A woman and a man are sitting on a bank in the courtyard of the B6 building with a laptop and are discussing the content of the website on the screen.

Center for Doctoral Studies in Economics

The Center for Doctoral Studies in Economics (CDSE) administers the PhD program at the Department of Economics of the University of Mannheim.

CDSE program

The CDSE also runs a PhD track in cooperation with the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW). This track aims to provide participants not only with an excellent academic education in the form of the CDSE program within the GESS, but also with key skills in the field of economic policy advice – an area in which the ZEW has a strong international reputation. Students opting for this track receive scholarships from the ZEW in their first year (1.365 euro/month). In addition, ZEW scholarship holders benefit from close exchange with ZEW researchers and a research unit. From the second year onwards and conditional on successful completion of the core courses and a successful interview with their preferred research unit at the ZEW, students become fully integrated into the ZEW as researchers, while continuing the CDSE program. More information can be found here.

Recent graduates of the program have published in top academic journals, e.g.:

  • American Economic Review
  • Journal of the European Economic Association

Our alumni have obtained academic positions at top European departments e.g.:

  • Humboldt University, Berlin
  • Tilburg University
  • Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona
  • Toulouse University
  • University of Bonn
  • University of Vienna
  • Yale University
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
  • Hongkong University of Science and Technology
  • Wuhan University, China
Claudia Noack. She is wearing a blue jacket over a white blouse and is leaning against a grey wall.

The decision to undertake a PhD at the CDSE was a brilliant choice for me, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to pursue an academic career. The intensive course work in the first few years prepared me extremely well to understand research in Economics. The inspiring research environment in the department, including regular cutting edge-seminars, the immense support of the faculty, the possibility to visit the best universities across the world, and to attend international conferences helped me to develop my own research. I should also mention my wonderful fellow students, who made the program both so intellectually enriching and personally enjoyable.

Dr. Claudia Noack, alumna of our doctoral program in economics and currently working as a postdoctoral fellow at Nuffield College and the University of Oxford / Credit: Frauke Stehr

Alumni placements

Detailed placement information are available in the CDSE placement section.