Search the Community

Hi, Where would folks over here rank BU overall and especially for development and labour? I know it's classified as a MRM but where exactly would it fit? Top 25? Top 30? Top 40? Also, if you're a PhD student at a MRM, what are some helpful advice you have for improving your profile and making yourself competitive for the academic job market?

What is the best ranking to use to compare European PhD programs? Ranking by record of graduates Economic Institution Rankings | IDEAS/RePEc or general ranking of departments Economics rankings: Economics Departments | IDEAS/RePEc or some other ranking? The discrepancy is quite large in many cases e.g. EUI Florence is 26th globally by record of graduates but 224th (!) on the standard ranking; LSE is 7th and 21st respectively; Barcelona GSE is 27th and 11th resp.; Mannheim 44th and 97th; Toulouse SE 55th and 10th.

Hey everybody! Let me begin by noting that this is my first post on urch so I apologize in advance for any lack of information on my part, double posts, or inappropriateness of this post in any way. As it is getting near the April 15 deadline to choose schools, I am faced with the dilemma of choosing between American University in DC or UCSC out west. I come from a physics background so my knowledge regarding economics programs is somewhat limited. Additionally, my fields of interest are probably more likely to change than someone who has had more exposure to the dismal science than I. Currently, however, I am most interested in International Finance, Macroeconomics, and possibly Macro-Development. From many of the rankings that I have seen, UCSC out ranks AU handily and is exceedingly strong in international economics as a whole. I have visited both schools and would not have a problem living in either city; although, I think that I would slightly prefer DC. On the other hand, the location, relative visibility, and internship opportunities of AU compared to UCSC would seem to be a huge bonus for AU. Given that my post-graduation plans as of now are to work in the private sector or for some type of policy organization (places like IMF/WB), does the location of AU more than make up for its ranking deficit? Also, I noticed that AU uses Klein for its math camp whereas UCSC uses Simon and Blume. From what I have gathered on these forums is that this would indicate that UCSC's program is more mathematically intense than AU's. Is there any way that I could make AU's program more mathematically intense based on my chosen fields and research track? My worry is that I will be stuck doing basic calculus (a bit of an exaggeration) if I attended AU's program. I appreciate any feedback you all could give me.