econphd23 Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 I am new here, and I learn that most people will not recommend a MA Econ in US? Why? Is it because of the high tuition or the the program quality? Are there any awesome MA Econ in US worth applying for? Or Ma in Math or Statistics? :blush:too many questions,,,,,,,,,,:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polkaparty Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 I have no information beyond the hearsay from this board, but generally people say that U.S. MA programs are not designed as preparation for Ph.D.s. Hence the courses aren't very rigorous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econphd23 Posted November 19, 2007 Author Share Posted November 19, 2007 I have no information beyond the hearsay from this board, but generally people say that U.S. MA programs are not designed as preparation for Ph.D.s. Hence the courses aren't very rigorous. But there are still someone recommends some MA in US, like Duke, Trufts, and yesterday I got a reply from the AEA summer program director, saying UNC-Greensboro is a good intermediate step for phd. Confusing,,,,,,:idea: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polkaparty Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 Yeah, again, that's just the general hearsay. The only program specifically I remember hearing about is NYU's MA program, which people generally said to steer clear of. I have no idea about the other programs you mention. Surly someone else here does, however.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econphd23 Posted November 19, 2007 Author Share Posted November 19, 2007 So how to evaluate a program whether it has the good replacement to top phd? By looking their job market candidate or contact with the program coordinator? What's your opinion:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zappa24 Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 From everything I've heard, MA's in economics are more for applied, industry work. The programs aren't heavy in theory because their placement is into entities where theory isn't particularly important (but a more thorough understanding beyond the basics of undergraduate economics is.) So the reason US MA's aren't the best preperation for PhD's is because they aren't built for that purpose. They really, at least in economics, are training students for completely different carrer tracks. The main advantage of getting an US MA is to improve a borderline application with strong marks on material that is supposed to be harder than undergraduate material. Yet, this could just as easily be done with a math or statistics MA (and you'll probably cover just as much if not more on the material that you'll see in the PhD theory classes as if you had taken an econ MA.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asianeconomist Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 It's certainly true that the NYU Master of Economics degree is not a good stepping-stone for a PhD. Regarding other US Masters programs, places like Duke and Boston will certainly add to your profile. However, when you hold them in comparison to their Canadian or European counterparts, IMO they providde far lower value for money. Having said that, I heard that someone from UNC- GB got an admit at Oxford (3-4 years back). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econphd23 Posted November 19, 2007 Author Share Posted November 19, 2007 It's certainly true that the NYU Master of Economics degree is not a good stepping-stone for a PhD. Regarding other US Masters programs, places like Duke and Boston will certainly add to your profile. However, when you hold them in comparison to their Canadian or European counterparts, IMO they providde far lower value for money. Having said that, I heard that someone from UNC- GB got an admit at Oxford (3-4 years back). So you mean the added value of the US MA is not that high, and the cost is too much, so US MA is not economical? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terd Ferguson Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 A masters from a US school in Econ I think will help you very little with your PhD work. I don't think you will fully get this until you start the PhD program. I used to think a masters program would go over the same things but just in less detail and maybe leave out some of the math. Although I have not personally been in a MA program, I have to think that it would be completely different. MA programs are for people to learn Economics to help them with other areas of interest. You don't even really learn any Economics your first year in the PhD program. You learn the tools so that you can learn Economics later in the program. On the other hand, almost all foreign students here have a masters from a foreign school and it seems like it really helped them. I would recommend that the most. If you want to do something in the US, I would do a math masters and concentrate on 1) real analysis 2) numerical analysis 3) dynamic programming 4) non-linear optimization and 5) stats. (not in that order of importance). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notacolour Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 I think there are some good US MA programs, but most just aren't as good as they could be. As I've mentioned in another thread, I'm at UNCG. I gained a lot from the MA, and while my plan was to move on to another PhD program, I've stayed instead. One advantage is that even even if I were to decide I didn't want the PhD, I could quit and make quite a bit more than I could have made before the MA. I have actual skills, after all. The same couldn't exactly be said of many MA programs, which tend to involve simply taking a certain number of courses, perhaps writing a thesis, and getting a degree. The UNCG program is much more focused: there is a certain set of skills and a body of theory you should learn in the program, and they do a good job of imparting these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econphd23 Posted November 20, 2007 Author Share Posted November 20, 2007 I think there are some good US MA programs, but most just aren't as good as they could be. As I've mentioned in another thread, I'm at UNCG. I gained a lot from the MA, and while my plan was to move on to another PhD program, I've stayed instead. One advantage is that even even if I were to decide I didn't want the PhD, I could quit and make quite a bit more than I could have made before the MA. I have actual skills, after all. The same couldn't exactly be said of many MA programs, which tend to involve simply taking a certain number of courses, perhaps writing a thesis, and getting a degree. The UNCG program is much more focused: there is a certain set of skills and a body of theory you should learn in the program, and they do a good job of imparting these. So how about the placement of the program, are there many students go to the top PHD programs? You know, I mailed to the AEA program coordinator, and she did recommend UNCG did a good job as an intermediate step for students to prepare for PHD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econphd23 Posted November 20, 2007 Author Share Posted November 20, 2007 It's certainly true that the NYU Master of Economics degree is not a good stepping-stone for a PhD. Regarding other US Masters programs, places like Duke and Boston will certainly add to your profile. However, when you hold them in comparison to their Canadian or European counterparts, IMO they providde far lower value for money. Having said that, I heard that someone from UNC- GB got an admit at Oxford (3-4 years back). You mean Boston Collegd or Boston University? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asianeconomist Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 You mean Boston Collegd or Boston University? :) ::::::::::BU::::::::::: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econphd23 Posted December 1, 2007 Author Share Posted December 1, 2007 ::::::::::BU::::::::::: I have just mailed to their program coordinator, they told me their program is a terminal one, not for PHD,,,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werther Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Someone from BU said the "MA" there was not rigorous at all. He made it sound as if it were really "nothing". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econphd23 Posted December 2, 2007 Author Share Posted December 2, 2007 Someone from BU said the "MA" there was not rigorous at all. He made it sound as if it were really "nothing". Thank you for your great information:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Econtobe Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 A masters from a US school in Econ I think will help you very little with your PhD work. I don't think you will fully get this until you start the PhD program. I used to think a masters program would go over the same things but just in less detail and maybe leave out some of the math. Although I have not personally been in a MA program, I have to think that it would be completely different. MA programs are for people to learn Economics to help them with other areas of interest. You don't even really learn any Economics your first year in the PhD program. You learn the tools so that you can learn Economics later in the program. On the other hand, almost all foreign students here have a masters from a foreign school and it seems like it really helped them. I would recommend that the most. If you want to do something in the US, I would do a math masters and concentrate on 1) real analysis 2) numerical analysis 3) dynamic programming 4) non-linear optimization and 5) stats. (not in that order of importance). Is there anyone in the forum that has gone through this path.. of using an MA Math as a stepping stone? From what I read in univ sites, most of good programs require a subject GRE in Math for admit. To get a decent score in this subject GRE the test-taker should know good amount of pure math. So this is kinda catch-22 situation. Moreover, considering that a lot of math ph.d aspirants use a MA Math program as an intermediate I would assume it would be very competitive for a econ aspirant. I for one would be very skeptical before embarking on this path. I completely understand the theoritical utility of the math program, but practically it does appear to be too much of a hardship, considering UG level math is sufficient for econ phd (only hearsay, but from a lot of current phd students). An Econ masters with Math minor sounds a lot better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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