Ucsc

[sir_ceterus]

Originally Posted by TheBrothersKaramazov

In case you haven't been bored enough to look for your Fall 2009 schedule, you can find it here. Econ listings are on page 111.
http://reg.ucsc.edu/soc/2098.pdf

Econ 204A - McCalman - TR - 4-5:45pm
Econ 205A - Staff - MW 2-3:45pm
Econ 211A - Cheng - TR - 8-9:45am

For those of you interested in AMS 205, both A and B are offered on TR 2-3:45.

An 8-10 econometrics class is just plain mean! What are they thinking? At least it's not a Monday class. I wasn't too crazy about living at GSH, but an 8 am class pretty much forces me to choose GSH simply for convenience!

TBK, do you recommend taking AMS 205 during the first year? I plan on taking some stats classes eventually, but it seems like it might be a little much. How many hours a week would you say 205 takes up? Also, since Ravenna is on hiatus, who do you think is going to teach macro?

[TheBrothersKaramazov]

hmm... Are you thinking of doing the entire sequence of AMS (205, 206, 207) this year?

Hmmm... 205 doesn't take up more than 10 hours of extra reading and problem sets. Don't focus too much on the 205 grade (just pass... or don't even... it doesn't matter). Just make sure to ace your first year classes so that you (a) can ace the prelims and (b) for funding purposes. Your funding is only dependent on your required econ coursework, prelims, and to a lesser extent, TA evaluations. I found that I spent too much time on the AMS coursework.

But, if your intention is to take plenty of AMS courses, you better start soon. I think that 2nd year is much heavier in terms of coursework than 1st year. You can take either 205A or 205 B, though I think 205 B is the pre-req for later AMS courses. 205 B is supposedly more inference.
Econometrics: I'm surprised to see it at 8 am. That is usually Phil's preferred time slot. Oh well. Ai-Ru is great though!

Macro: Only macro professors available to teach are Ken, Aspen, and Carl. Carl always teaches 2nd quarter - RBC/NK. Ken usually teaches 1st quarter, but I hear that he isn't next year. (Plus the time of your macro class is inconsistent with his usual schedule). That leaves Aspen in the first quarter.

Looks like the department is giving the incoming phd students TWO offices. Very nice...

[sir_ceterus]

Two offices? We should all have a desk and drawer this way, right? YUSS! Let the office wars begin! Do you think we have any chance of window seating (hopefully not at the expense of your class)?

10 hours is the maximum! Maybe I should hold off on a decision.

I plan on studying Bayesian stochastic processes (plus I have nerd love for quantum mechanics), so I'm assuming I would need to take the full AMS sequence to have access to the fun stuff. If I take 205 B, and pass, can I skip the other intro classes? Can I at least take 2/3 and skip? Is there real protocol here? I am, however, more 'international finance' than 'monetary'. Do you think I'm just wasting my time with inference?

And again, THANK YOU. I am somebody who believes in good karma...

[Terra Firma]

TBK: Thanks alot for the infos on office space.

Let me jump in abit since you guys are discussing about AMS courses.

I am also interested in taking the sequence at the AMS too. However, I am still alittle bit cautious of adding more course load to those required so likely I will keep this option open until before the classes start or something but it is good to think about it early. It seems that you recommended taking AMS 205B in the first year??? Also, for the upper years, usually, when you do you guys start taking more AMS courses beside AMS 205 in the first quarter when there were no Econometrics yet. I am interested in Monetary Macro stuffs so Bayesian statistics is indeed the popular tools at the moment it seems and hence, I hope to take some more Bayesian courses such as AMS 206 and 207 down the road but would you recommend taking them early as in the first year beside the fact that 2nd year course load will be heavier. I am not trying to look past the first year courses in econ or anything but just thought that those AMS courses might help my research later on as well as the field courses and would be nice to streamline them with the econ classes.

Also, I am also looking at housing and it seems that it probably comes down to GSH and off campus. I think you had experiences in both as alluded to at some points in the thread. Since there are chance that the environment at GSH might change quickly depending on roommates what about nearby off campus apartment in the Santa Cruz area. I am willing to be off campus abit but not too far as San Jose to have better and quiet study environment. However, the 8 AM econometrics is gonna hurt two days a week but it would not be that bad if commuting by bus within the vicinity of Santa Cruz??? On craigslist, the price variation for apartments in Santa Cruz is pretty large and the hard part is that rent for Aug or Sept will not likely be up and advertised until july or so since the landlord will not know until then??? Any suggestions.

[TheBrothersKaramazov]

Originally Posted by sir_ceterus

\

I plan on studying Bayesian stochastic processes (plus I have nerd love for quantum mechanics), so I'm assuming I would need to take the full AMS sequence to have access to the fun stuff. If I take 205 B, and pass, can I skip the other intro classes? Can I at least take 2/3 and skip? Is there real protocol here? I am, however, more 'international finance' than 'monetary'. Do you think I'm just wasting my time with inference?

Are you trying to complete the AMS parenthetical notation? Statistics and Applied Mathematics | Applied Mathematics and Statistics | UC Santa Cruz

If you are, then you ought to get started in 1st year. But if you are taking the AMS coursework for your own benefit, then it really is up to you. If I were you, I would think about how many hours I would need to spend per week in each course. 4 hours are spent just in one extra class. You're definitely going to put in 10 hours for an extra class. 4 classes is alot of work, but its doable.

Ok, 205 is the easiest, 206 harder, 207 even harder.
AMS 205 = no programming; 206 = introduction to R for Bayesian stats; 207 = lots of programing in R or whatever language the prof likes to use.

I'd say that 205 is useful for all economists because you learn statistical distributions well, notions of sufficient statistics, and you really get into the nitty gritty frequentist statistics.
206, 207... are useful if you are doing monetary economics. I took 206 because i wanted to take Decision Theory in my 2nd year. In the process, i learned some R which is now useful because my econometrics paper supervisor woships R. Otherwise, I don't see myself using much Bayesian techniques.

There's one person in my class who is very focused on monetary economics, and is on leave from a research position at a central bank (former aerospace engineer). He and I took a number of AMS classes together. After taking 206 with me, he didn't take 207 either. He took stochastic differential equations, followed by decision theory and stochastic processes. (stochastic processes turned out to be a helluva course... all the AMS students dropped and he was the only one left). I think that he is going to take time series through the AMS dept in the fall.

Skipping classes in the AMS sequence: well, if you want the notation on your degree, I don't think that'll work. As for just taking courses that interest you... hmm.. i don't know. If the class is not filled, then the professor will usually let you in if you are willing to enroll. Some professors don't mind if you audit. The faculty are very flexible. As i mentioned above, I took 206 so that I could take decision theory. Had i only taken 205, I would not have had a clue how to do Bayesian statistics and would not have been able to do the coursework for Decision Theory. So.. while 205 might be "skip-able", 206 is not.

I recommend taking extra courses in first year simply because I found 2nd year to be much more intensive. you will also have plenty of econ courses that will interest you.. In second year, you will begin working on your field paper and getting down to research. You do not want to be playing catch-up with math.

So in conclusion, if you're interested in the AMS courses, enroll in the fall quarter. When you get to a point where the course is taking up too much time, abandon ship (partially or completely) and focus on economics. See how 205 goes. If you feel that it is manageable, then consider 206.
But remember that in the winter quarter, you may have a TAship... and since it's your first TAship, you will be rightfully scared and work hard at it. . TAing take up alot of time.

[TheBrothersKaramazov]

Originally Posted by Terra Firma

I hope to take some more Bayesian courses such as AMS 206 and 207 down the road but would you recommend taking them early as in the first year beside the fact that 2nd year course load will be heavier. I am not trying to look past the first year courses in econ or anything but just thought that those AMS courses might help my research later on as well as the field courses and would be nice to streamline them with the econ classes.

Terra Firma, I would take 205 and see how it goes. One step at a time. If you can manage the coursework, then enroll in 206. In fact, you can't enroll in 206 until the end of the Fall quarter...

I completed 206 in the 1st year. I had the benefit, however, of being pretty comfortable with game theory - - which was our most intensive course in the Winter quarter. In the spring quarter, i didn't take any extra courses (just Econ 205C, 204C, 211B -- now it'll be C for you. oh god... time series in the Spring is hell...).

Originally Posted by Terra Firma

Also, I am also looking at housing and it seems that it probably comes down to GSH and off campus. I think you had experiences in both as alluded to at some points in the thread. Since there are chance that the environment at GSH might change quickly depending on roommates what about nearby off campus apartment in the Santa Cruz area. I am willing to be off campus abit but not too far as San Jose to have better and quiet study environment. However, the 8 AM econometrics is gonna hurt two days a week but it would not be that bad if commuting by bus within the vicinity of Santa Cruz??? On craigslist, the price variation for apartments in Santa Cruz is pretty large and the hard part is that rent for Aug or Sept will not likely be up and advertised until july or so since the landlord will not know until then??? Any suggestions.

I lived in GSH first year and am now living in FSH. I have some classmates who live off campus.
Commuting to campus for 8 am classes? It's not bad if you're able to get to a bus stop by 7:15-7:20 (if downtown). Once the bus gets onto campus, it goes SOO slow and is crammed with students going from one campus bus stop to the next. A handful of grad students had the tendancy not to show up on time for 8 am classes. It seems to turn off the faculty.

The grad students have mailing lists among themselves... they advertise apartments, or sell furniture, etc. I don't know if Sandra has added you to the grad-econ mailing list. This might give you more "grad-friendly" sources of housing than Craigslist. Or if it's not possible to add you to the mailing list yet.. perhaps we can start a mailing list among ourselves and I can forward such emails to you.

If you don't want to risk renting a dodgy place without seeing it for a year, sublet for a month, and go apt/house hunting when you arrive. That seems like a relatively good alternative. GSH is becoming outrageously expensive. $900/mo!!
I haven't looked, but i bet you could find a nice 2 bedroom apartment in Santa Cruz for $1800 or less. In that case, you'd have to furnish and find a roommate (but given the abundant supply of fellow grad students, it might not be that challenging).
[Sorry, i think back to the last of my undergrad days ... say 2005-2006.. and it makes me angry!! I had a room in a 4 person house where rent ranged from $320 - $375 + utilities in a university town in Canada. My room
there was double the size of the GSH bedrooms].

But, with GSH, you are definitely paying for convenience. You (a) have a furnished apartment (though, you won't have dishes or cookware or housewares), (b) are directly across the street from the department and next to bus stops going in either direction (it really is convenient when the two bus stops are NOT a 3 minute walk apart!)

[jlee7979]

Dear Colleagues,

Could you kindly answer my question? That is... What is the process of English speaking assessment when a international ph.d student is awarded a TAship? An e-mail from graduage office says international students should meet the strict deadline and qualification (TOEFL, IELTS or Versant) and, if the students failed to get enough test score, they should take the English language course. However, Sandra says I will be notified that I should take a mandatory English test when awarded a TAship regardless of TOEFL or IELTS score I have got. I am confused because it seems that there is no unified process between graduate office and econ department. I will appreciate if any of you can clarify it.

[TheBrothersKaramazov]

Hi Jlee,

If you are an international student, you will be required to take the English language exam. (You can be exempt from the exam if you go to Sandra and tell her that you're either (a) a native English speaker, (b) studied in an English speaking country for 4 year for your undergrad.)

From what I recall, most of my classmates had to take the exam. (We were all confused why we had to take the language exam if we had sufficient TOEFL scores). My classmates said that the hardest part of the exam was listening into the phone and reiterating what they heard. If you don't pass, it's really no problem. The department/Grad Studies make you attend a language class one night per week where you work on your English. Two of my classmates had to take this.

As an international student, expect to take the exam. If, for some reason (eg. budget cuts), they decide not to do it this year, be happy!

[jlee7979]

[quote=TheBrothersKaramazov;780900](We were all confused why we had to take the language exam if we had sufficient TOEFL scores) [quote]

What is sufficient TOEFL scores? Is it the speaking score of 26/30 in TOEFL or that of 8/9 in IELTS which the graduate office requires?

[TheBrothersKaramazov]

I really don't know. I never had to take any language exams because my native language is English.

Contact graduate divisions. I would expect them to be stringent than the department about certain requirements. But if you have already been accepted without conditions on your language abilities, it doesn't matter what your TOEFL or IELTS scores are. If there is a language exam for potential TAs, all international students are required to take it regardless of how they performed on these pre-admission exams.