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Any comments, corrections or sugestions are very welcome. I like Mathematical economics, game theory, mathematics, decision and choice theory, probability theory,behavioral economics(theory), logic. I dont like Macroeconomics, Econometrics or even the microeconomic part which has to do with prices, general equilibrium, supply and demand. I have to apply for a phd. I know that a phd is mainly not about courses and more about the research, but i dont feel like i should be taking courses that i dislike and that i wont use in my further academic career when i could be taking courses that i really enjoy. On the other hand applying to a standard economics phd has much more prestige, some times bigger and better faculty and most probably better students to work with. I have the following options: 1.- Programs where i would mainly have courses in what i want: Duke Social and Decision scienc in Fuqua UC Irvine, mathematical behavioral science 2.- Programs that have probably more prestige and are a bit less different than my real interests but still you dont get macro: Northwestern at Kellog(1st year: 3 quarters in standar microeconomics, 2 optimization + 1game theory, 2 econometrics +1decision theory) Caltech(microeconmics, econometrics, political theory, foundations of rationality) Carnegie mellon decision science??? it doesnt say more and it seems to be much more experimental. 3.- The last posibility is to go to a standard very prestigous program in economics with a big economic theory group and swallow most of the courses which i wouldnt like: Standford GSB Princeton Yale NYU Harvard??? What do you think? do you have any comments, any programs i missed? any advices on what i should i choose supposing i had the choice?? Some aditional information on all of this can be found in posts like the following: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/123133-mathematical-behavioral-economics-decision-science.html Thanks!!!!

Any thoughts, corrections and comments in the following are very much appreciated. I want to do a phd and further research and believe that have good qualifications. My interests are Mathematical Economics, Game Theory, Decision Theory, logic, mathematics, foundations of rationality, behavioral economics(theory). I dont like Macro or econometrics or even the micro part that is not the above(supply-demand, general equilibrium...) What Phd and which university would be the best to go to? 1.- There are few programs which seem to concentrarte very closely in ONLY what i want: Duke, Decision Science program in Fuqua UC Irvine, Mathematical Behavioral Science The problem is they are not as prestigious as the top universities. 2.- There are a few programs which seem to be more prestigious and a bit more far to what i want but still close: Caltech, Social Sciences Phd(first year courses: micro, econometrics, political theory, foundations of rationality) Nortwestern MEDS in Kellog(first year: 3quarters micro, 2 econometrics + decision theory, 2 optimization. A lot of faculty in microeconomics) Carnegie Mellon Social and Decision Sciences(doesnt give much info, seems to be flexible but seems to be more experimental) London School of Economics but in the philosophy or mathematics departments???? 3.- There are the top universities in Economics which are very good in economic theory but you get other courses such as macro or other buisness related: Stanford GSB Berkeley Economics NYU Yale Harvard?? Princeton Basically my courses would be things i dont like too much: Macro, econometrics and micro On the other hand i know phd is much more about research and i would be working with someone in what I like afterwards(after all you have to take this courses only for a year), but I feel like this is my phd and its not worthy to study very hard for things i know i dont even like and will never be studying when i could be taking courses that i would really enjoy... What do you think about what i should decide? what do you think about the assesment i made?? am i missing a program? is there any similar program at the top top universities? I feel like i prefer duke or ucirvine but i am very tempted to choose(assuming i was already accepted and had the choice) Northwestern, Caltech, standford or berkeley instead for the prestige... Thank you for any comments for another thread in similar things: http://www.www.urch.com/forums/phd-economics/123133-mathematical-behavioral-economics-decision-science.html

I was wondering how important is game theory for admission to a good phd program. I have completed Calculus I,II,III (AAA) Differential Equations(A), Linear Algebra(A), Probablity(A), Econ Stats(A), Intro to Proofs(A), Real Analysis (A-). And All As in all of my other economics courses. However, I had to withdraw from my game theory class and did not have a chance to take it again. Will it reflect poorly on my application? Is Game theory as important as higher math classes? Thanks!!

Hello, I am an undergraduate student at Rutgers University and I just finished the fall semester of my sophomore year. I am a Statistics-Mathematics major and an Economics major. I plan on applying to a Phd program down the road and aspire to go to a top 5 school. GPA (rough numbers, error of .01 or .02) Overall - 3.30 Statistics - Mathematics: 3.5 Economics - 3.9 Mathematics Courses: Intro to Computer Science (a requirement for the major) B+ , Differential Calculus (A), Integral Calculus (B) - I need to get that grade checked because I believe there is a mistake and it has the second highest failure rate at Rutgers University as far as undergraduate courses go. Economics: Introduction to Microeconomics and Macroeconomics; Intermediate Microeconomics and Macroeconomics - All A's. Financial Accounting (an elective outside of the major that I took) B+. I realize my GPA is sub-par so I have a few questions in regards to what I should do at this point. 1) Should I consider doing Masters in Economics so I can better represent myself? 2) Where should I look for research opportunities? Rutgers has a great research program but there are a surplus of graduate students so undergraduate students don't get the opportunity to work with the researchers. I plan on applying to the Federal Reserve and if that works out, that will be great but I don't want to count on that working out. 3) I am on a pretty tight schedule as far as what classes I should take in economics and Mathematics. I was debating over changing my Economics major to a minor so I could take a few graduate courses in economics (something related to Game Theory because that's where my research interests are). Which do you suggest? I don't remember the rest of my questions at the moment but I would appreciate any help you guys/girls have for me. Thanks again. (If there is any information that I haven't provided that would help better assess the situation, please PM me)