PhD in ?? [Something Quantitative]

[SlowLearner38]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking to enter a PhD program Fall 2010. I have mainly been looking at Economics PhD programs, but in my browsing I can't help but be entertained by the idea of doing a PhD in other quantitative fields such as Organization, Strategy, etc. I will admit that I am not all that familiar with what kind of programs are offered out there, but that is where I am looking for some insight of where my profile might match up well with.

I have my info listed below. I am currently an UG, starting my senior year this fall towards my B.S. in Mathematical Economics. The program is split fairly even into 1/3 Econ, 1/3 Math, and 1/3 Stat. I also have a handful of other Economics electives...some at the graduate level. A course with a grade labeled "Pending" means its a course I will be taking this Fall '09 or Spring '10.

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Age: 22
Type of Undergrad: B.S. Mathematical Economics, Larger Midwest State School
Undergrad GPA: 3.55

Type of Grad: Master's level courses: Managerial Economics (A), Advanced Topics in Economic Modeling (A), Macroeconomic Theory (Pending), Advanced Economic and Business Forecasting (Pending)
Grad GPA: 4.0

GRE: 790Q, 350V, 3.5AWA - (Retaking July 13th to raise verbal scores)

MATH Courses: Calculus I (B), Calculus II (A), Calculus III (Pending), Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (Pending), Operations Research Models (Pending)

STAT Courses: Regression and Variance I and II (A and A), SAS Programming (B), Applied Probability and Simulation (A), Basic Elements of Statistical Theory (Pending), Basic Elements of Probability Theory (Pending)

ECON Courses: Principles Micro/Macro, Intermediate Micro (A), Intermediate Macro (B+), Managerial Economics (A), Economics of Crime (A), Public Finance (B+), Economic and Business Forecasting (B), History of Economic Thought (A), Senior Research Seminar (A), Honors Thesis (A), Intro to Econometrics (A), Intro to Mathematical Economics (A)

Letters of Recommendation:
3 Economics Professors
(1 is my thesis advisor, 1 works for the national Council for Econ Education, 1 is department chair)

I have very personal relationships with all 3 of my letter of reference writers. I am confident I will be getting 3 great letter of reference's.

Research Experience:
1. Senior research seminar and honors thesis tackled issues in undergraduate economics education. I was runner-up in the Grad/Undergrad research colloquium at my school this past year as an undergraduate Junior. I will also be presenting my thesis and serving as a discussant at the 2010 ASSA conference, in an NAEE (Nat'l Assoc of Econ Educators) session, as an undergraduate senior.

2. Currently working on a contracted research project for the national Council on Economic Education.

Teaching Experience: Leading a weekly recitation session for an Intermediate Microeconomics course this Fall.

Research Interests: Industrial Organization, Economics of Information and Strategy, Economics of Education

Other: Probably doesn't matter much, but I have/am serving as the President of the student Economics Association at my school, a group of ~40 students. Also, Ill be graduating with Honors, and have gotten 2 scholarships in the department at my school.
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So, if you folks could give me some insight on what kind of PhD program I would be a good candidate for (besides Economics), please speak your mind. I'm anxious to hear your opinions.

Best,
SlowLearner38

[possible_phd]

If you're looking for something quantitative and you like econ, you should take a long hard look at quantitative marketing; it is essentially microeconomics in a business context. In fact, this year, Stanford admitted some econ PhD applicants directly to the quantitative marketing track, because these applicants had interests that actually fit better in business. I heard Chicago was considering doing (or may have done?) the same.

[longshot]

If you've got more of a finance bend, some schools offer specific PhDs in Real Estate and Risk Management. Other programs of note include Health Care Economics, Logistics, Operations Research, and Information Systems.

[taxPhD]

Quant Marketing seems like it would be a nice fit for your background. It seems like the majority of marketing PhD applicants are leaning towards consumer behavior, etc..., so they like to see applicants with quant interests.

[SlowLearner38]

The Quantitative Marketing programs definitely look right up my alley. What schools offer this program, besides Stanford, Northwestern and Chicago? I definitely would be more interested in a Quantitative Marketing program that allowed me to take a good amount of Economics courses, and Stanford seems to do that.

Thanks for the help so far!

[possible_phd]

All schools offer it, but some are stronger in it than others. The usual suspects tend to be the stronger schools, but some that you might not expect include Ohio State (Allenby, one of the bigger names in Bayesian statistics, is there) and UW-Madison. Yale has had some great placements, and because their econ program is so strong, so is the marketing training. Plus, they have Sudhir, who's a pretty big name in structural modeling (IO type stuff).

As for a quant program that allows you to take a good amount of econ courses... that's all of them! Generally, you will take the microecon sequence in the econ department with all the econ PhDs.