1/4/2015

Title

MathematicsPreparationforaPh.D.
inEconomics
PreparingtoenteraPh.D.programineconomicsrequiresalotoftime.Thecoursesyouneedtotakeare
likelytosurpriseyou.IfyouarecontemplatingaPh.D.ineconomics,chancesarethatyouhavetaken
someeconomicscoursesalreadyandthatyouhaveenjoyedthemandperformedwellinthem.Itis
naturaltoassumethatthisissufficienttoobtainadmissiontoaPh.D.programthatis,ifyoumajorin
economicswithahighGPA,onemightnaturallyassumethiswillearnyouadmissionintoasolidPh.D.
program.Nothingcouldbefurtherfromthetruth!Thefactisthatcompetitionforalimitednumberof
spotsinPh.D.programsineconomicsisfiercerthanever,andnowadaysnooneisacceptedwithout
extensivecourseworkandahighlevelofperformanceinmathematics.Thelevelofmathematical
preparationthatisrequiredforentranceintoaPh.D.programisconsiderablyhigherthanitwasforsome
ofyoureconomicsprofessorsatCSUEBwhentheyenteredgraduateschool.Thefollowingtipsshed
lightonwhatPh.D.admissionscommitteesexpecttoseeandwhatyoucandotobeamorecompetitive
applicant.
1.Startearly!AneconomicsPh.D.isnotlikealawdegree.Inlaw,youcandecideinyoursenioryear
thatyouwishtoattendlawschool,andaslongasyouhavetakenabroadrangeofcoursesandhave
obtainedahighGPA,youhavethenecessarypreparationforlawschool.Incontrast,preparingforan
economicsPh.D.takesyearsofheavycourseworkinmathematics.Bythetimemoststudentshavetaken
enougheconomicscoursestoconcludethattheylikethedisciplineenoughtoearnaPh.D.init,theyare
usuallyfarbehindscheduleforobtainingthenecessarymathematicsskills.Ifyouthinkaneconomics
Ph.D.mightbeinyourfuture,youmuststarttakingmathematicscoursesearly!
2.Talktothefaculty.IfyouthinkyoumightwantaPh.D.ineconomics(orinarelatedarea,suchas
publicpolicyorbusinesseconomics)youshouldsolicitadvicefrommembersoftheeconomicsfaculty
concerningwhatcoursestotake.Whilethereareexceptions,inmostcasestheyoungestmembersofthe
facultyknowbestwhatcourseworkismostvaluable.Themathematicspreparationrequiredfor
economicsPh.D.programshasincreasedovertime,andtheyoungestmembersofthefacultyusuallyare
inapositiontoofferthebestadvice,sincetheirexperienceismostrecent.
3.Obtainadmissionsstandardsearly.EvenifyoudonotplantoapplytoPh.D.programsforseveral
years,contactseveralgraduateprogramsnow,orvisittheirwebsites,tofindoutwhatmathematics
preparationisrequiredforadmission.Thiswillhelpyoupreparefortheprogramsofgreatestinterestto
you.Thenecessarycourseworkisverysimilaracrossallprograms.However,beware!Typicallythe
mathematicsrequirementsstatedonthewebsitesofgraduateprograms,orintheirapplicationmaterials,
areminimumrequirements.Thiscanbequitemisleading.Theserequirementsrepresentthatabsolute
lightestmathematicspreparationthatcouldresultinadmission,thoughtherealityisthatmostadmitted
studentswillhavesignificantlymorepreparation,andthosewhohaveonlytheminimumarelikelyto
struggle.
http://www20.csueastbay.edu/cbe/departments/economics/maecon/thinkingofaphd.html

1/4

1/4/2015

Title

4.HowmuchmathdoIneed?Themorethebetter!Eachadditionalmathematicscourseyoutakewill
strengthenyourpreparation.However,somecoursesaremoreimportantthanothers,aswillbediscussed
below.AttheendofthisdocumentisalistofselectedcoursesofferedatCSUEB,attheundergraduate
andgraduatelevels,thatareparticularlyusefulaspreparationfordoctoralworkineconomics.Youare
probablysurprisedbyhowlongthelistisandthinkingifyouspentallyourtimetakingcoursesfromthat
list,therewouldbenotimetotakeanyeconomics.Youreright,andoddlyenough,thatstrategywould
actuallygiveyouagreaterchanceofgettingintoagoodeconomicsPh.D.program.Considertwo
students.StudentAhasanundergraduatedegreeineconomicsandhastakenafewmathematicscourses
fromtheundergraduatelistbelow.StudentBhasmajoredinsteadinmathematics,takingmanycourses
fromtheundergraduatelistbelow,afewfromthegraduatelist,andfewifanycoursesineconomics.
Generally,StudentBhasagreaterchanceofbeingacceptedintoagoodPh.D.programineconomics.
ManystudentsentereconomicsPh.D.programswithbackgroundsinmathematics,physics,statistics,
operationsresearch,computerscience,andelectricalengineering,andmayhaveundergraduateorM.A.
degreesinthesefields.Youmightconsiderdoingsomegraduateworkinmathematics,orperhapseven
obtaininganM.A.,beforeapplyingtoPh.D.programsineconomics,ifyouwishtomaximizeyour
chancesofadmission.
5.WhatabouttheGRE?AhighscoreonthequantitativesectionoftheGREisanabsolutemust.Most
programsfocusonthemathematicsGREscore,thelistofmathematicscoursestaken(andthegrades
obtained)aboveallelse.PreparecarefullyfortheGREsothatyoucanobtainthehighestscoreonthe
mathematicssectionofwhichyouarecapable.
6.Whichmathematicscoursesaremostimportant?Thelistbelowcontainstheundergraduateand
graduatecoursesofgreatestrelevanceforeconomics.StartbytakingCalculusI,II,andIII,andlinear
algebra.Thentakerealanalysiswhichisthemostimportanttopicforpreparingforeconomics
graduateschool,inpartbecauseofthetrainingitoffersinwritingandunderstandingproofs.Youshould
probablytakeseveralcoursesinrealanalysis.Therelevantmaterialissometimescalledsimply
analysisortheoryoffunctionsofarealvariableorsimilarnames.Whenindoubt,showthecourse
descriptionstoamemberoftheeconomicsfaculty,andaskforadvice.ManyPh.D.programswillnot
evenconsideryourapplicationunlessyouhavetakensomerealanalysis.Yourgradesinsuchcoursesare
alsoimportant.Ofallthecourseslistedbelow,theonecoursethatwouldbemostimpressivetoaPh.D.
admissionscommitteewouldprobablybeMATH6350,theMAlevelcourseinrealanalysis.Thatisnot
tosaythatyouabsolutelyneedanMAlevelcoursetogainadmission,butstrivingforsuchagoalwill
serveyouwell.Inadditiontorealanalysis,courseworkinprobabilityandstatisticsisalsoextremely
valuable,andcourseworkindifferentialequationsandnumericaloptimizationmayalsobehelpful.When
indoubt,alwaysselectthemorerigorous,theoreticalversionsofsuchcourses.
7.Isthiswhatyoureallywant?Keepinmindthattherearemanyothercareertracksthatdrawheavily
oneconomicsbutwithlightermathematicsrequirements.TherearePh.D.programsinpublicpolicy,
publicpolicyinmanagement,politicalscience,sociology,healthpolicy,andmanyotherareas,andthese
maybeworthexploringifyoulikeeconomicsbutareunwillingorunabletocopewiththeheavy
mathematicsrequirements.YoumaybeabletoachieveyourcareergoalswithoutaPh.D.orwithaPh.D.
inarelatedfieldotherthaneconomics.IfyouknowyouultimatelywantaneconomicsPh.D.,an
economicsM.A.atCSUEBmaynotbeyourbestoption.ThecoursesintheM.A.economicsprogramat
CSUEBarenowherenearasquantitativelyrigorousaswhatyouwillencounterinmostPh.D.programs.
Furthermore,enteringaPh.D.programhavingcompletedaneconomicsM.A.atanotherschoolwillnot
shortenthedurationofthePh.D.program.IfyouknowyouwantaneconomicsPh.D.,itmightmake
moresensetodirectlyenteraPh.D.program,pickinguptheM.A.degreealongthewayinthesame
schoolthatwillgrantthePh.D.,asiscommoninsuchprograms.Or,ifyoureallywanttoincreaseyour
preparationfortheeconomicsPh.D.byfirstdoinganM.A.,pursueanM.A.inmathematicsorstatistics
insteadofeconomics,asdiscussedin#4.
http://www20.csueastbay.edu/cbe/departments/economics/maecon/thinkingofaphd.html

2/4

1/4/2015

Title

However,atleastthreegroupsofstudentswhoplantogetPh.D.smaybenefitfromfirsttakingthe
CSUEBM.A.ineconomics.First,studentswithstrongpriorbackgroundsinmathematics(e.g.those
withundergraduatedegreesinphysicsorengineering)withlittleornobackgroundineconomicsmay
wishtolearnmoreaboutwhateconomicsisallaboutbeforeplungingintoaPh.D.program.Second,
studentswhowishtoobtainPh.D.sinrelated(thoughlesstechnical)areas,suchaspublicpolicy,will
findtheCSUEBM.A.programuseful.Third,studentswhostudiedeconomicsasundergraduatesbut
whodidnotearnasufficientlyhighGPAtoobtainadmissiontoaPh.D.programwillfindtheCSUEB
M.A.programausefulsteppingstonetoshoreupthoseweaknessesbeforeenteringadoctoralprogram.
8.Dontbeintimidated.Theheavytraininginmathematicsistoequipyoutosurvivethefirstcoupleof
yearsofthePh.D.program.Afterthat,whenyoureachtheresearchstage,youhavesignificantdiscretion
overhowquantitativeyourworkwillbe.Manyverysuccessfulresearcheconomistsuseverylittle
mathematics.Toalargeextent,thepurposeofallthemathematicscoursesistodevelopalevelof
mathematicalsophistication,butitdoesnotnecessarilymeanthatthoseadvancedtoolswillbe
regularlyusedinyourcareerasaPh.D.economist.Itisimportanttoaskyourselfwhetheryouhavethe
fortitudetowithstandarigoroustrainingprograminmathematicsbeforeenteringaPh.D.program,butat
thesametime,donotmakethemistakeofthinkingthataPh.D.ineconomicswilldoomyoutoalifeof
realanalysisandlinearalgebra.
UNDERGRADUATECOURSEWORK
MATH2304CalculusIII(*)
MATH3100LinearAlgebra(*)
MATH3300AnalysisI(*)
MATH3301AnalysisII(*)
MATH3320CalculusandVectorFunctions(*)
MATH3331DifferentialEquations
MATH3361OrdinaryDifferentialEquations
MATH/STAT3401IntroductiontoProbabilityTheoryI
MATH/STAT3402IntroductiontoProbabilityTheoryII
MATH/STAT3502StatisticalInferenceI
MATH/STAT3503StatisticalInferenceII
MATH/CS3750NumericalAnalysisI
MATH/STAT3865MathematicalModeling
MATH4301AnalysisIII(*)
MATH4350TheoryofFunctionsofaRealVariable(*)
MATH4360IntroductiontoTopology
MATH/STAT4401IntroductiontoStochasticProcesses
MATH/CS4750NumericalAnalysisII
MATH4841TopicsinOptimization
GRADUATECOURSEWORK
MATH6100AppliedAlgebra
MATH6201Topology
MATH6331TopicsinDifferentialEquations
MATH6350RealAnalysis(*)
MATH/STAT6401AdvancedProbabilityI
MATH/STAT6402AdvancedProbabilityII
MATH/STAT6501MathematicalStatisticsI
MATH/STAT6502MathematicalStatisticsII
http://www20.csueastbay.edu/cbe/departments/economics/maecon/thinkingofaphd.html

3/4

1/4/2015

Title

MATH6750TopicsinAdvancedNumericalAnalysis
MATH6841NonlinearOptimization
MATH6842AdvancedTopicsinOptimization
MATH/STAT6865MathematicalModeling
Copyright2014CaliforniaStateUniversity,EastBay.AllRightsReserved.25800CarlosBee
Boulevard,Hayward,CA94542phone5108853000

http://www20.csueastbay.edu/cbe/departments/economics/maecon/thinkingofaphd.html

4/4