Doctoral program "Quantitative Psychology and Economics"

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

From May 5, 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. May 5 - June 28: submission of documents to the IRK system
2. July 9-18: evaluation of candidates’ documents
3. Until July 20: selected candidates invited to the second stage
4. July 28 - August 3: second stage (interviews)
5. Until August 5: announcement of the ranking list
6. August 6 - September 17: accepting documents from qualified candidates
7. September 20: 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). 

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:

• https://szkolydoktorskie.uw.edu.pl/en/recruitment-2021-2022-2/?school=msd
• https://szkolydoktorskie.uw.edu.pl/en/msd/regulations/

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.

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
• Łukasz Tanajewski - neuroeconomics, self-control, cognitive science
• 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

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

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

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).