Eco 4060: Graduate
Research Seminar, 2009-2010.
Coordinators: Angelo Melino
and Carolyn Pitchik
Course Objective:
To help students make the transition from doing coursework to making presentations and starting a research agenda.
Course Description:
During this course, students will make several presentations and will be given feedback to help develop presentation skills. In addition, each student will be required to write an original research paper under the supervision of a faculty member. By the time this course is completed, students will have completed the second year paper requirement, identified a thesis topic and struck a thesis committee.
Course Requirements and
Time Line:
Year I (Second Year
Students):
Second year students must attend all 4060 presentations. Attendance is very important for the success of this course. If you are going to miss a class please let us know by email prior to the class meeting. As a professional courtesy, you should also email the person presenting that week to inform them of your absence.
Fall Term
Each student will do at least one formal discussion of a
second year or job market paper in 4060 or the Lunch Time pre-job market
seminar.
Each of you will meet with the coordinators to discuss your research direction. Details on the timing of the meetings will be provided on the course webpage.
Finally, before the term ends, you will make a preliminary presentation of your research topic. At the discretion of the instructors in ECO 4060, this could take the form of a 10 minute presentation and/or a 3-4 page handout and/or a discussion with your course instructor. It is never too early to begin thinking about a research topic.
Spring Term
Each student will prepare a literature review and a summary
of initial paper ideas on a topic of interest for the second year paper. During
January and February, each of you will present your literature review in a
40-minute presentation (which will be followed by 10 minutes of discussion).
Before Reading week, each student must sign and submit a second-year paper agreement form.
Between February and April each student will present a 45 minute second year paper proposal. To make a proposal, you must have received the approval of a faculty member who will serve as your second year paper advisor; the advisor should attend your presentation if possible. Each presentation will be followed by 5 minutes of discussion.
Summer Term
From April to August, each of you will work with your
supervisor to complete your second year paper. It must be an original
piece of research, error-free, and written in a professional style. A
draft of the paper is due on 1 September in the fall term of your second year
in 4060. If the draft displays insufficient progress, the Graduate
Director will be notified and you may be asked to leave the program.
Year II (Third Year Students):
Fall Term
Each of you will present your second year paper. This presentation should be attended by your second-year paper supervisor if possible. Other faculty may attend but only at the invitation of the presenter.
No later than two weeks after the above presentation, you should arrange to present your paper in the appropriate Department Workshop and notify us, and your advisor, of the date. This presentation should be before the Christmas break. Failure to do so will put your good standing in the graduate program at risk. Meeting the requirements in a timely fashion will excuse your from further mandatory participation in 4060 (see below).
Each of you must attend all Fall 4060 presentations. However, if you fulfill your requirements by the Christmas Break, you are encouraged, but not required, to attend any Winter term 4060 presentations in your area of interest.
NOTE: Students in the Collaborative Program in Management
and
It is up to the Graduate Director to decide if you have met the second-year paper requirements. In most cases, this is done on the advice of your supervisor. However, the coordinators of Eco 4060 and participants in the Department Workshop are expected to raise concerns if they decide your paper and/or presentation do not meet the Department’s standards; in case of a conflict of opinion, it will be up to the Graduate Director to make a final decision. You must complete the second-year paper completion form and submit it to the graduate office after securing the appropriate signatures. The completed form must be submitted before the December break.
In addition to the second-year paper requirements, you must
strike a thesis committee by the end of the fall term. To meet the requirements
includes completing and delivering the following required documentation to the
graduate administrator. (1) The student
annual progress report is linked to your student web
page and must be completed by 1 October. (2) Please submit all requests for
changes in your Supervisory Committee (including a request to establish this
committee) on your page http://www.economics.utoronto.ca/index.php/index/gradStudent/.
Third-year students should establish a committee (with at least one member) by the
first day of class in January. All students should have at least two members on
their committee by October 1 of their fourth year.
What happens if you miss the deadlines?
If you miss a deadline, you will be deemed not in good standing and the graduate director will be informed. You must continue to attend the 4060 workshop presentations (beyond the Fall term) until all your 4060 requirements are satisfied.
If you complete your 4060 presentation of your second year paper successfully, but it is difficult to schedule your talk in the Department Workshop before Christmas, experience suggests that the graduate director most likely will look the other way as long as you and your supervisor commit before Christmas to present in the Department Workshop for the earliest possible date in the Spring semester (make sure that date appears on the seminar schedule list before Christmas).
A more formal and explicit statement of the requirements and deadlines for the second year paper and the consequences for missing any of the deadlines can be found in Rules for Second Year Paper. In case of any conflict, the on-line statement of the rules supercedes our course description of the rules.
Failure to strike a thesis committee by April of the end of Year II of Eco4060 violates the University’s rules and can have very serious consequences for your future as a graduate student. It is not enough to have an informal understanding with your committee. Make sure that the appropriate forms are submitted to the graduate office.