kkaman

Aarhus university has IMSQE program that is highly competitive and gives the platform to get into their PhD program. All the Scandinavian countries have good masters programs:though used to charge no fees, some of them are introducing the fees for international students.

Thanks for encouragement tm_guru.Actually, I'm in Canada.

@OneArmedEcon, to be in academia. But this does not seem to be possible now(I mean after getting down from PhD to master degree). And this would be my second masters' degree.

I guess you are right tm_guru; most folks here have better knowledge of North American programs that are ranked 1-125. Given that, what would be my options in North America? I would still not be able to complete the requirements for MA till the end of Fall. Should I wait another year or apply now? I don't mind listening the comments that I have no chances whatsoever??

Hi everyone, can anyone shed some more light on my odd situation??? Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. I'm wondering at this stage whether it is rational to apply again. Since applying to the grad programs involves costs(both,pecuniary and non-pecuniary), I'm mulling over whether I should give another try to get in somewhere. I'm thinking of Essex, Nottingham, Edinburgh,Bonn, Uppsala, Copenhagen, Norweagian School of Economics and Business Administration, Calgary, Waterloo Does anyone has any opinion about my chances at these schools? Do you have anyother suggestions? Thanks.

Is it sure that I'm doomed? No scope whatsoever for getting in any school?? I'm not aiming for a school which is higher ranked than the school where I am now. Don't you guys think that adcoms will take into account that I have better preparation(being familiar with grad level stuff) coming to their program. Most of the low ranked schools in Europe have only master degree level course requirements for PhD candidates.

Thanks tm_guru. My grades are as : Micro I B Micro II B+ Macro I B+ Macro II B EconometricsI A- EconmetricsII A- I'm taking two more courses as a requirement for the M.A. and improving on my health. I don't know whether I'm doomed with these grades and my decision not to write the exams was mistaken. please help evaluate my chances. Also, should I wait another year and audit/take for credit some courses in mathematics and statistics? or should I apply right away rather than wasting another year. How should I signal my motivation to pursue PhD. Thanks everyone.

Hello everyone, I'm in a very odd situation and want to evaluate my options. I was in a very low ranked (150ish) PhD program but transferred to M.A. program because of some health issues. I have completed all the core course work and GPA is 3.4. But my transcript shows that I was admitted to PhD but transferred to M.A. Now, I intend to apply for PhD or MPhil programs in UK and some other European countries. Professors from my program are willing to write strong letters of reference. I want to know what would be my chances for getting admitted to a program and for funding. I am particularly worried over my transcript in a sense that it might act as a negative signal. Please help evaluate my chances. Thanks

did you get an offer from York?

Phd program There is an option on the western student center to know about the status of application. I just logged in but didn't see any notes on my application(they have indeed 3 options: incomplete, offered admission, not offered admission)

Hey guys, does anyone heard anything from McMaster,Carleton,York,UWO??

Of lately, I have seen people been leaning more towards empirical stuff.But, the computational methods developed for analyzing data are based on the underlying 'theory of econometrics', which itself is based on some assumptions.

@Lizette, that post is,indeed,useful as it gives an insider's view.However,it does not shed light on some crucial aspects: the student-professor relationships at various levels and the overall intellectual environment. One more question: do the Dannish institutes have bias in the selection process as most of the students in these programmes are Danes(I suppose a handful of international students do apply for these programmes).

@M.j As you wish to go in 2010, you have plenty of time.The best thing for you is to take some mathematics training this year so that you can submit your grades in mathematics courses alongwith the application.Further the good Quant and AW GRE score will boost your chances.You will have better labour market prospects if you pass out from a good economics programme. With fundamental training in mathematics, it is fun learning economics.

Is anyone familiar with the Dannish institutes such as Aarhus University,Copenhagen University and the quality of their graduate programmes in economics?? Though there is information about the structure of their graduate programmes, there is no information how well the graduates fair in the labour market.It seems there is some good reasearch going on in these institute(more of a kind of policy oriented). Any information will be appreciated.

@murni what do you mean by 'elite university'.

@MJ, Only few UK universities have good masters programmes.Most of them terribly lack in providing strong foundation for professional career and further studies.You need to check the course content of each programme.specifically the business schools do not have good programmes in economics.On the other hand some places,for example, Birbeck College(this is just an example) , provide strong training in the field. Though I do not know much about the European programmes,some of these(Bonn,Goethe,Toulose,UPF,UCIII,SU,SSE,Uppsala,Tinbergen,Tilburg) actually seem to be quite good(I just looked at their course content and the faculty).I am not sure whether you are eligible for these and the deadlines are past.I think it would be good if you can get some training in mathematics for at least one year and then pursue the masters. Good luck.

You can not judge the intellectual environment from the books used.It is about the people being passionate about research and the discussion & dissemination of innovative research ideas.For example, in the good American programmes they have lunch meetings with the students.

@econgute The ultimate goal is to get PhD,however, given my masters from a relatively unknown university,it seems impossible to get into a good graduate programme.As mentioned before, my application for MPhil @ Tinbergen and Tilburg has been rejected. Though I have sent application to Mannheim and Bonn, I don't expect positive outcome and I'm not sure whether I would like to go there.I am,therefore,contemplating a rigorous one year masters programme where I have a decent chance of getting some funding(I am an Indian though presently based in UK).

Somebody asked for my background.I did masters in economics from a relatively unknown university in the UK.I have been rejected for MPhil programme at Tinbergen and Tilburg.Given the competitive conditions, I suppose, I have to get another masters. I am not sure about the ranking as their methodology is predominantly based on research output. Of lately,you guys have been discussing about the individuals and that seems irrelevant. In my opinion for a student entering the graduate school the following few things matter: --the level and rigour of the coursework --intellectual environment --access to the professor --training for publishing research and access to other research networks outside the parent country of the institution Beside the top 5(LSE,Oxford,Cambridge,UCL,Warwick), the UK is terribly bad for doing PhD in economics.Glasgow and Cardiff have structured programmes that are good for someone interested in empirical macroeconomics.Even the best way to do Phd from Cambridge is through MPhil route. Some of the German programmes have structured programmes(Goethe,Mannheim).But I am not sure of the intellectual environment and the student-professor relationships at those universities. Frisch,Tinbergen,Myrdal,Hayek,Ohlin were not trained in the US.So looking at the nobel prize winners does not make sense.Important thing is that if one has fundamental training and can generate innovative research ideas one can be easily employed anywhere in the world.It is the research output of an individual that matters for getting good placements.

Diplomer I am just trying to broaden the pool of schools with good research programmes. I know only about Tinbergen and Tilburg in Netherlands. If you have information about other institutes please share. The Dannish institutes I mentioned have rigorous graduate programmes and associated research centres.However, I do not have an idea about the placement record of those institutes. I have noticed that European institutes, compared with US institutes, have bias in the selection process(implicitly).Most of the European graduate programmes admit the students from Europe only.

You misconstrued from the phrase 'German economic research institutes'. I think that is not the right phrase to use.I am talking about academic research.Though German Schools is not a good caption,however, I did mention about the Dannish institutes when I started the thread.I do not know about the others but I always read the first post in any thread before jumping to the replies to get an idea of the on going discussion?

Hey guys, can you please elaborate on what is going on inside the German economic research institutes, what is the state of research and what are the job prospects, in the international market, of the graduates of these institutes? btw, no one commented on the Dannish institutes??

Thanks for the comments.I have research interests in business cycles and economic growth and I intend to pursue academic career. I believe the rigorous training is important to that end. Any information about the Dannish graduate programmes I mentioned??