DrStrangelove

I took the at-home GRE this past weekend and my unofficial scores came back as Q: 165 and V:163. I am currently looking into terminal masters programs for a stepping-stone to a PhD in economics in order to (1) get stronger letters (2) more coursework in upper-level economics as my undergrad leaves much to be desired in terms of econ courses. I am also working on math courses (full calc sequence, linear algebra) before this masters program. Do you think I should worry about re-taking the GRE? Down the road when it comes to PhD application time will the 165 limit me severely in terms of the programs that will consider me? Such as strictly outside the top-50? Thank you.

I likewise have been looking into UT Austin for a masters. Their website details their recent placements into PhD programs. Placement

Thank you for the clarification. I have seen several of those European programs mentioned along with a few others. So I definitely need to take a deeper dive into Phd placements per program. I am pretty set on pursuing a terminal masters because I think for me it can help my 2 major deficiencies: strong letters of recommendations and also the opportunity to take PhD level Econ courses. One final question as I'm not too familiar with the literature on all the sub-fields of economics and where they may intersect. Would anyone be able to shed any light on what "sub-field" my interests lie in? My intuition tells me 100% in the stratosphere of MACRO as opposed to MICRO. But more specifically the crossroads of the international financial and monetary system. I am very interested in the role that repo's play in bank liquidity, and the plumbing of the monetary system, basil, QE, US Treasury standard, gold standard vs fiat and whether banks are truly intermediaries of loanable funds... For example, Daniela Gabor from Bristol University (europe) has had some papers that intrigued me, covering what she calls "Critical Macro Finance". Also Zoltan Jakab, Zoltan Pozsar, and some papers from NBER. Most of the research I have found stems from Europe which is another reason I've leaned towards a possible masters from Europe. I've also researched into literature on theories of money (neoclassical vs PK) and I'm also interested in sovereign debt, restructurings (and their political effects), and in a sense public economics as well. Obviously I am YEARS away from a Phd and having to pick a research topic but I am trying to narrow down the official names of the sub-fields listed on programs websites to prepare for the future.. Thank you again for all your time and apologize if any of these questions come across as amateurish.

Yes like I said I have practically no programming experience or much work with statistical programs which I am trying to work on. Does not seem likely I'd be accepted but I appreciate the information! Those deficiencies are part of the reason I was considering a MA in statistics as opposed to a MA in econ, since at the end of the day math is king when it comes to econ PhDs.

UNDERGRAD: I graduated from a small private school in the US with a bachelor’s in finance (3.5 GPA). Relevant courses for this discussion include: intro micro/macro, stats, and calc (rest are predominantly finance-based). WORK:I am currently working in financial services as a trader but am strongly motivated and intellectually driven to pursue a graduate degree in economics for Fall 2021. INTERESTS: Particularly I am interested in international economics/monetary economics and its intersection with wholesale finance (repo’s, monetary/financial/banking system) and its implications for macroeconomics. As well as looking into depoliticizing effects of financialization/globalization which has started leading me towards political economy as well. Are their programs that excel in these subfields? COURSE PREP & CONCERNS: I am in the process of taking calc II, followed by calc III (multivariate), linear algebra and if I have time also some more statistics/probability. I am also reading through econ textbooks on my own (micro, econometrics) and looking into relevant literature to be economically literate. Ideally the best route would be to obtain an RA position so I can work, earn money and get invaluable experience doing research and strong LOR’s for a stepping stone into a PhD, but my qualifications just don’t bode well as I lack any programming/coding and still am working on bolstering my math. Another severe weakness is my letters of recommendations, during undergrad I basically got good enough grades so I could get an industry job and make decent money. I can think of one professor who I can use but it still wasn’t an economics course. PLAN: For this reason, I have been looking at terminal master’s programs in economics as a stepping-stone for a potential PhD to develop relationships for LOR’s and get more coursework and experience under my belt. It seems in the US, Duke and Tufts and maybe BU are the best options and I have heard recommendations to look at Canadian and European Master programs because their educational systems are designed for students to go (BA->MA->PhD) as opposed to the traditional (BA-> PhD) in the US for econ. And depending on the institutions have strong/decent placement in US programs. Or even European Ph.D.’s as long as I can work in the aforementioned sub-fields. GRE: Thus far my practice GRE’s have been Quant: 166, Verbal: 159 and A: 4.0 and I believe those can improve. In all frankness a lot would have to go well for a top 15 PhD program, but I wanted to get some thoughts on my plan. For someone who is interested in working with the Fed, or potentially international organizations like IMF, Peterson Institute for International Economics or think tanks if I’m unable to get into a research academia position, does this make sense? Is it absolutely imperative to get into a top program for those institutions? CLOSING REMARKS: Would a terminal masters be the best bet or would focusing solely on coursework and programming for a potential summer 2022 RA position? Or would a masters in a quant heavy topic like stats prove more fruitful for where I want to end up? I have been trying to explore as many resources online as I can as I don’t have many resources or support from others who have gone through this process, so I really appreciate any feedback or suggestions.