Doctoral program "Quantitative Psychology and Economics"

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).

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 2020 inaugural lecture will be delivered by prof. Catherine Eckel (Texas A&M University), president of the Economic Science Association.

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.

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

Note: in connection with preventing COVID-19 spread among the UW community, the Rector of the University of Warsaw issued new ordinances on distance learning. For more information, please visit: http://en.uw.edu.pl/new-guidance-for-studying-and-working-during-coronavirus-outbreak/.

In particular, it is an option that the 2020/21 semester will include distance learning only, allowing new foreign doctoral students to postpone their travels. In any case, for the time being, Poland counts among the safest countries in Europe, as far as the COVID-19 threat is concerned.

Updates on the situation at the university are posted on its official website.

The schedule of the doctoral classes for the academic year 2019/2020 can be checked in the files:

• winter semester (PDF)
• summer semester (PDF), list of online courses (PDF)

In connection with preventing COVID-19 spread among the UW community, the Rector of the University of Warsaw issued new ordinances on distance learning. For more information, please visit: http://en.uw.edu.pl/new-guidance-for-studying-and-working-during-coronavirus-outbreak/. In particular, it is an option that the 2020/21 semester will include distance learning only, allowing new foreign doctoral students to postpone their travels. In any case, for the time being, Poland counts among the safest countries in Europe, as far as the COVID-19 threat is concerned. 

From May 5, 2020, 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, 2020.

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).

The recruitment fee is PLN 150.

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. May 5 – June 28: submission of documents to the IRK system
2. July 13: selected candidates invited to the second stage
3. July 21 – July 25: second stage (interviews)
4. July 28: announcement of the ranking list
5. July 28 – September 18: accepting documents from qualified candidates
6. September 21: announcements of the list of the accepted candidates

In the 2020/2021 academic year, we expect to accept up to 10 candidates.

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

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 2020, item 158 – only in Polish). 

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 the Semptember 18); 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. A resumé or curriculum vitae covering research interests and activities since 2015, 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.
4. Declaration and evidence that your level of English is at least B2 (upper intermediate).
5. Your master or bachelor thesis or some other academic text you wrote (preferably in English). This is the only document that cannot be uploaded via the IRK system. Please send it by e-mail to the Secretary’s Office of the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School
6. Description of your research project up to 14,000 characters (spaces included).
7. Your intended supervisor’s consent, along with the information about the number of PhD students (s)he currently has has*.
8. A photograph.
9. A colour scan of the passport (only in the case of a candidate, who is not a Polish citizen).
10. 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.
11. Declaration that you are familiar with the content of the Resolution, as well as Article 40 and Article 41 of the Code of Administrative Procedure

*Editable forms are available on the following websites:

• https://szkolydoktorskie.uw.edu.pl/rekrutacja-2020-2021-4/
• https://szkolydoktorskie.uw.edu.pl/en/documents/  
• https://irk.uw.edu.pl/pl/home/SzD2020/

Additional remarks:

• The original documents shall be submitted together with the application. 
• 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.

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:

• Anna Bartczak - environmental economics, non-market valuation, risk preferences
• Przemysław Biecek - machine learning
• Michał Brzeziński - happiness economics
• Mikołaj Czajkowski - ecological economics, discrete choice modeling 
• Jan Fałkowski - institutional economics, political economy 
• Marek Giergiczny - ecological economics, discrete choice modeling 
• Katarzyna Kopczewska - quantitative methods, spatial modelling, regional economics
• Michał Krawczyk, Coordinator of the QPE Program - experimental economics
• Dominika Maison - consumer psychology
• Anna Matysiak - family demography, family and work, gender economics, policies, longitudinal data analysis
• Katarzyna Metelska-Szaniawska - constitutional economics, public choice, law and economics
• Andrzej Nowak - social psychology, dynamical systems
• Marcin Rzeszutek - economic psychology, behavioral finance
• Karolina Safarzynska - agent-based modelling, complexity economics, ecological economics
• Katarzyna Sekścińska - psychology of risk, psychology of capital markets, investor psychology, saving, consumer psychology, advertising, economic socialization
• Katarzyna Śledziewska - digital economy
• Agata Trzcińska - economic psychology, economic socialization, saving, economic education
• Joanna Tyrowicz - personnel economics, self-control, inequality, freaky questions on prima facie non-economic issues 
• Tomasz Żylicz - non-financial incentives in environmental protection, principal-agent problems in environmental management, environmental protection in industrial firms, environmental preferences of households.

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

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.

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)

• Admission Procedure

New: 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)

New: Zarządzenie nr 73 Rektora Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego z dnia 16 kwietnia 2020 r. w sprawie harmonogramu rekrutacji oraz zasad przeprowadzania rejestracji kandydatów do szkół doktorskich w roku akademickim 2020/2021 (eng. Ordinance No. 73 of the Rector of the University of Warsaw of April 16, 2020 on the recruitment schedule and rules for registrering candidates for Doctoral Schools in the 2020/2021 academic year) – (UW Monitor from 2020, item 158 – in Polish only)

New: Resolution No. 500 of the Senate of the University of Warsaw of January 22, 2020 on the rules of recruitment for Doctoral Schools at the University of Warsaw in the 2020/2021 academic year (UW Monitor from 2020, item 500).

Previous: Resolution no.412 of the Senate of the University of Warsaw of 17 April 2019  on the terms and conditions, and procedure of enrolment for Doctoral Schools at the University of Warsaw in the academic year 2019/2020.

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.