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Advanced Microeconomic Theory
Provider: Faculty of Science

Activity no.: 5230-26-00-00There are 15 available seats 
Enrollment deadline: 13/03/2026
PlaceDepartment of Food and Resource Economics
Date and time14.04.2026, at: 09:00 - 30.06.2026, at: 16:00
Regular seats15
LecturersFrank Jensen
ECTS credits5.00
Contact personCharlotte Bukdahl Jacobsen    E-mail address: cja@ifro.ku.dk
Enrolment Handling/Course OrganiserPhD Administration SCIENCE    E-mail address: phdcourses@science.ku.dk
Enrolment guidelines
This is a toolbox course where 80% of the seats are reserved to PhD students enrolled at the Faculty of SCIENCE at UCPH and 20% of the seats are reserved to PhD students from other Danish Universities/faculties (except CBS). Seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and according to the applicable rules.

Anyone can apply for the course, but if you are not a PhD student at a Danish university (except CBS), you will be placed on the waiting list until enrollment deadline. After the enrollment deadline, available seats will be allocated to applicants on the waiting list.


Aim and Content
The aim of the course is to increase the students' knowledge and skills within advanced microeconomic theory. This will enable the students to perform independent scientific work where microeconomic theory is applied. The course consists of two main parts which will be described below.

First part: Advanced microeconomic theory.
The first part of the course consists of ten lectures, lasting three hours each, on selected topics within advanced microeconomic theory. The focus will be on fundamental formalized mathematical microeconomic theory. The lectures take place between the middle of April and the middle of May. Each lecture includes two take-home exercises and suggested answers to these will be delivered before the lectures. Examples of topics that will be covered include:
Elements of set theory and topology.
Real-valued functions.
Unconstrained and constrained optimization.
Consumer theory.
Theory of the firm.
Market structures.
Social choice and welfare.
Game theory.
Moral hazard and adverse selection.

The literature for this part of the course is:

Jehle, G.A. and Reny, P.J. (2011). Advanced Microeconomic Theory, Prentice Hall, Harlow.

The students are expected to prepare before the lectures by reading the relevant parts of the book. Furthermore, it is expected that the students will try to answer the take-home exercises after the lectures.

Second part: Making your own foundation.
In the second part of the course the students must work on an exam paper. The exam paper is about a topic which is relevant for the student´s own research on microeconomic theory. At a workshop in the beginning of June, one full day is allocated to student presentations of a preliminary version of their work of the exam paper, including a theoretical problem that should be investigated and the mathematical tool that can be used. Each student must present their own work and act as a main opponent on the work by another student. Furthermore, each presentation will be discussed by all other participants at the workshop. Before and after the workshop, each student can get maximally two hours of supervision with the teacher on the course. At the end of June, the students must deliver an exam paper.


Learning outcomes

Knowledge:
After the course the students have knowledge of:
- Mathematical methods used in microeconomic theory.
- Selected topics within advanced microeconomic theory.

Skills:
- After the course the students can:
- Analyze, evaluate and develop ideas for theoretical microeconomic research.
- Use microeconomic concepts to discuss policy issues.

Competences:
After the course the students will be able to:
- Formulate and develop a theoretical microeconomic model.
- Participate in national and international research projects which apply microeconomic theory.


Target Group
The target group is PhD students, with some knowledge of basic microeconomic theory, who plan to work with advanced microeconomic theory in their research.


Recommended Academic Qualifications
Students must be familiar with microeconomic theory at an intermediate level either through formal course credits or own reading of an introductory microeconomic textbook.


Research Area
The research area is advanced microeconomic theory and include topics such as consumer and producer theory.


Teaching and Learning Methods
The teaching and learning methods used in the course cover a wide range of approaches including:
- Lectures.
- Exercises.
- Presentation.
- Peer-feedback.
- Individual and independent work.


Type of Assessment
The assessment is passed or failed of the exam paper, which the students must deliver to the teacher. The paper must contain independent work using microeconomic theory and can be a part of the student’s PhD thesis. Exam papers are expected to be between 10 and 20 pages, and the papers should be structured as a research paper including an introduction and discussion/conclusion. However, the sections about microeconomic theory are the most important parts of the exam paper and will have the highest weight in the assessment.


Literature
Jehle, G.A. and Reny, P.J. (2011). Advanced Microeconomic Theory, Prentice Hall, Harlow.


Course coordinator
Associate professor Frank Jensen, Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen, e-mail: fje@ifro.ku.dk, phone number: +4535336898.


Dates
Important dates for the course are:
Tuesday 14. April-Tuesday 19. May: Lectures.
Wednesday 20. May-Monday 8. June: Possibility of supervision.
Tuesday 9. June: Workshop with student presentations.
Wednesday 10. June-Monday 29. June: Possibility of supervision.
Tuesday 30. June before 12.00: Delivery of exam paper.
In all activities, physical attendance is preferable but online participation is possible.


Expected frequency
The course is recurrent and will take place biannually.


Course location
The course will be held at the Faculty of Science but the room for the lectures and workshop has not yet been determined.




Course fee
• Participant fee: 0 DKK
• PhD student enrolled at SCIENCE: 0 DKK
• PhD student from Danish PhD school Open market: 0 DKK
• PhD student from Danish PhD school not Open market: 6000 DKK
• PhD student from foreign university: 6000 DKK
• Master's student from Danish university: 0 DKK
• Master's student from foreign university: 6000 DKK
• Non-PhD student employed at a university (e.g., postdocs): 6000 DKK
• Non-PhD student not employed at a university (e.g., from a private company): 16.800 DKK

Cancellation policy
• Cancellations made up to two weeks before the course starts are free of charge.
• Cancellations made less than two weeks before the course starts will be charged a fee of DKK 3.000
• Participants with less than 80% attendance cannot pass the course and will be charged a fee of DKK 5.000
• No-show will result in a fee of DKK 5.000
• Participants who fail to hand in any mandatory exams or assignments cannot pass the course and will be charged a fee of DKK 5.000

Course fee and participant fee
PhD courses offered at the Faculty of SCIENCE have course fees corresponding to different participant types.
In addition to the course fee, there might also be a participant fee.
If the course has a participant fee, this will apply to all participants regardless of participant
type - and in addition to the course fee.

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