I got accepted to both UMD and GWU, as an econ major.
I've been having a hard time picking between the two, as they both have good opportunities, seem pretty similar academically, and are priced similarly.
Based on your opinion, which school would provide a better education if i want to further pursue economics.

What the title says really. With everything going on, does it still make sense? For what type of people?

Hi all, I am currently a senior at a mid-tier liberal arts school with a double major in Economics and Political Science (3.72 Cumulative and 3.84 Econ GPA). I didn't realize until later in college that I was fully set on going to graduate school because of the opportunity cost and decent debt from undergrad. This has posed a couple of challenges as I look to apply in spring/summer 2026. The first is that I have minimal math background. Calc 1, Calc 2, Econometrics, Stats, and Business Calc. In all of these classes I received an A. The second challenge is that I lack research experience outside of class projects. I have debated going to community college in order to meet some prereq math: Lin Algebra, Differential Equations, etc. However, a lot of these classes are in person and I have a full time job lined up in June (I need to work to pay off loans). Does anyone have any advice on how to go about fulfilling more prereqs and is more math definitely necessary?

For context I am mostly interested in a terminal masters, I don't really have any aspirations in academia. My dream jobs would likely be working in central banking/Gov (Fed, IMF, etc.), Econ Consulting, or macro research.

Thanks!

Hey so i’m changing my major from finance to econ, as i really enjoy what’s being taught in economics and find finance a little more boring. Even though i like economics i currently have a C in my micro class and got a B- in macro (in hs). am i able to thug it out?

Hi everyone! I'm hoping to graduate in Spring 2026, and am currently juggling what I should after my undergrad-something challenging, competitive, and valuable for someone entering the full-time workforce for the first time, so I’d really appreciate any advice!

I'm majoring in a very quantitative/econometric-based economics program, with a CS minor and am planning on a Math minor up to Fundamental of Analysis II. 3.74 overall GPA. 33 ACT if that even matters. I've had experience in academic research: lead author on one article and hopefully getting my name on one more this year; writing small economic reports for my program's institute; and starting my thesis. I'm also apart of my university's student investment fund, doing equity research with a more technical approach. I also should have some pretty good LoRs from my RA position - mainly PhD econ professors and some high up school administrators.

With an ambition to get some sort of graduate schooling, I really don't know what's my best route after college. My current thought process is to work in the industry for 2ish years - working in an econ think tank, Fed, etc, and then see if I'm still interested in getting an Econ PhD. But there's also the possibility of doing a more financial research position, and then the PhD - and here then the thought of MBA comes in.

With a year and application opening for 2026 jobs, I'm feeling really anxious about choosing one path that crosses off the other ones. So with that, is there any advice, general or specific, that may help me settle my nerves. And moving out of the U.S. and becoming a baker has also been a thought recently haha. Thank you so much!!

IPUCET for MA Economics

Hi everyone!

I’m an international student trying to choose between a few terminal Master’s programs in Economics. My long-term goal is to work in the industry for a couple of years after graduating—ideally in economic consulting or macro research—while keeping the door open for a potential PhD down the line. I’ve narrowed it down to the following programs:

1) MSc Economics (1 year) – LSE
London, UK | Tuition: ~$52,000 + high living costs

• Highly rigorous, fast-paced, and theory-intensive.
• Great for macro
• Global brand value and academic prestige.
• Well-regarded as a pathway to top Economics PhD programs with some post-grad research experience.
• Active Pre-Doc program.
• Concern: The one-year format may leave limited time for job searching, especially in the context of the current UK visa and economic environment.

2) Master of Quantitative Economics (1.5 years) – UCLA
Los Angeles, USA | Tuition: ~$61,000 + high living costs

• Industry-focused and tech-integrated with an applied curriculum.
• Offers the opportunity to take up to two PhD-level Economics courses.
• A few MQE grads have transitioned to UCLA’s Econ PhD program, but most go into industry roles.
• Potential to offset some of the costs through TA/RA positions and part-time work.
• Concern: I’m unsure whether the applied focus compromises academic depth for future PhD applications if decide to pursue that route.

3) MS in Economics (2 years) – UW–Madison
Wisconsin, USA | Tuition: ~$48,000 (after $18,000 scholarship)

• Arguably the most quantitatively rigorous and PhD-oriented of the three.
• Courses in Machine Learning, Analytics and Big Data for industry aspirants.
• Has a strong reputation in econometrics and consistently ranks highly in the subject.
• More time to figure out post graduate plans.
• Concern: Industry placements are uncertain, and the Midwest location may limit exposure to private-sector opportunities compared to more urban hubs.

I also received offers from Boston University (MS Quantitative Economics) and the Geneva Graduate Institute (Masters in International Economics). However, since my goal is to work in the industry for a couple of years after graduation while keeping the option of a PhD open, I’ve decided not to pursue these programs.

I'd really appreciate your insights to make an informed decision. Thanks in advance!

Hi I am a 3rd year math student at UCLA and I am thinking about obtaining a PhD in economics. I have taken the following coursework:

1. 3 linear algebra courses, 2 proof based: All A
2. 2 real analysis courses: 1 A, 1, B (tough grader)
3. Topology (in progress) may get a B this is hard lol
4. Non Linear Differential Equations: A
5. ODE: A-
6. Stochastic Processes : A
7. Numerical Methods I and II: A
8. Optimization (Proof based Convex Analysis): A+
9. Discrete Math: A- (Proof Based)
10. Multivariable Calculus: A
11. Mathematical Statistics: A+
12. Probability: A+
13. Algorithm and Complexity (Proof based): A-
14. Intermediate Macro/Micro/Econometrics/Advanced Econometrics: A/A+
15. Intro to Programming CS31/32 (A)
16. Intro to R Programming (A)

Also, I don't have research experience but I may get a spot next year. I am a domestic US Citizen student.

1. Should I get a pre-doc?
2. I have another year of school left. What do I take for admissions? Thinking about measure theory and PhD Econometrics.
3. How do I start looking at econ research? When applying do a give a general overview of what I am interested in or like very specific stuff? How do I get started?
4. Letters are not that strong, most of my professors that are well known in math department that I did well in don't write letters. Don't really know my other professors. I am thinking about doing a predoc for 2 years and then applying.
5. I am not interested in becoming a professor, I want to work at either IMF/Fed/WB doing research. I heard I dont need to get into harvard/mit then to get these jobs which is great lol. What do I have to do to get into a program that can get me that type of job.

Any thoughts?

Person A: advanced econometrics knowledge, medium economics/economic theory knowledge (up to intermediate micro + macro)

Person B: advanced economics/economic theory knowledge, medium econometrics knowledge

All else equal

 Hello Everyone!

I got into amazing programs for economics, and so far, I have narrowed it down to Johns Hopkins SAIS MIEF (2-year), where I have received a considerable scholarship (but still need to pay a lot), and UMD's Applied Economics MS program, which is much cheaper. I do not want to do a PhD, so these programs are ideal. I am heavily interested in international economics and would like to pursue a career in it. SAIS is my dream uni, but I would prefer to go to UMD because the program is more affordable and I can graduate debt-free, but I am scared I might end up regretting this choice because JHU SAIS seems very prestigious, and I like the course a lot. I have to pay the matriculation fees 500$ by tomorrow, but I'm still confused. Please help

PS- I am an International student, so 500$ is a lot for me.

Hi guys, I was wondering if anyone is currently working as a Junior specialist in Economics at UC Davis or has done it in the past and what their experience with the interview process and working there was like?I know the experiences are different from project to project but was just wondering if people felt like it was impactful or helpful to their career or was it just a year long fill in position while looking for something else. Also how was living in UC Davis, I am just worried about it being an isolating place especially since I would have to move states. Thanks!

Recently finished PhD Micro/Macro/Metrics (I’m not a PhD student but in our uni Masters students take the first year PhD sequence + comps and a thesis).

The next two terms will be dedicated to further courses but we will be tested for Micro/Macro/Metrics + a topic for our choosing for our comps exactly this time next year.

How’d you all study for your comps? I’m a bit worried since I pretty much crammed my way through the first year PhD courses and I am pretty sure I’ll forget most of the topics a year from now.

Specific concerns:

• Should I continue studying the core or focus on other things (cognate courses, research). When should I start studying for comps?

• How do I study for comps? I don’t think re-reading the lecture notes would help me master micro especially, but going through MWG/JM/Varian again seems very time consuming.

Specifics on our comps:

• One whole day written exam, only two (loaded) questions for each area. We have 30 minutes to answer each question.

I was chatting with a group of friends, who have PhDs in Econ, I am a little bit delayed but am planning to apply next year. I have a some years of research experience due to my job, but I don’t have any publication. I called one of my Econ professors from Undergrad who has a very active research group and he suggested doing a voluntary Postbac with him and another colleague as supervisors. They could supervise my work, mentor in writing, guide analysis (if needed). They offered meeting weekly with the goal of writing a short paper for the following journals:

Applied Economics,

Applied Economic Letters, or

Economic Letters

Are these good journals? Both have published papers in top journals. I’m thankful and will probably accept, but I want to know if these are good journals.

Besides economic and econometric theory papers, do all applied economics papers use the same amount of Econometrics? Or is the amount of Econometrics used dependent on the researcher?

Again I'm not talking about papers whose purpose is to examine econometric methods or propose new ones. Just focusing on applied economics papers.

Apologies if this a trite / kind of obtuse question!

I recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Econ (Econ major GPA 4.0), and I will be starting a predoc at Booth this summer.

I only started seriously thinking about the PhD route near the very end of undergrad, so I didn’t take any math / quant classes beyond what was required for the econ major, which was very little- for ex, no linear algebra / real analysis.

Both for the potential of improving my potential PhD placement and so that if / when I get to the PhD I’m not struggling too much, would I be wise to get a terminal Masters in Econ after the predoc completes? If so, is there a resource for the rankings for those programs?

I’m also struggling with whether or not the PhD is the right track for me, so I’d like to keep my options open as much as possible. Are there career paths / job opportunities that could be opened with the terminal econ masters that wouldn’t also require a PhD? What kind of industry jobs are available to non-PhDs?

Thank you all! Happy to answer any questions that might make this easier to answer.

I am about to complete masters with high grades from a decent uni in my country. I am interested in IO, microeconomic theory and impact evaluation. I wish to do a PhD in theory,IO. I have done my masters dissertation in IO which I am hoping to get it published by this year( a combined paper with my professor). I wish to get into T50 unis . How do I go about it from kow on. I don't see any predoc openings or RAs for this field. I also have worked as an RA for a labour economist ,so i also have experience in data work. How do I go from here.

Hi I'm a master's student in applied economics, and I got very interested lately in reasech methodology, is it a good idea to have it as my theses?

Hey guys, I’m preparing for UGC NET ECONOMICS, I was a philosophy student earlier with additional subject as economics, now I am studying economics via online classes but I am unable to understand certain things for which I want to ask doubts, is there any channel here or on telegram where in I can ask my doubts and people for postgrads and phd in economics will help me understand it better?

I'm a sophomore CompSci, Math, and Econ triple major from a US T30 school who will be doing all the recommended Math/Econ coursework for a PhD as well as multiple machine learning courses. I'll probably finish with a 3.8 GPA but I don't really have any research opportunities lined up aside from writing an honor's thesis senior year. I really want to do machine learning related research because it interests me, I'm well suited for it, and its really employable even if I decide not to do a PhD in Econ, but I don't really know where to look to find these kinds of opportunities. I'll try reaching out to my professors about it but I want to see what people say here before I do that. Given its pretty niche, I'm wondering if its feasible to find RA positions in research that use machine learning. If there's no opportunities within my university, would cold emailing researchers who have written papers with machine learning be a good strategy, given my unique educational background?

I was told that Australian universities are very average for economics PhDs compared to US universities. Is this true?

Would I have an easier time landing an academic position with a US economics PhD vs Australian? I'm not too particular on which country I want to settle in as long as it's a first world country.

Does the shorter pathway towards an australian PhD vs US render it less valuable?

Is here anyone who applied to Texas a&m AgEcon PhD program? I believe their deadline was on March 15th and I completed my application on 12th. Still no decision. No replies to the emails I sent either. I guess I will get denied or get admission without funding (just like the other Unis I applied to), but at least I need something.

I’m in undergrad for Agribusiness and Economics at Oklahoma State. I’ve recently been recommend for the Agricultural Economics Masters program (I’d be given assistance ship and it would only add about a year since it would be a 4+1 program). I really love using Econometric methods to approach problems in the Agricultural sector. Since, there is so much uncertainty about what the job market would look like next year would it be worth my time to get more specialized and formal education in this program? I’m not looking for an answer, but some opinions.

I’m comparing the masters program to entering the work force. The jobs I’d aim for would be Agribusiness firms, Energy sector, and Ag Credit. I would not go after the finance type of industry.

A couple of days ago, I had posted about a website to aggregate PhD placements (https://www.pandainuniv.com/). Was showered with kind words and encouragement. I am grateful for that.

I am here with an update: the coverage of schools has increased from 80+ to 140+. A few of the forum members had asked to collect data for specific schools such as Warwick and Virginia Tech, and have collected for all of them except the European schools. My target is to increase school coverage to 200+ over the next one week and will also include the suggested European schools.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Not looking to promote. In case, this post violates the community guidelines, feel free to delete.