The Centre has established itself as a premier institution for teaching and research in Economics, and has been recognized by the UGC as a Centre for Advanced Studies. The richness of the teaching and research programmes is reflected in the structure of the courses and the research output of faculty and research scholars. The faculty has a distinguished record of publications of books, monographs and articles, as well as outreach through more accessible articles in the popular media.
The Centre strives to ensure that the faculty is easily accessible to the students. The pedagogic emphasis is on understanding and learning rather than on memorizing. Students have to write term papers, make presentations, solve problems, appear in open book examinations, etc. as part of a continuous evaluation process.
(a) Direct admission to the Ph.D. programme
A very limited number of scholars are admitted directly to the Ph.D. programme. The minimum requirements for admission are either an M.Phil. degree from a recognized institution or at least two published research papers. Candidates are selected by the faculty on the basis of an interview.
(b) M.Phil./Ph.D programme
The M.Phil. programme consists of course work (4 courses to be completed in the first year, accounting for a total of 16 credits) and a dissertation (to be completed in the second year, accounting for 8 credits). One compulsory course must be chosen out of either "Methods of Economic Analysis" or "Statistical and Econometric Methods", while the other three may be chosen from a range of optional courses offered in each semester. The purpose of these courses is to introduce students to analytical issues and the current state of research in the subject, with a view to providing a background for the research required for the dissertation. Course work involves lectures, presentations and writing papers, while students writing their dissertations are required to present their work in progress at different points.
Promotion to the Ph.D. programme is not automatic. Students who receive a cumulative grade point average of 6.5 or more are allowed to choose to go directly to the Ph.D. or finish their M.Phil dissertation first. On completion of the M.Phil., an overall grade of 6.0 is required to continue for the Ph.D. programme.
Admission to the programme is on the basis of a written examination (70 per cent) and a viva voce examination (30 per cent). Candidates seeking admission to the programme are required to bring a synopsis of their planned research theme, and have some idea of its scope and viability.
(c) M.A. programme:
The focus of the M.A. programme is twofold: (i) to acquaint the students with the analytical foundations of the discipline of economics in alternative theoretical approaches; and (ii) to enable the students to relate their analytical understanding of the subject to the actual experience of economies and to interpret processes of change using a historical perspective. Special emphasis is placed on the study of aspects of development, in the context of the Indian economy. The programme consists of 16 courses taught over four semesters. 8 courses taught in the first year are compulsory while the remaining 8 courses are optional, to be chosen out of a range of courses offered out of the Centre and including 2 that can be chosen from outside the Centre if desired. One of the new experiences for many students comes from an introduction to research through the requirement of writing term papers for several courses.
