH).

The faculty

The faculty consists of leading scholars from the University of Warsaw, including prof. Andrzej Nowak and prof. Mikołaj Czajkowski. A number of international scholars will serve as visiting professors, offering intense courses on specific topics. 

The study program

The QPE program at the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School was adopted by the Senate of the University of Warsaw on May 29, 2019. You can read the document in English (PDF) or Polish (PDF).

During the first year students focus on coursework. In particular, they take a course in microeconomics, offering an advanced take on such areas as game theoretic models of competition in the R&D and network effects in IT markets. They learn psychological theories most relevant to economic behaviour, including elements of cognitive psychology, social psychology, and emotion research. They also get a quick start on modern tools of data analysis; all the courses make use of popular, powerful, open-source coding language and software platform R. During the second and subsequent years the students focus on their own research, taking seminars in such fields as experimental economics and behavioural finance. The program also offers courses on research ethics, how to successfully apply for research grants and on the art of public speaking. The participants also master their teaching skills, under the supervision of senior faculty.

 

  Course Faculty Semester Course type    
Methodological and methodical classes
organized for the PhD students
of the QPE program		 Microeconomics (Economics UW) 2 compulsory hours 30
Quantitative Research Methodology
for Social Sciences		 (Psychology UW) 2 compulsory hours 30
Econometric and statistical modeling (Economics UW) 2-5 selected hours 60
Microeconometrics (Economics UW) 2-5 selected hours 60
General university classes for all PhD students Acquisition of grants (scholar’s workshop)   2-3 general hours 8 (compulsory) 4 (voluntary)
Copyright   1 general hours 4 (compulsory) 4 (voluntary)
Ethics   1 general hours 8
Higher education didactics   1 general hours 30 (compulsory)
Knowledge transfer (scholar’s workshop)   5 general hours 4 (compulsory)
Public speaking (scholar’s workshop)   1-4 general hours 8 (voluntary)
Other classes organized
by the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School
for PhD students from the QPE program

Methodical workshop on didactics (group)

Methodological workshop on didactics (individual as part of internship)

   2 compulsory hours hours 4 (compulsory) 4 (voluntary) 4 (compulsory)
Academic writing (scholar’s workshop)   2 compulsory hours 30 (compulsory)
Scientific development – individual classes with supervisor (scholar’s workshop)   2-3   hours 15 (compulsory)
Doctoral Seminars Doctoral School seminar   2 general hours 16
QPE programme seminar (Economics UW)     hours  
PhD student seminar   3-6   hours 60

In addition to compulsory classes, PhD students can take optional courses. The detailed offer of courses organized in the QPE is as follows:

  Course Faculty Semester Course type    
Additional courses Behavioral finance (Psychology UW) 4+ additional hours 15
Behavioural Decision Science (Psychology UW) 3+ additional hours 30
Choice modeling (Economics UW) 4+ additional hours 30
Consumer psychology (Psychology UW) 4+ additional hours 30
Complex systems (Psychology UW) 3+ additional hours 30
Data science (Mathematics UW) 3+ additional hours 15
Experimental economics (Economics UW) 2+ additional hours 30
Machine learning (Mathematics UW) 3+ additional hours 30
Psychology for economists (Psychology UW) 3+ additional hours 30
Financing

The full-time doctoral program is offered free of charge to all successful candidates regardless of their nationality. Moreover, all participants receive a monthly schoolarship from Doctoral School throughout their entire four-year education. Doctoral students receive tax-free scholarships in the amount of 37 percent, and after mid-term evaluation – 57 percent of professor's remuneration specified in the appropriate ordinance.  These scholarships are subject to pension and retirement contributions.

Everyone admitted to the QPE program (except for doctoral students already holding a doctoral degree or being employed full-time as a lecturer at the university) receives a scholarship of PLN 2 350,00 gross (about PLN 2 050,00 net) at the beginning, and PLN 3 632,00 gross (about PLN 3 170,00 net) after mid-term evaluation. A disabled PhD student will be able to receive a doctoral scholarship increased by 30 percent of the basic amount (i.e. in force before the mid-term evaluation).

More information on social and medical insurance for doctoral students can be found at the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) website, as well as in the publication (PDF – in Polish only).

Visit Welcome Point of the University of Warsaw  to learn more about practicalities of living and studying in Warsaw.

Regulations of doctoral studies

Rules of the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School at the University of Warsaw  (UW Monitor from 2019, item 191): in English (PDF), in Polish (PDF)

For doctoral students who started their studies in October 2019, Rules of the scholarship Programme “Support from the Start” of the University’s Integrated Development Programme, co-funded by the European Social Fund within PO WER, Action 3.5 also apply (amended regulations in English – PDF and in Polish – PDF)

 

Legal basis
  • Admission Procedure

New: UCHWAŁA NR 17 SENATU UNIWERSYTETU WARSZAWSKIEGO z dnia 20 stycznia 2021 r. w sprawie zasad rekrutacji do szkół doktorskich Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego (eng. RESOLUTION NO. 17 OF THE SENATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW of 20 January 2021 on the rules of recruitment to Doctoral Schools Of the University of Warsaw) (UW Monitor from 2021, item 13 – in Polish only).

New: Zarządzenie nr 66 Rektora Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego z dnia 9 kwietnia 2021 r. w sprawie harmonogramu rekrutacji oraz zasad przeprowadzania rejestracji kandydatów do szkół doktorskich w roku akademickim 2021/2022 (eng. Ordinance No. 66 of the Rector of the University of Warsaw of April 9, 2021 on the recruitment schedule and rules for registrering candidates for Doctoral Schools in the 2021/2022 academic year) – (UW Monitor from 2021, item 102 – in Polish only)

Zarządzenie nr 80 Rektora Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego z dnia 30 kwietnia 2020 r. w sprawie określenia wzoru listy rankingowej kandydatów z postępowania rekrutacyjnego do szkół doktorskich w roku akademickim 2020/2021 oraz wzoru oświadczenia planowanego promotora o podjęciu się opieki promotorskiej (eng. Ordinance No. 80 of the Rector of the University of Warsaw of April 30, 2020 on determining the form of the ranking list of candidates from the recruitment procedure for doctoral schools in the 2020/2021 academic year and the planned supervisor statement) – (UW Monitor from 2020, item 182 – in Polish only)

Find more about the University’s Integrated Development Program

In the years 2018-2022, the main purpose of the University’s Integrated Development Program (hereinafter: ZIP) is to develop the competences of students, PhD students and employees, as well as to create tools improving university management. Funding of the ZIP program is over PLN 38 million.

The improvement of the QPE program is still supported by the ZIP program and co-funded by the European Social Fund within PO WER, Action 3.5.

More information about projects for PhD students from the University of Warsaw within the ZIP program can be found at: https://zip.uw.edu.pl/doktoranci.

Click here to register as a candidate. If you have any questions about the QPE program, please contact your intended supervisor or the coordinator, prof. Michał Krawczyk. All questions to the coordinator please send via e-mail: {OK-0}ABW|o6dw9g=Qk$rJD\G.fbC]#[`?#|zpy#KqeuN]-~2@Q/hBMB'~oS+.

 

QPE News

qpe (7).png qpe (6).png qpe (5).png
"Self-esteem and financial risk-taking" by Katarzyna Sekścińska, Diana Jaworska (QPE student) and Joanna Rudzinska-Wojciechowska was published in Personality and Individual Differences. "State lottery in the lab: an experiment in external validity” by Raman Kachurka, Michał Krawczyk (QPE coordinator) and Joanna Rachubik (QPE student) accepted for publication in Experimental Economics. Click here for the Working Paper version. Scientific article "Decision making model based on attractor network with binary neurons" by Marcin Penconek, QPE student, Procedia Computer Science, Volume 176, 2020. The article is available on the website SienceDirect.
More news
qpe (5).png National Science Centre funding for the research project "Fear of a pandemic. Biases in risk perception and risk taking in the time of coronavirus" for two QPE students, Joanna Rachubik and Erita Narhetali, along with their supervisor prof. Michał Krawczyk and a fellow PhD student Raman Kachurka. More
 qpe (1).png National Science Centre funding for the research project "Government-subsidized old-age saving instruments with voluntary participation: effective or not. Reconciling the conflicting empirical data on the crowd-out effect." More
qpe.png Mateusz Buczyński, Marcin Chlebus: Working Paper "Size does matter. A study on the required window size for optimal quality market risk models", Working Papers, Faculty of Economic Sciences, No. 9/2020 (315) More

Serwisy *.wne.uw.edu.pl używają plików cookies zapisywanych na komputerach użytkowników. Są one niezbędne do prawidłowego działania mechanizmów stron internetowych Wydziału Nauk Ekonomicznych UW.

Szczegółowe informacje o Polityce obsługi cookies w serwisach Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego dostępne są na stronie https://www.uw.edu.pl/polityka-obslugi-cookies-ciasteczek-w-serwisach-uw