As a research center attached to the College of Social Sciences (CSS) of KIMEP University, CCASC offers support to KIMEP PhD Candidates who are interested in studying the growing presence of China in Central Asia and the greater Central Asian region, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the economic, socio-cultural, security, geopolitical and political implications of these transformations. CSS currently runs PhD programs in Economics and Public Administration, in which conducting research in the aforementioned areas is encouraged, and there is an opportunity to receive funding for these programs. A third PhD program in International Relations is expected.
This PhD program in Economics is open to holders of a Master’s degree in economics or related fields with outstanding skills in mathematics and excellent English language skills. Although the minimum entry requirements for the program are a CGPA of 3 and above (over 69%) and a minimum IELTS score of 5.5 or its equivalent, admission to the PhD program is highly competitive, and is therefore only granted to candidates deemed most likely to complete and benefit from the program. The final decision is based on a comprehensive assessment of the applicant’s overall qualifications, motivation, determination and commitment to the program.
Minimum Requirements:
- Relevant Master's Degree
- Min. CGPA of 69%
- Min. IELTS Score of 5.5 (or equivalent)
- Outstanding skills in Mathematics
The department’s areas of expertise include;
- Environmental economics;
- Financial regulation;
- Inequality and social policy;
- Labor economics;
- Monetary policy;
- Public economics;
- Regional integration;
- Social evaluation and capabilities in human development;
- Trade and development economics;
- Transition economies
Supervision
It is recommended that PhD applicants check the areas of expertise and the research interests of the potential PhD supervisors and get in touch with them for inquiries about possible collaboration opportunities. Some of the potential supervisors at KIMEP’s Department of Economics include;
Dr. Nadeem Naqvi, PhD
Professor, Department of Economics/College of Social Sciences
Professor Naqvi is a trade and development economist with an interest in social evaluation and capabilities in human development. He has extensive experience and an outstanding publication record including in journals such as “The American Economic Review”, “The European Economic Review” and “The Journal of Development Economics”. A former consultant with the World Bank in Washington DC, his research interests cover: International Trade, Value Theory, Public Choice, Foundations of Individual Choice, and, Non-binary Preferences.
Contact Information:
Email: naqvi@kimep.kz
Dr. Alma Kudebayeva, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics/College of Social Sciences
Dr. Kudebayeva specializes in research on poverty, inequality and labor economics. She provided consultancy on inequality and poverty assessment to the United Nations and the World Bank. She contributed to the IZA/DFID project Growth and Labour Markets in Low Income Countries Programme and to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute project on gender and employment in Central Asia. Dr. Kudebayeva was a Fulbright scholar at Indiana University and a Research Fellow at DIW (Berlin). She holds a doctorate in mathematics from al-Farabi Kazakh National University and a PhD in Development Economics from the University of Manchester.
Contact Information:
Email: almak@kimep.kz
Dr. Altay Mussurov, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics/College of Social Sciences
Dr. Mussurov obtained his doctorate in Economics from the University of Wales. Before joining KIMEP, he worked as a consultant for the World Bank. He has also been a researcher at Sheffield University. His research is focused on labor economics, development economics, and economics of conflict. His publications include papers in Economic Systems, Comparative Economics and Economics of Transition.
Contact Information:
Email: mussurov@kimep.kz
Dr. Eldar Madumarov, Doctorate in Economics
Chair, Department of Economics/College of Social Sciences
Professor Madumarov has worked on transition economies and on regional integration. Dr. Madumarov received his PhD from the University of Oldenburg (Carl von Ossietzky Universität, Germany). His research interests include economic growth and development, institutional economics, international trade and investment, and countries with economies in transition. Before and after his doctoral studies, in addition to teaching, he also worked on international development projects related to Private Sector Promotion and Sustainable Economic Development.
Contact Information:
Email: madumarov@kimep.kz
Dr. Gerald Pech, PhD in Economics
Associate Professor, Department of Economics/College of Social Sciences
Dean, College of Social Sciences
Dr. Pech has previously held teaching and research positions at the Graduate School Bochum and Dortmund, the University of St Andrews, National University of Ireland in Galway, American University in Bulgaria and Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz. His fields of specialization are game theory, public economics and the economic analysis of institutions.
Contact Information:
E-Mail: gpech@kimep.kz
Personal website: http://www.geraldpech.net/
Dr. Leon Taylor, PhD in Economics
Associate Professor, Department of Economics/College of Social Sciences
Dr. Taylor is a public economist who is also interested in environmental economics. His research interests cover: dynamic organizations and game theory under uncertainty; the history of macroeconomic thought, the history of the theory of money, the movement of prices for sources over time under conditions of uncertainty; government pollution and employment compromise.
Contact Information:
Email: ltaylor@kimep.kz
For more details on the PhD program in Economics, the admission procedure and other enquiries, visit the website of the College of Social Sciences at KIMEP, or write to us.
All interested applicants are invited to get in touch with Dr. Gerald Pech, the Dean of the College of Social Sciences at KIMEP University, for an informal conversation ahead of submitting their application package;
Dr. Gerald Pech, PhD in Economics
Associate Professor, Department of Economics/College of Social Sciences
Dean, College of Social Sciences
Contact Information:
E-Mail: gpech@kimep.kz
Tel.: +7 (727) 270 43 49, ext. 3274
Personal website: http://www.geraldpech.net/
Office: 505 / Bld. Valikhanov
The PhD program in Public Administration is an interdisciplinary program aimed at developing a deep and nuanced knowledge of public sector administration, governance and management of public assets, national and international policy-making, and functioning and transformation of societal institutions. Graduates of the program will be recognized as top experts in their fields. The program invites applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to conduct research from the perspective of the applicants’ individual interests, such as economics, sociology, psychology, organizational studies, political science and other relevant fields. A master’s degree is required for admission, while work experience in government, business and industry, or other institutions is desirable. Although the minimum entry requirements for the program are a CGPA of 3 and above (over 69%) and a minimum IELTS score of 5.5 or its equivalent, admission to the PhD program is highly competitive and is therefore only granted to candidates deemed most likely to complete and benefit from the program. The final decision is based on a comprehensive assessment of the applicant’s overall qualifications, motivation, determination and commitment to the program.
Minimum Requirements:
- Relevant Master's Degree
- Min. CGPA of 69%
- Min. IELTS Score of 5.5 (or equivalent)
- Desirable: Relevant Work Experience
The department’s areas of expertise include;
- State-building and comparative development;
- Social modernization and New Institutional Economics;
- Public administration and bureaucracy;
- Organizational design and behavior;
- Civil society and NGOs;
- Local government;
- Civil service reform;
- Administrative law;
- Human rights law;
- Human resource management;
- Public policy of Kazakhstan;
- Social policy;
- Healthcare delivery and reform;
- Education and science policy;
- Industrial policy;
- Oil and gas policy; natural resource management;
- Immigration studies;
- Human geography and urban design;
- Sustainable development and green economy;
- Taxation and customs administration;
- Public management;
- Fiscal governance;
- Contracting out and New Public Management;
- Project management and evaluation;
- Gender and women’s leadership;
- E-government and technology for sustainable development.
For full details on how to prepare your documents and a step-by-step guide to submitting your application, you can visit the website of the College of Social Sciences at KIMEP University.
Supervision
It is recommended that PhD applicants check the areas of expertise and the research interests of the potential PhD supervisors and get in touch with them for inquiries about possible collaboration opportunities. Some of the potential supervisors at KIMEP’s Department of Public Administration include;
Dr. Kristopher White, PhD in Geography
Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration/College of Social Sciences
Dr. White is an economic geographer with a regional research focus on the human and economic geography of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Of particular interest has been the Aral Sea crisis, nature-society interrelationships inherent in this crisis, and recent socio-economic developments in Kazakhstan's Northern Aral Sea region. Dr White has appeared in numerous documentary films dealing with the Aral Sea, and has been quoted in a number of Aral Sea-related popular press articles. Other research publications have investigated regional socio-economic development patterns in Central Asia, spatial population changes in post-independence Kazakhstan, barriers to international trade for Central Asia, conservation of snow leopards, and evidence of the snow leopard in urban and cultural landscapes in Kazakhstan.
Contact Information:
Email: kwhite@kimep.kz
Dr. Francis Amagoh, PhD in Public Policy and Administration
Professor, Department of Public Administration/College of Social Sciences
Professor Amagoh is widely published in fields including public sector reforms, The health sector of Kazakhstan, e-governance and financial administration. He teaches disciplines in the fields of financial management and public administration, and has worked as a civil engineer with the Virginia Transportation Department, USA, and the North Carolina Transportation Department, USA, USA. His research interests include: The role of Information Technology in improving the efficiency of organizations, training in the workplace, increasing productivity in commercial and government organizations, methods of improving performance in the public sector.
Contact Information:
Email: famagoh@kimep.kz
Dr. Saule Emrich-Bakenova, PhD in Public Policy
Associate Professor, Department of Public Administration/College of Social Sciences
In her research Dr. Saule Emrich-Bakenova explores the intersections of Public Policy, Administrative Law, and Social Justice. She has produced research publications for top-ranked academic publications including: “Governance: an International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions,” “Policy Studies Journal,” “Politics and Policy, and the “Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance.” As a consultant she has conducted research for international organizations including the International Labour Organization, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and The United States Agency for International Development.
Contact Information:
Email: sbakenov@kimep.kz
Dr. Aslan Tanekenov, PhD in Urban Studies
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration/College of Social Sciences
Aslan Tanekenov’s research interests and expertise include social enterprise / entrepreneurship in Central Asia and NGOs management, social power / empowerment of socially vulnerable people, NGOs and social enterprise project evaluation, civic engagement and youth volunteering; civil society and international development, cross-sector partnership. He is the author of various articles related to social enterprise development, civil society and NGOs in general. Aslan Tanekenov has professional experience in civil society sector for about 10 years. He worked as part of the management group responsible for the Dialogue Initiative program which was US$5.4 million program designed to promote government-civil society dialogue and cooperation in key areas of reform in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It was funded by USAID (the United States Agency for International Development) and managed by the Washington DC-based organization Counterpart International.
Contact Information:
Tel.: +7 (727) 270 43 31, ext. 3165
Email: a.tanekenov@kimep.kz
For more details on the PhD program in Public Administration, the admission procedure and other enquiries, visit the website of the College of Social Sciences at KIMEP, or write to us.
All interested applicants are invited to get in touch with Dr. Gerald Pech, the Dean of the College of Social Sciences at KIMEP University, for an informal conversation ahead of submitting their application package;
Dr. Gerald Pech, PhD in Economics
Associate Professor, Department of Economics/College of Social Sciences
Dean, College of Social Sciences
Contact Information:
E-Mail: gpech@kimep.kz
Tel.: +7 (727) 270 43 49, ext. 3274
Personal website: http://www.geraldpech.net/
Office: 505 / Bld. Valikhanov
For the PhD programs at the College of Social Sciences of the KIMEP University, outstanding applicants may apply for and receive scholarship support. The scholarships are distributed based on a pointing system, and the applications will be assessed based on:
- Quality of the Research Proposal
- Educational and Professional Experienced and Qualifications
- Entrance exam results (Mainly Language Proficiency Tests)
- Interview Performance
Types of Funding:
- Full Tuition Scholarship
- Partial Tuition Scholarship
- Monthly Stipend
The maximum score is 100, divided between research proposal and interview (60), prior publications (30), language (10). The minimum passing score is 50.
A. Criteria for Research Proposal and Interview Performance (total 60 points)
A1. Quality Review of Research Proposal (Maximum 30 points)
- Rewriting and major review required (6 points)
- Missing or shortage of significant part of the research structure (9 points)
- Acceptable structure with minor review required (15 points)
- Good proposal with potential to lead to a good dissertation (20 points)
- Excellent proposal with potential to lead to an excellent dissertation (30 points)
A2. Interview Performance (Maximum 30 points)
B. Prior Publications (total 30 points)
B.1. Publications in journals related to the major (Maximum 30 points)
- Category 1: SCImago Journal & Country Rank (Quartile 1) (30 points)
- Category 2: SCImago Journal & Country Rank (Quartile 2 & 3) (15 points)
- Category 3: SCImago Journal & Country Rank Quartile 4 or MES approved journal of CABJ (7 points, up to 14 in this category)
Note: 2 points are subtracted for each co-author. Unless explicitly stated, scores are added up to a maximum of 20.
C. Criteria for Academic Performance (total 10 points)
C.1. Entrance Exam Results: TOEFL, IELTS, GMAT, KGET, and the State Foreign Language Test (Maximum 10 points)
English Proficiency (maximum weight = 10%) (TOEFL is acceptable in scores corresponding to the below IELTS levels. Applicants should have no scores less than 4.0 in each section).
- IELTS 4.5-5.0 = 2% (IELTS below 5.0 applies only to PhD in PA)
- IELTS 5.5-6.0 = 4%
- IELTS 6.5-7.0 = 6%
- IELTS 7.5-8.0 = 8%
- IELTS 8.5-9.0 = 10%
For the next intake in fall 2022, KIMEP plans to offer multiple scholarships in each program. The PhD Scholarship is for three years, conditional on performance, and covers tuition fees during these years.
In addition, stipends of $450, $325, and $200 per month depending on educational background and experience are available. The stipends are paid for eight months in two years and in Kzt (US Dollar amounts are calculated based on an exchange rate of 425Kzt/$). Stipend holders are expected to be available for teaching and work as research assistants.
