Jill Caviglia-Harris, PhD

Students interested in attending graduate school have a lot of decisions to make. Is graduate school right for me? Should I apply for a Masters or Ph.D. degree? Where should I apply? How do I decide on a field of interest?

 

The useful resources that I have found that can answer some of these questions include "So You Want To Go To Econ Grad School..." In this article, Tim Salmon (Southern Methodist University) discusses the choice of degree, how to choose a school, and how to prepare for graduate school while in your final years of college. In "The Handbook on Preparing for Graduate School" Chris Ferguson (University of Wisconsin-Stout) discusses similar topics with a slightly different (and more detailed) take. In the “The Complete Guide to Getting into an Economics Ph.D. Program” Kimball, Smith and Quartz discuss strategies for those with weak math skills and those new to economics. Chakravort and colleagues provide an international perspective in "Applying to PhD Programs in Economics: An Extensive Guide." Last, the American Economics Association has a page on Considerations for prospective graduate students in economics. The main takeaway from all of these sources is that if you’re applying to a graduate program in economics, math is important. Your grades in your college math courses and math GRE scores are the best predictors of success in a graduate economics program.

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If you're also interested in professional tips for potential graduate students, graduate students and early career economists, Jennifer Doleac (Texas A&M University) includes "Advice for current and aspiring academic economists (mostly a collection of Twitter threads)" on her resources page (scroll to the bottom).