Doctoral program "Quantitative psychology and economics"

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).

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.

The detailed program of recommended, though not obligatory, courses is as follows. 

The schedule of the doctoral classes for the academic year 2019/2020 can be checked in the PDF file.

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. 

Prof. Gary Charness (UC Santa Barbara) will deliver an inaugural lecture (specific date to be confirmed).

The program will be offered free of charge to all successful candidates regardless of their nationality. Moreover, all participants will receive monthly fellowship starting from PLN 3,600 (ca USD 935 / EUR 840) and funds for their research. 

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1. The application for admission to the School 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 a declaration  that  the  diploma  shall  be delivered by 16^th of September 2019 (for those who possesses only a certificate of obtaining a Master’s degree, not the diploma yet).
3. CV covering research interests and activities since October 2014, particularly publications; participation in projects and conferences; awards; academic research visits; contact details of scholars who could recommend you.
4. 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 of the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School.
6. Description of your research project up to 12,000 characters (spaces included).
7. Your intended supervisor’s consent, along with the information about the number of PhD students (s)he currently has.
8. A photograph.
9. Consent to have your data processed for the recruitment purposes (the RODO clause printed from the IRK system).

Documents printed from the IRK system and signed by the candidate should be sent by e-mail to the secretary of the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School.

Scans of the documents referred to in section 1-3 and 5, as well as scans of documents confirming the academic  activity indicated in the CV (e.g. at least the title page confirming the authorship of the publication) shall be placed by the candidate in the IRK system. 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.

Round 1

1. May 6-June 10: submission of documents to the IRK system
2. June 15: selected candidates invited to the second stage
3. June 23-30: second stage – interviews in Warsaw or via Skype
4. July 1: accepted candidates notified

Round 2

1. July 1-July 22: submission of documents to the IRK system
2. August 10: selected candidates invited to the second stage
3. September 1-14: second stage – interviews in Warsaw or via Skype
4. September 17: accepted candidates notified

You may take part either in Round 1 or in Round 2, not both. The evaluation criteria are the same. The candidates can get up to 100 points:

1. 30 points for the research project
2. 25 points for the CV
3. 45 points for the interview

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).

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:

• 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 - experimental economics
• Dominika Maison - consumer psychology
• 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.
• Anna Bartczak - environmental economics, non-market valuation, risk preferences

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. 

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.