The Graduate Program in Economics at Universidad Carlos III is considered one of the top programs in Europe. In a recent study by Amir and Knauff (2005), the program was ranked 32 in world-wide, based on the placement of PhD students. In a study sponsored by the European Economic Association, and published by the Journal of the European Economic Association (vol. 1, 1346-1366, 2003) the Department of Economics ranks 2nd in Spain, 9th in the European Union and 52nd worlwide. This has been confirmed in a more recent ranking by the University of Tilburg.

The Graduate Program consists of a two-year Master in Economic Analysis, followed by a three year PhD in Economics. The Master in Economic Analysis is aimed at equipping students with the necessary skills to do high quality economic research. After following a core curriculum in the first year, students choose a number of specialized field courses during the second year. The courses bring students to the research frontier and provide them with quantitative and analytical tools to analyze relevant economic problems.

After satisfactorily completing the required coursework of the Master in Economic Analysis, those students who perform well and pass qualifying examinations in the three major fields (macroeconomics, microeconomics, and econometrics) are admitted to the PhD program. During the PhD program students are engaged in full-time research towards the completion of a doctoral dissertation, under the supervision of a faculty advisor.