<p>I’m currently a junior with a double major in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and Math at a top 5 university for both subjects. I have strong interests in game theory.</p>
<p>I was originally considering a pure or applied math PhD, but ever since I’ve realized that game theory is now primarily economics, I’ve been considering getting an economics PhD. Anyone have advice on how to decide which pathway to go down?</p>
<p>I’d talk to my professors. Professors in every university where I’ve studied are always encouraging students to visit them at office hours. Go visit them, and see what their advice is.</p>
<p>I agree that you should discuss with professors at your college/university. You should also read articles in the area that interest you, and see who is publishing them. Is it primarily economists, mathematicians, or a combination of both?</p>
<p>Two notes: First, typically there’s no one field that studies any particular problem. You can answer the same research question from multiple fields, but the field you get the PhD in will determine the approach that you take. For example, in my related fields a psychologist might use an experimental approach whereas a sociologist may use survey research or Census data, and an anthropologist may use ethnography or interviews.</p>
<p>But secondly, that’s not even strictly true. For example, there are quantitative psychologists who approach things in a way that may be more similar to applied statisticians than other experimental psychologists. And so it may be true in your field - there may be economists who actually function more like applied mathematicians, even though their PhD is in economics and they study only or primarily economic problems. Conversely, there may be people with PhDs in applied math who only study economic issues and approach things more like economists.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t go pure math, personally, but both applied math and econ have lucrative job opportunities at the end even if you don’t complete. So I think I would decide based on the approach that I want to take to answer my questions and where people are that are doing the kind of work I want to do. In fact, come application time you may find yourself applying to both kinds of departments. I’m a health psychologist who applied to both public health and psychology departments (and ended up primarily in a public health department, but in a joint program with a psychology department).</p>