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Hello everyone, With the admission decision process underway, I have been trying to narrow down schools. Ranking lists contradict themselves, there's not a ton of discussion about non-top 30 programs, and in general, I have a lot of options. All in all, I could use some help! My main research interest are environmental and development, though if I had to choose, I would weigh environmental over development. In particular, I would like to look into issues of public land conservation and management. Ideally the school I will attend will be strong in both fields, giving me some room to explore my interests. I am looking for a smallish department (i.e. personable, friendly, with lots of faculty-student interaction) in a place that has easy access to outdoor recreational opportunities.Of course, funding/ cost of living is a consideration as well Acceptances: UCSC ($$), Wyoming ($$), Arkansas ($$$$$$), Tennessee ($$$), Kentucky ($$), West Virginia ($$$), Arizona ($$), Oregon ($$), NC State (no word on funding yet) Waiting to hear back from: UCSB, U Washington Seattle, Colorado Boulder If anyone has a suggestion or insight into any of these programs, it would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, First of all, thanks for reading. A little bit about me: I'm applying to PhD econ programs this year. I don't have the exact list of where I would be applying yet but my grad GPA is 3.4 (applied math/social science dual degree at a Top 10 school) and my undergrad GPA is 3.1 (math major) so I'm looking at the top 30 - top 50 school like Irvine or Rice (or if you suggest otherwise, please let me know.) My interest is in political economics and development. No econ research experience, but one math paper (not published but) presented at a conference. 4+ years of work experience related to development. My main concern (beside no econ research experience) is that my math grades are all over the place. I have A+ in math for finance in grad school, some As, mostly Bs for other proof-based courses, but also a failing grade for a math phd real analysis course (it's not a required course but I took it because I was stupid: I wanted to be in the same class with my friend who I kind of dated and then we broke up ....that semester was a mess). Questions: at what level would this affect my chance of admission? Should I address it in the SOP/application or should I just leave it? And how to do it tastefully? I mean I am really not that good at math, not at my peers' level anyway. But I like to think I'm good at using it to interpret human behaviors and how society works. Thanks y'all

Hi everyone! This message should be of interest to any of the PhD applicants with special interest in doctoral research in the fields of labor economics and development economics in the U.S. The State University of New York (Binghamton)'s Department of Economics is accepting applications for its doctoral program in Economics for next fall, Fall 2017. The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University) is one of four Ph.D. granting institutions in the SUNY system. Of the 64 campuses, Binghamton University gets the best undergraduate students who enroll in the SUNY system. The Economics Department has 25 faculty members, a very active Ph.D. program and a dynamic weekly research seminar. The PhD program offers fields in development economics, labor economics and econometrics (applied and theoretical) and is especially excited to grow its student body in the fieldof development economics. The adcom is looking for applicants with strong preparation in mathematics and economics. To apply, visit: https://www.binghamton.edu/grad-school/admissions/apply/

Hi everyone! This message should be of interest to any of the PhD applicants with special interest in doctoral research in the fields of labor economics and development economics in the U.S. The State University of New York (Binghamton)'s Department of Economics is accepting applications for its doctoral program in Economics for next fall, Fall 2017. The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University) is one of four Ph.D. granting institutions in the SUNY system. Of the 64 campuses, Binghamton University gets the best undergraduate students who enroll in the SUNY system. The Economics Department has 25 faculty members, a very active Ph.D. program and a dynamic weekly research seminar. The PhD program offers fields in development economics, labor economics and econometrics (applied and theoretical) and is especially excited to grow its student body in the fieldof development economics. The adcom is looking for applicants with strong preparation in mathematics and economics. To apply, visit: https://www.binghamton.edu/grad-school/admissions/apply/.

Hi, I am applying for ECON Ph.D. for Fall 2017. I am interested in Development Economics. I plan to apply for top-tier and mid-tier schools but I do not know whether my background qualifies and what schools have good standing in development economics. My profile is as below. PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Double major in Honors Economics and Mathematics, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Undergrad GPA: 3.77/4.00 (Cumulative), 4.00/4.00 (Economics), 3.79/4.00 (Mathematics) Type of Grad:N/A Grad GPA: N/A GRE: Not yet taken. Taking one in November. Math Courses: Calculus II & III (A), Linear Algebra (A), Intro Differential Equation (B+), Intermediate Differential Equation (A), Intro Probability (A-), Intro Modern Algebra (A-), Advanced Calculus I (A-), Intro Math Logic (A-) Econ Courses (grad-level): None Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Intermediate Micro Theory (A+), Intermediate Macro Theory (A), Intro Econometrics (A), Game Theory (A), Developing Econ (A), Environment & Resource Econ (A), Undergraduate Seminar (A), Honors Research (A) Other Courses: Business courses with mostly B~B+ Letters of Recommendation: One from my UMICH thesis advisor, one from Yale faculty whom I served as an RA, and one from either UMICH Econ professor or Math professor (NOT yet decided) Research Experience: On-campus RA, senior thesis, full-time RAs at IPA/Yale (1 year) and World Bank (2+ months, till June 2017) Teaching Experience: None Research Interests: Development economics, behavioral economics SOP: Struggling. Going to focus primarily on my RA experiences in development economics. Applying to: Top-tier programs (Harvard/MIT/Yale/Priceton/UC Berkeley) + mid-tier programs (still looking for) Concerns: 1) I do NOT have clear idea of what schools I should apply for considering my background and interest. I know MIT/Yale/Harvard/UC Berkeley have good faculty in development but I am afraid I may not qualify. I would like to know other schools which also have good standing in development econ with less competitive admission. OR at least I want to know how to find good programs which fit my interest. (should I focus on faculty?) 2) I changed my undergraduate major (Business -> Econ) in my second semester of junior year so I wasn't able to take as many ECON courses as my ECON friends. My GPA from previous major (Business) is NOT good (which is why my cumulative GPA is low), so I wonder whether this (less ECON courses taken & low cumulative GPA) will significantly affect my status. 3) I JUST started my GRE preparation so I only have a month to prepare. I am little less worried in quant with my math major background, but pretty much worried about verbal/writing as an international student. It seems that what really matters is quant section, but I just hope I don't get too low scores in verbal/writing to be out of application pool... 4) I have two ECON professors who could write rec letters for me, but I do now know whether I should ask the third one from another ECON professor or a Math professor. I would sincerely appreciate any answers, comments or advice. Thank you and best luck!

Hi all, Does anyone have advice as to whether I am ready to apply (in December 2015) to well-ranked Econ and ARE programs? I am interested in development economics and now have a couple years (total) research experience. I am looking at Econ programs at schools strong in development: Brown, Duke, Cornell, U Michigan, Georgetown, Harvard?, Northwestern? I am looking at Applied Econ at: Minnesota, Cornell, Berkeley, Harvard, UCDavis?, Maryland? Very open to suggestions for programs, and interested in whether people think my profile has a shot. Masters: International Development, Specialization in global economic policy and quantitative methods at Sciences Po (well-ranked European school). Classes: Economics of Development (A-), Microeconomics of Development (A), Macroeconomics of Development (B+), Intro to Econometrics for Development (A), Public Finance (A+), Impact Evaluation (A+), Globalization and Economics (A), Randomized Experiments (A) Math in Grad: Stats I (A) and Advanced Stats (A), Thesis: I did a quantitative development economics thesis under a known (non-academic) economist and received honours for it. Hoping to present it at some conferences this year. Undergraduate: Development at a top (1) Canadian school Econ: Micro 1 (A-), Macro 1 (A-) and 2 intermediate development econs (A- and B+). Math: Linear and Vector Geometry(A), Probability and Statistics (A) This year, I am taking Cal I (now), Cal II (summer), Cal III (fall) I will take Real Analysis and Differential Equations before the start of academic year 2016, I will write this on my application, but work + Cal III means I can't take them earlier. Other: I landed a one year research fellowship at a Research Centre where I am working on my own development economics research project, including fieldwork, under the supervision of an economist and development specialist. This will help my proposal as I hope to continue to work on these themes for my dissertation. Internship at well-known development economics research lab (6 months). Funded with scholarship to work at well-known International Organization working on themes of interest to me in development econ. (6 months) Letters: MA Thesis advisor (IO economist, PhD Berkeley), Current Research Supervisor (PhD UToronto), Professor at Grad School (PhD Polytechnique) All are development economists, know my work well, and will be strong. I know my weaknesses are (a) Math, I'm hoping with Cal will be enough for admission, then I will take the more advanced courses to prepare myself. (b) Non-econ major - I hope the work I've done so far makes up for this! Was going to wait to apply, to have math and try to publish what I'm working on now - but I don't have much lined up fo the next couple years, so I'd rather start my 5 year PhD earlier rather than later. Can anyone let me know if they think I'm ready to apply this December? Advice for potential programs and their rankings? Other advice? Thank you!

Both are quite close in most of the rankings, some rank Rice above CU Boulder(US News) while others rank Cu Boulder better (Repec). CU Boulder Pros - It is really good place to live. Bigger department hence more and diverse faculty especially in IO and Development where my interests lie. Cons: Guaranteed funding only with 3.5 GPA which might get tough at times. Can't think of anything else Rice Pros- The program is attempting to get into top ones and have already hired a few good profs from Penn. Small cohort size and hence possibility of better attention from profs. Cons: To many profs in finance, environment and too few on IO and Development. Houston gets hot at time. Very few academic placements in past. So guys based on this and more information that you might have what will be better. I can really see the potential of Rice but the lack of profs and placements scares me. Rice seems to be risky with high payoff if it works whereas Boulder just seems to be a safe bet.

Hi everyone! This message should be of interest to any of the PhD applicants interested in health economics and development economics and interested in economics-related doctoral programs at Harvard. Harvard's Department of Global Health and Population is accepting applications for its doctoral program in Health Economics for next fall. The application deadline is December 15, 2013. The program is chaired by David Canning, a leading Harvard economist in the areas of development economics, HIV/AIDS, aging, retirement and population economics. The program is also affiliated with the Harvard Program on the Global Demography of Aging. Other Harvard faculty members affiliated with the program are David Bloom, William Hsiao, David Cutler, Jessica Cohen, Winnie Yip, Margaret McConnell, Gunther Fink, Peter Berman and Gita Sen. The program is arguably among the top degree-granting program in terms of research paper productivity in the area of both development economics and health economics (Field Rankings at IDEAS: Health Economics) The coursework in the first year will include the standard PhD coursework in microeconomics, probability theory and econometrics through Harvard's Department of Economics in addition to required doctoral courses HSPH. In the second years, students are required to take PhD courses in development economics, labor economics and health economics through the Department of Economics. . The adcom is looking for applicants with strong preparation in mathematics and economics and with interest in conducting doctoral research on developing countries. The application is on the Harvard School of Public Health admission application homepage. Choose the Economics Track in the Department of Global Health, when applying. The program admits on average 2 students to the Economics track (Harvard School of Public Health » HSPH Admissions » 2012 HSPH Statistics)

Hi everyone, I am just looking for the names of some schools ranked 30-70 that have decent environmental economics and developmental economics phd programs. Also, I will definitely need funding so please let me know which schools in this range are stingy when it comes to funding their students. Thanks! :watermelon: I am having a really tough time narrowing down my search and would really value everyone opinion on this.

Reposting this from the Grad Admissions Forum (hoping it gets more responses here - aware this isn't a PhD programme!) Hi, Would be very grateful for help/evaluation on where I stand with the following development-based masters programs and if there are any others I might be suitable applying for? Any general guidance/advice on the whole process is also much appreciated! Looking at applying for: Yale IDE Oxford MSc Economics for Development Cambridge MPhil Economics LSE (unsure - too many degrees to pick from!) Type of Undergrad: Top Bachelors degree in a joint Economics programme (top 3 UK university) Undergad GPA: High 2.1 (Upper Second Class Honors) in first year exams - working towards a first for my final degree but its gonna be tough GRE (Taking this week, this is where I have been scoring in the recent ones): 167Q / 158V Math Courses (grades are roughly converted to US GPA system): Most intense available -Mathematical Methods (comprises Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Probability) etc Econ Courses: Core Macro, Micro, Econometrics, Development Econ (most use grad-level textbooks: Mas-Colell, Gravelle & Rees etc) Letters of Recommendation: Econometrics Prof with a top US PhD and well renowned in his field, Project manager for one of the NGOs I did research with, Accounting prof (less known) Work Experience: Recent experience working as a field associate for a top micro-finance institution in its central African subsidiary, previously interned at J-PAL's major Asian subsidiary, consulted for a local charity helping them solve funding issues following council cuts, most recent summer spent working in top investment bank's mergers & acquisitions division SOP: not yet written - should be standard, stressing my enthusiasm for entrepreneurship/grassroots growth initiatives/microfinance and the academic researcher - practitioner intersection etc Concerns: 2.1 might not cut it, GRE verbal perhaps could be raised? Once again thanks for any help!

Hi, Would be very grateful for help/evaluation on where I stand with the following development-based masters programs and if there are any others I might be suitable applying for? Any general guidance/advice on the whole process is also much appreciated! Looking at applying for: Yale IDE Oxford MSc Economics for Development Cambridge MPhil Economics LSE (unsure - too many degrees to pick from!) Type of Undergrad: Top Bachelors degree in a joint Economics programme (top 3 UK university) Undergad GPA: High 2.1 (Upper Second Class Honors) in first year exams - working towards a first for my final degree but its gonna be tough GRE (Taking this week, this is where I have been scoring in the recent ones): 167Q / 158V Math Courses (grades are roughly converted to US GPA system): Most intense available -Mathematical Methods (comprises Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, Probability) etc Econ Courses: Core Macro, Micro, Econometrics, Development Econ (most use grad-level textbooks: Mas-Colell, Gravelle & Rees etc) Letters of Recommendation: Econometrics Prof with a top US PhD and well renowned in his field, Project manager for one of the NGOs I did research with, Accounting prof (less known) Work Experience: Recent experience working as a field associate for a top micro-finance institution in its central African subsidiary, previously interned at J-PAL's major Asian subsidiary, consulted for a local charity helping them solve funding issues following council cuts, most recent summer spent working in top investment bank's mergers & acquisitions division SOP: not yet written - should be standard, stressing my enthusiasm for entrepreneurship/grassroots growth initiatives/microfinance etc Concerns: 2.1 might not cut it, GRE verbal perhaps could be raised? Once again thanks for any help!

Hello, I am an electrical engineer, now completing my Masters in Economics from one of the top 3 institutes in India. I will be starting my final year of studies within a couple of months, and I would like to go for a PhD on Development Economics in the US, in one of the top 25 programs, after completing Masters. Briefly my profile is Undergrads : Electrical Engineering: CGPA of 8.0/10, Ranked 40th out of 100. This is average, but I have significant extracurriculars in Debating, and my current course is not Engineering, so hope this wont hurt much Masters: MA in Economics, hoping to graduate within the top 10 percentile of my batch. I will be taking a lot of quant and econometrics courses, once again hoping for decent scores(top 10 percentile of my class). Also, I should be having an RA experience of about 3-4 months by the time I graduate. Not very sure about my letter of recommendation's though. GRE : 168 Quant; 166 Vocab, 4.5 AW. This shouldnt be a problem, I guess I have 2 questions : First, is there anything glaringly missing from my profile that I should fix, and if not how favourable do my chances look like at the moment ? Second, if I am planning to drop a year after my Masters, and have options to a> teach full time b> Conduct further academic research as an RA c> Gather Field based research experience, which one will help my CV the most? Thanks a lot for your time. Really looking forward to your replies

hi, I am considering applying for a PhD in Economics in European universities. My interest lies in development economics in particular growth, trade, education, poverty. What are the best universities in europe in Development Economics? Any help in this regard will be much appreciated. Also, please share a website that gives comparison/ rankings of economics departments in europe.

What are some of the big (and small) questions that loom over the field of development economics?

Based on my perfunctory research, it seems like development at Maryland is on the up-and-up, with Jessica Goldberg and Pamela Jakiela having joined the faculty just this semester. Is there anyone on this board who could provide a closer perspective? I've looked into development faculty at Maryland (and the AREC program) before, but the faculty page doesn't let you sort by field, so I'll try to post a list of other faculty when I have a little more time, unless someone a bit more knowledgeable would like to beat me to the punch. Thanks much in advance.

Hi I have done my bachelors in engineering, and am presently working in analytics domain. I really want to pursue masters in development economics. Could someone please guide me as to which universities offer masters in development economics or development studies, for someone from a non-economics background. Any help on this matter will be highly appreciated. :cyclops:

Choose the Economics Track in the Department of Global Health, when applying.Hi everyone! This message should be of interest to any of the PhD applicants interested in health economics and development economics and interested in economics-related doctoral programs at Harvard. Harvard's Department of Global Health and Population is accepting applications for its doctoral program in Health Economics for next fall. The application deadline is December 15, 2011. The program is chaired by David Bloom and David Canning, both are leading Harvard economists in the areas of HIV/AIDS, aging, retirement and development economics. The program is also affiliated with the Harvard Program on the Global Demography of Aging. Other Harvard faculty members affiliated with the program at William Hsiao, David Cutler, Jessica Cohen, Rodrigo Soares, Ajay Mahal, Winnie Yip, Margaret McConnell, Joseph Newhouse, Gunther Fink, Peter Berman and Gita Sen. The coursework in the first year will include the standard PhD coursework in microeconomics, probability theory and econometrics through Harvard's Department of Economics in addition to 2 courses in health measurement and global health through HSPH. The second year will involve 4 field courses at the Economics Department in a choice of the following areas: labor economics, development economics, public economics or labor economics. The adcom is looking for applicants with strong preparation in mathematics and economics and with interest in conducting doctoral research on developing countries. The application is on the Harvard School of Public Health admission application homepage. Choose the Economics Track in the Department of Global Health, when applying.

Hi everyone! This message should be of interest to any of the PhD applicants interested in health economics and development economics and interested in economics-related doctoral programs at Harvard. Harvard's Department of Global Health and Population is accepting applications for a third year for a new doctoral program in Health Economics for next fall. The application deadline is December 15, 2010. The program is chaired by David Bloom and David Canning, both are leading Harvard economists in the areas of HIV/AIDS, aging, retirement and development economics. The program is also affiliated with the Harvard Program on the Global Demography of Aging. Other Harvard faculty members affiliated with the program at William Hsiao, David Cutler, Jessica Cohen, Rodrigo Soares, Ajay Mahal, Winnie Yip, Joseph Newhouse, Gunther Fink, Peter Berman and Gita Sen. The coursework in the first year will include the standard PhD coursework in microeconomics, probability theory and econometrics through Harvard's Department of Economics in addition to 3 courses in demography, health measurement and global health through HSPH. The second year will involve 4 field courses at the Economics Department in a choice of the following areas: labor economics, development economics, public economics or labor economics. The adcom is looking for applicants with strong preparation in mathematics and economics and with interest in conducting doctoral research on developing countries. The application is on the Harvard School of Public Health admission application homepage. Choose the Economics Track in the Department of Global Health, when applying.

Hey there amigos. I'm an Indian graduate in Economics deep into development and political economy, a hence considering an RA position with J-PAL for next year (completing the application by Jan 2011). I can't help but notice that no BA student of an Indian university has been selected so far, even if the evaluations are in India. At best there are Indian RAs accepted but only after they complete a Masters Degree in the US or UK. Strange, because the BA degrees from a lot of US/Uk institutions seems to suffice for RA positions- I know this from the J-PAL website. Nevertheless, I'll do whatever it takes to be deserving and ready in the next 5 months. I'd be really grateful if you could have a look at my background and evaluate my chances of being taken in::) Academics:grad: Degree: BA Economics (3 years, not 4 like in the States) Institution: St. Xavier's College, Mumbai University. The college is among the top 3 for arts in the country but the University itself doesn't have much to boast about in its current state. GPA: About 3.8. Don't know how this corresponds exactly to the Indian system. Did about 16 projects, most of them As GRE: Exam in December, aiming at 1580+, 6 in AWA Undergrad Minors- Political Science and Eng Lit (and hence limited Quantitative content- a year-long paper each in Maths for Economics and Econometrics) Graduate Coursework 2 Distance Diplomas, both concluding by June next year: 1) Mathematics & Statistics (LSE) 2) Population studies (IIPS- this institution conducts most of India's official demographic surveys) Also, short courses on Design of Experiments and ANOVA; Survey Design and Analysis of Data of Complex Samples; upcoming courses on Generalized Linear Models, Bayesian Statistics and Multivariate Analysis (http://www.statistics.com)- all with the necessary computing skills. Skills Programming skills Currently studying Stata(not part of curriculum in India, Advanced Netcourse certificate by Mid Jan) Research Experience: a) 2 months with the Reserve Bank of India (India's Central bank) after clearing a national level exam where only 50 students were selected b) Planning to evaluate BRAC's Targeting the Ultra-Poor programme in January Other Strengths: Linguistic: I speak 8 languages, including French and Spanish which feature in RA job requirements Extensive experience in partnering NGOs- AIESEC, Rang De (Microfinance group in India) I don't want to unload the entire La Vida Loca on you- so let's stop here. If anyone could appraise my chances or inform me on possible reasons why non-US/UK universities have not been preferred so far, I think I'd be indebted to you for life!:p Looking forward to meeting some of you Cheers Abhishek

Hey all you Guru's out there... This is my first time posting anything on any form, so please be nice. :) I am currently a Junior in College, completing my undergrad in Business and Economics with a minor in French. I took some time off from high school, so I'll graduate at the age of 25. (very important.) My goal is to work for the I.M.F, or the U.N as a research specialist. The reason I'm thinking about a doctorate is: -I.M.F, along with many other large organizations, do not hire employee's after the age of 30, and at the same time, employee's need to have a PHD. -The job market is currently unstable. -I am a good student, and enjoy studying and research. -And supposedly it saves time to go straight for a phd instead of doing a masters in between. The reason I'm not so sure about it is: -Cost -Everything I've read up on dissertations tells me its the hardest thing I'll ever do. -I'm not sure if I want to continue studying for so long. Some other random questions: -Does a PHD student have to stay in the college while doing his dissertation, or can he go and get a job in another city at the same time? -How long does a dissertation take? -I'm thinking about devel. Econ. because I want to be able to help my country with its economic issues, do I have the right idea of devel. econ? Thank you very much!! :tup: you guys rock.