<p>What school would you choose for a PhD in economics?</p>
<p>Chicago. Its econ program is equivalent, if not better, and it’s less crowded than Harvard.</p>
<p>n00b view: Harvard. Programs are pretty similar according to my cousin. And let’s face it - it’s Harvard…</p>
<p>Again, n00b p.o.v.</p>
<p>Harvard Economics:
Admissions Information 2006-2007
Number of Applications Received: 676
Number Admitted: 43 -------------------->(6.4%! Ouch.)
GRE Scores (Admitted Applicants)
Quantitative: 770 – 800<br>
Average: 798</p>
<p>Chicago Economics:
[University</a> of Chicago: Department of Economics](<a href=“http://economics.uchicago.edu/graduate_apply_faq.shtml]University”>http://economics.uchicago.edu/graduate_apply_faq.shtml) </p>
<p>Seems easier to get into Chicago.</p>
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<p>That doesn’t mean much in terms of quality. Chicago could just have a more self-selected applicant pool.</p>
<p>You want a school where your subfield is respected, where there are faculty (preferably tenured, so that you don’t have to worry about them leaving) in that subfield who can advise you, where there is a low attrition rate and a high job placement rate, and where you can find a friendly, helpful adviser who won’t exploit you. Lots of funding is also nice. I don’t know whether Harvard’s or Chicago’s PhD program would be better for you in these regards, obviously.</p>
<p>^ Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>You’re right about preferably tenured faculty - a lot can happen in 4-5 years.</p>
<p>I know quality of either would be fantastic.</p>
<p>i second jessiehl,</p>
<p>phd should be all about how your interest match the quality of the specific research you are most interested in. having a helpful and caring adviser, or at least just someone you can get along with, is also very important. i wouldn’t want to have someone who’s a leading expert but is a d*ck at the same time.</p>
<p>UChicago is way better, as a rule. However, if you want specific research, search for that…
However, UChicago is the best place to be if you want to sink your teeth into research conducted by Nobel winners.</p>
<p>For a Ph.D. I would definitely choose Chicago.</p>
<p>jessiehl,</p>
<p>at the Ph.D. level, the “self-selective” argument doesn’t work. Everyone is “self-selecting.” I have no data to back this up, but assuming both Havard and Chicago have similar sized programs, I’d wager Harvard wins the vast majority of cross admit battles with Chicago–based solely on % admit data (20% vs. 6%).</p>
<p>harvard is in the awesome town of cambridge, and a chicago phd student was just shot to death after giving his dissertation. i love chicago, but no way would i spend that many years in hyde park.</p>
<p>jessiehl is very much on the right track. My H and I both knew fellow graduate students whose advisers did not get tenure, and believe me, you do not want to be in that position. Other considerations that are not minor in the long run include level of financial support, cost of living, nature of duties in return for graduate stipend (i.e., teaching assistant vs. research assistant), chance of adviser leaving on a sabbatical at the wrong moment…</p>
<p>The truth is, if Harvard and Chicago are your choices, and both of them are offering you tuition waivers and support, you are sitting pretty.</p>
<p>Chicago’s economics department is often described as “conservative”. Maybe that’s why the Harvard program is more popular at the Ph.D. level.</p>
<p>I don’t know why I feel this way, but I think of Chicago economics in the same way I do Caltech theoretical sciences… each at the very top of its field.</p>
<p>Well both are amazing, but generally Chicago econ is considered the best Econ dept. in the US if not the entire world.</p>
<p>Either way, both are still at least top 5.</p>
<p>From what I know. they both focus on a differnt “type” of economic theory. The one you “Agree” with more is the one that should help you choose which school is better.</p>
<p>I’m a freshman, so whatever advice I give will probably not help much, and would probably betray much ignorance.</p>
<p>But anyway, Chicago tends to emphasize on neoclassical economics. Its reputation as a powerhouse in economics is unimpeachable.</p>
<p>But for me (given my extremely limited exposure to econ), I’d choose Harvard, simply because the prevailing mood over there is one of synthesis. Both neoclassical and Keynesian economists have been wrangling over the superiority of their theories over the past half century, but only recently, persons such as Prof Greg Mankiw have began to find a credible middle ground between these 2 theories. Consequently, the literature coming from Harvard seems to make some sense and possibly points the way forward for the progress of economics as a truly useful and practical social science. Perhaps you would be better served going into such an environment of change.</p>
<p>It depends on what you want to specialize in and who you want to study with. Certainly these are two of the top choices along with Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, Yale, Berkely, Michigan, Duke, Penn etc. (everyone will have their own favorites). Chicago does have a more conservative reputation but that may have changed very slightly recently, depending on the specialty. If you are into experimental and micro I would pick Chicago for more Macro issues Harvard with Monetary perhaps a tossup now.</p>
<p>The real trick is, as noted, getting into either one or indeed any of the top schools. Good luck.</p>
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<p>Disagree. Anyone can apply to any PhD program, pretty much. That doesn’t mean they have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting in, or even that they meet the minimum requirements for admission, but they can still apply. That doesn’t mean that it’s what’s going on in the Harvard/Chicago case, but it’s possible.</p>
<p>Seriously, though…a good thesis adviser is probably the most important thing. I have had friends in top departments in their fields be seriously screwed over by bad advisers. In one case, every advisee of one particular prof in the last 20 years, with one exception, has had to involve the deans to be able to graduate, and the powers that be just laugh it off. Make sure that a potential adviser at any program you’re considering is friendly and knows all of his/her current advisees’ names. If you can, talk to a potential advisor’s current advisees. If you can, find out the advisor’s attrition rate, and whether the advisees tend to graduate in a normal length of time for the program.</p>
<p>(Qualifier: I am not a PhD student, though I’d like to be in the future. I am cribbing from the experiences of friends, the book “Getting What You Came For”, and the Straight Talk About Grad School website.)</p>
<p>You are absolutely correct that a good relations with your thesis advisor is key. I never finished my Ph.D. thesis in Economics from 25+ years ago but might have under different circumstances.</p>
<p>By the time you reach the point of applying to any academic graduate program you have a pretty good idea of what area you want to study and often who you want to study with. That list will very often not match the “Top 10” approach of picking undergraduage colleges to apply to. Each sub-specialty has its own pecking order. The top 20 names for Econ. programs don’t change but the order certainly does.</p>