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dafrk3in · 11-26-2006, 01:13 AM

Notre dame sent me a thing about their econ program in the mail. Does anyone know if it's any good?

butler blue · 11-26-2006, 03:43 AM

Notre Dame's program is in a weird restructuring phase. They were known to be unorthodox for a long time, and now they've split their econ dept into two sections. One keeps the old unorthodox view. The other is an attempt to build a more orthodox department. It might be quality down the road, but my understanding is that it is still very much a work in progress.

PairofDucks · 11-27-2006, 05:05 AM

Accidental double posting, see next post

PairofDucks · 11-27-2006, 05:06 AM

The two departments split, and in all actuality, the unorthodox program has been taken off of life support. They are in their own building and no longer have new graduate students for the past few years.

As for the phd program from the Department of Economics and Econometrics, the restructuring is complete. Each year they've been, are, and will continue to build the size of the faculty roster to approximately double its current size. As for rankings, look to www.econphd.net at each subspecialty. It should be noted that the research economists that have offices in the business school have close ties to the economics department, including a "dual citizenship" between the two departments.

The ties of the dept's prof's through research to harvard, mit, chicago etc. professors, and the Fed banks is evident through friday seminars where graduate students meet these colleagues from their sister-institutions and are also presented with their current research.

The admissions is quite selective with last year's applicant pool having approximately a 7% admit rate. Mathematics backrounds of applicants are expected to be comparable to any top tier program. (The first year texts are the same as those used at MIT).

Research Assistantships are bountiful, and no one is forced to teach undergraduate courses. Financial stipends are quite nice as well, expecially since the cost of living is reasonable. The program/department is very friendly and a pleasure to be a part of.

-A graduate student who turned down doing a masters in engineering at mit to be a member of this community

asquare · 11-27-2006, 05:18 AM

I don't have any direct information about Notre Dame's program, but wanted to point out that some of the things PairofDucks mentions should not be overinterpreted. For example, having the same first year texts as MIT does not necessarily mean very much at all -- virtually every top 100 program in the country uses MWG for micro, and there are a very limited, very common set of texts for other subjects as well. Having seminar speakers from Harvard, MIT, etc. is also very common. These are good things, yes, but they are more necessary than sufficient evidence of a strong department.

None of this is to say that Notre Dame is a bad program at all. The real evidence of the department's strength will come when placement records for a few classes of graduates are available. It does seem that the university is doing everything possible to rebuild its economics PhD program as quickly as possible.

user_name · 11-27-2006, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PairofDucks

A graduate student who turned down doing a masters in engineering at mit to be a member of this community

Really? Why?

PairofDucks · 11-27-2006, 07:25 AM

user_nameQuote:
Originally Posted by PairofDucks

A graduate student who turned down doing a masters in engineering at mit to be a member of this community

Really? Why?

The masters program was in supply chain engineering. I knew that by either going to cambrige for that or not, I would still want to earn a doctorate and focus on research. I also felt that racking up multiple graduate degrees was un-necessary if the alternative would be (in the same time interval) having more time to research and take elective courses in my research area instead of taking required courses. Of course, getting a masters from mit would have meant the ability to reapply the subsequent year and place into a program currently given higher marks in rankings. Despite that, I have a certain amount of belief that at the end of the day what matters the most is your ability to do quality original research above all else. I suppose the best answer, given who the readers are, would be "preferences".

user_name · 11-27-2006, 07:37 AM

When is the first class of students at Notre Dame gonna graduate?

PairofDucks · 11-27-2006, 08:05 AM

You'll have to wait three years. There's an expectation set out for us that it's completed in 4 academic years. For this reason, it's unfortunately not possible to supply you all with statistics of the graduating-class placements prior to the time of your apps.

i'll remind all that when milton f. applied to columbia it was not considered top ranked at the time.

11-26-2006, 01:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
dafrk3in Within my grasp! Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 310	notre dame econ Notre dame sent me a thing about their econ program in the mail. Does anyone know if it's any good?

11-27-2006, 05:05 AM	#3 (permalink)
PairofDucks Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 9	Notre Dame Econ Accidental double posting, see next post

11-27-2006, 05:06 AM	#4 (permalink)
PairofDucks Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 9	Notre Dame Econ The two departments split, and in all actuality, the unorthodox program has been taken off of life support. They are in their own building and no longer have new graduate students for the past few years. As for the phd program from the Department of Economics and Econometrics, the restructuring is complete. Each year they've been, are, and will continue to build the size of the faculty roster to approximately double its current size. As for rankings, look to www.econphd.net at each subspecialty. It should be noted that the research economists that have offices in the business school have close ties to the economics department, including a "dual citizenship" between the two departments. The ties of the dept's prof's through research to harvard, mit, chicago etc. professors, and the Fed banks is evident through friday seminars where graduate students meet these colleagues from their sister-institutions and are also presented with their current research. The admissions is quite selective with last year's applicant pool having approximately a 7% admit rate. Mathematics backrounds of applicants are expected to be comparable to any top tier program. (The first year texts are the same as those used at MIT). Research Assistantships are bountiful, and no one is forced to teach undergraduate courses. Financial stipends are quite nice as well, expecially since the cost of living is reasonable. The program/department is very friendly and a pleasure to be a part of. -A graduate student who turned down doing a masters in engineering at mit to be a member of this community

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11-26-2006, 03:43 AM	#2 (permalink)
butler blue Within my grasp! Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 438	Notre Dame's program is in a weird restructuring phase. They were known to be unorthodox for a long time, and now they've split their econ dept into two sections. One keeps the old unorthodox view. The other is an attempt to build a more orthodox department. It might be quality down the road, but my understanding is that it is still very much a work in progress.

11-27-2006, 05:18 AM	#5 (permalink)
asquare TestMagic Guru Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ann Arbor Posts: 1,381	I don't have any direct information about Notre Dame's program, but wanted to point out that some of the things PairofDucks mentions should not be overinterpreted. For example, having the same first year texts as MIT does not necessarily mean very much at all -- virtually every top 100 program in the country uses MWG for micro, and there are a very limited, very common set of texts for other subjects as well. Having seminar speakers from Harvard, MIT, etc. is also very common. These are good things, yes, but they are more necessary than sufficient evidence of a strong department. None of this is to say that Notre Dame is a bad program at all. The real evidence of the department's strength will come when placement records for a few classes of graduates are available. It does seem that the university is doing everything possible to rebuild its economics PhD program as quickly as possible.

11-27-2006, 07:25 AM	#7 (permalink)
PairofDucks Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 9	user_nameQuote: Originally Posted by PairofDucks A graduate student who turned down doing a masters in engineering at mit to be a member of this community Really? Why? The masters program was in supply chain engineering. I knew that by either going to cambrige for that or not, I would still want to earn a doctorate and focus on research. I also felt that racking up multiple graduate degrees was un-necessary if the alternative would be (in the same time interval) having more time to research and take elective courses in my research area instead of taking required courses. Of course, getting a masters from mit would have meant the ability to reapply the subsequent year and place into a program currently given higher marks in rankings. Despite that, I have a certain amount of belief that at the end of the day what matters the most is your ability to do quality original research above all else. I suppose the best answer, given who the readers are, would be "preferences".

11-27-2006, 07:37 AM	#8 (permalink)
user_name Within my grasp! Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 455	When is the first class of students at Notre Dame gonna graduate?

11-27-2006, 08:05 AM	#9 (permalink)
PairofDucks Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 9	You'll have to wait three years. There's an expectation set out for us that it's completed in 4 academic years. For this reason, it's unfortunately not possible to supply you all with statistics of the graduating-class placements prior to the time of your apps. i'll remind all that when milton f. applied to columbia it was not considered top ranked at the time.

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