The Ph.D. Program at the University of Lilongwe is addressed to students of high promise who wish to prepare themselves in teaching and research in academia or for responsible positions in government, research organizations, business enterprises, UN organizations, NGOs and the private sectors. Generally, the program prepares students for productive, efficient, effective and stimulating careers as Applied and Development Economists.

SAS will offer courses and seminars that will foster intellectually active, confidence building, stimulating and conducive environment. Various seminars will focus on topics such as economic growth and development, information economics, , strategic economics international economics, health economics, environmental economics, monetary and fiscal policy, behavioral economics, labor economics, economic history and many more. Top scholars from both domestic and international institutions will be invited as keynote speakers and presenters at the seminars. These approaches to economics is fundamental; bringing together cutting edge economic theory, issues and rigorous data analyses to address questions to address questions at the frontiers of research, as well as, focusing on tools of solving economic problems related to developing countries, in particular to Malawi.

Members of School of Applied Sciences have vast experiences at national, regional and international levels. They are already engaged in active researches in various economic branches and areas such as applied micro-econometrics, political economy, behavioral economics, health economics, decision theory, development economics, public finance, entrepreneurship, international finance, environmental and resource economics.

In addition, the PhD rigorous analysis and advance training in economic theory, multidisciplinary research methods, econometrics and several traditional and novel applied fields of inquiry will equip students to become problem solvers and innovators. The Research component targets a number of local, national, and international problems, and covering a broad spectrum, ranging from theoretical disciplinary perspectives to policy analysis, as well as contributing to exciting multidisciplinary problems solving efforts in Malawi and beyond. It will engage community and farmers to root itself in benefiting the smallholder farmers, agro-industries, agribusiness entities, and affiliated national and international research organizations.

Organization of the program

In the first year of the program, students will attend core courses and electives, where they acquire a broad set of research skills in theoretical and empirical analysis, which will allow them to tackle the complex phenomena related to decision making. Courses focus on three main areas of research:

(i) the economic theory of policy, indigenous knowledge and decision making,

(ii) econometric techniques to analyze economic data from the field;

(iii) the study of economic indicators of risk and inequality associated with the outcome of collective choices in developing economies.

The second and third years are entirely dedicated to research, seminars, outreach, dissertation writing and defense. Students work on their research are expected to present research findings, attend seminars and other training events that will be held at various venues at the University, Research Centers, Outreach Government centers and Stakeholder sites. In addition, the university will endeavor to place students and spend part of their third years in other universities in-county or abroad to gain regional and international experiences.

Comparability, Uniqueness and Consultations

In developing the PhD program, the School of Applied Sciences has aligned the development of the program with NCHE’s Higher Education Qualification Framework (HEQF). Among many HEQF components, the program has solely used such components as standards of developing
curricula, assessment of learning outcomes, credit transfers and international benchmarks to have the required quality within the Southern African Development Community Qualifications Framework and beyond. Thus, this program can easily be recognized and compete in-country and across the region in all sectors.

For instance, similar to PhD economics programs at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), University of Malawi, University of Pretoria (SA), Makarere University (Uganda), University of Nairobi (Kenya), Haramaya University (Ethiopia), University
of Tennessee (US), George Town University (US), Queen’s University (Canada), University of Bonn (Germany), London School of Economics (UK) and others.

Besides having common features with the above university programs, however, the groundbreaking PhD in Applied and Development Economic at the University of Lilongwe is uniquely designed and has far-reaching benefits. Not only will the students likely learn skills such as how to apply historical trends to the present day in order to accurately predict economic conditions of the developing countries, but they may also learn soft skills such as problem solving skills, mind-sets adjustment, social responsibilities, and time management.

Uniqueness of the Program:

Unique and relevant courses

• Entrepreneurships and Innovations (WB)
• Global Business, International Trade and Development
• Game theory and Information Economics
• Social Responsibility and Development
• New Institutional and Behavioral economics
• Labour Economics and Policy
• Environmental and Resource Economics
• Population, Gender and Economic Development
• Health Economics and Policy
• New Perspective and Alternative economics

Multiple exists – 4 levels of Certificate considering Poverty, Affordability,
Diversity and Inclusion of Malawians
• 1st year completion – Certificate in ADE
• 2nd year completion – Diploma in ADE
• 3rd year completion – Associate Degree in ADE
• 4th year completion – Full Degree in ADE
• Completion period 3-4 years (Full time), and 4-6 years (Part-time)!

National and International Consultations:

• With respect to consultation with stakeholders at national and international levels, SAS made several presentations to relevant stakeholders and also signed Memorandum of Understanding with several regional and international higher learning institutions. Details as follow; SAS has received feedback and several support letters from the following national stakeholders
• Economic Association of Malawi
• National Planning Commission
• African Green Economy
• Ministry of Health and Population
• Seed Trade Association of Malawi
• Malawi National Commission for UNESCO
• Sri Sal Mining Limited
• Lilongwe Packaging Industries, and
• Demeter Seed Limited
• TEVET Malawi

Department of Economic Planning and Development And, has also signed MoUs with higher learning institutions outside of Malawi in support
of exchange of students and staff members, teaching and research Online or Off-line, as well as, access to educational materials. The external stakeholders are:

• University of Tennessee, USA
• Agrobiotech Foundation, PJTS, Agricultural University Campus, Hyderabad, India
• SRI SAI College, Accredited by Ministry of Education, Ethiopia
• University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India
• University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India
• National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE),Hyderabad (India), and many more to come.
• Bule Hora University (Ethiopia)

Note also that these public institutions, UN organization, Universities, private industries, Associations and others are willing to take postgraduate students as interns or attach them to their projects to acquire applicable experiences to develop their skills, accordingly.