Minnesota Applied Economics

[Paoc85]

Hi guys, I noticed that the University of Minnesota, additionally to the normal economics phd, offers an Applied Economics phd ( Overview of the PhD Program: Applied Economics Graduate Program (http://www.apecgrad.umn.edu/Overview_of_the_PhD_Program.html) ) through the department of pubblic affairs, and it's classes are mostly in the economic field and it offers some interesting fields (my choice would be trade and development), but it has lower entry requirements compared to the normal economics phd.
Does anybody have an opinion about it? Could it be a good choice or studying there would be just a waste of time?

[AREStudentHopeful]

Minnesota's applied econ program is definitely a good quality program as far as the professors and the learning opportunities. That being said, whether or not you apply there would probably depend on your future goals. Their record for academic placements isn't that great, but their public sector placements aren't bad. It's the similar tradeoff you face when going to any ARE-type program.