<p>best LAC economics departments (in order of opinion)</p>
<p>what are they?</p>
<p>I'm not going to rank them, because all of these schools have solid economics departments. But, if I wanted to study economics at an LAC, these are <em>some</em> of the schools I would start with: Amherst, Claremont McKenna, Williams, Macalester, Davidson, Hamilton, Colby, Smith, Pomona, Occidental, Allegheny, Whitman, Wesleyan, Washington & Lee, Denison, College of Wooster, Franklin & Marshall. This list, however, is by no means all-inclusive, and there are many other fine economics programs at LACs as well.</p>
<p>very ecclectic list tehre</p>
<p>If you are looking for hard-core quantitative Economics, Swarthmore produces more future Economics PhDs per 1000 graduates than any college or university in the country....and second place isn't even close.</p>
<p>This is a useless question. Who's to rank whether Bowdoin or Middlebury has a better economics dept? Let alone know enough about ten schools to accurately order them? On what basis of criteria? It would be much better to go to the best overall school, which is the best fit than focusing on something so nebulous like this.</p>
<p>In the latest numbers I've seen, Swarthmore does produce the most future economics PhDs of any LAC.</p>
<p>The top 10 by this basis for 1986-1995 period were:
Swarthmore 54
Williams 37
Oberlin 28
Wellesley 22
Carleton 21
Wesleyan 18
Pomona 16
Vassar 16
Colgate 15
Smith 14</p>
<p><a href="http://server1.fandm.edu/departments/CollegeRelations/BacOrigins/BacOrg98.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://server1.fandm.edu/departments/CollegeRelations/BacOrigins/BacOrg98.pdf</a>
p. 44</p>
<p>Here's the data for a more recent 10 year period: </p>
<p>The first number is the total PhDs in Economics granted to graduates of each school between 1994 and 2003. The second number is the per capita number (percentage of overall graduates of each school who got a PhD in Economics). The third number is the total number of graduates from each school over a ten year period offset five years earlier (1989-1998). </p>
<p>It's important to note that there aren't a lot of Economics PhDs nationally. This probably measures hard core math oriented theoretical and academic Economics more than it does an Econ department as a Wall Street vocational program. In other words, the schools at the top of the list probably have solid Economics departments, as do many of the schools further down the list.</p>
<p>Overall, Econ is such a "bread and butter" department (like the dairy or the bread aisle in the grocery store), that it would make much more sense to start with the big picture stuff (location, size, campus culture, etc.) and worry about the Econ departments once you've got the list nailed down. For example, Swarthmore's high PhD production rate probably has more to do with its unique Honors program and overall social science strength than it does specifically with its (excellent) Econ department. It's the top per capita PhD producer in Poli Sci and overall social sciences, too.</p>
<p>Ironically, Econ is such a popular major that you have to pay some attention to whether or not too many majors at a school makes the department less desireable. Rapidly increasing numbers of majors is putting the departments under some stress at some schools. For example, Williams is changing its major requirements to be more math oriented to discourage students from majoring in Economics after the number of declared majors doubled in a recent year. I don't think Swarthmore has seen a rapid rise in majors (it's always been one of the three most popular majors), but the department is large enough that it's one of maybe three or four departments where there are some definite advantages (in terms of seminar selection, first dibs on thesis advisors, etc.) to being in the Honors program.</p>
<p>
57 1.56% 3,657 Swarthmore College
24 0.74% 3,229 Grinnell College
35 0.69% 5,082 Williams College
31 0.68% 4,561 Carleton College
115 0.64% 17,855 Harvard University
7 0.60% 1,167 Agnes Scott College
58 0.51% 11,348 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
41 0.50% 8,270 University of Chicago
63 0.49% 12,941 Yale University
10 0.49% 2,059 California Institute of Technology
53 0.48% 11,101 Princeton University
18 0.46% 3,945 Macalester College
70 0.42% 16,662 Stanford University
15 0.42% 3,578 Pomona College
28 0.40% 7,067 Oberlin College
22 0.38% 5,840 Wellesley College
18 0.37% 4,917 Trinity University
11 0.29% 3,740 Bowdoin College
7 0.29% 2,410 Earlham College
8 0.29% 2,763 Berea College
12 0.29% 4,179 Amherst College
5 0.29% 1,753 Wabash College
6 0.28% 2,106 Bard College
3 0.28% 1,061 Rocky Mountain College
7 0.28% 2,495 Coe College
19 0.27% 7,081 Wesleyan University
34 0.27% 12,784 College of William and Mary
12 0.26% 4,597 Colby College
35 0.26% 13,622 Columbia University in the City of New York
5 0.26% 1,954 Hillsdale College
11 0.25% 4,361 Franklin and Marshall College
63 0.24% 25,853 University of Pennsylvania
8 0.24% 3,292 Drew University
37 0.24% 15,251 Georgetown University
6 0.23% 2,565 Kalamazoo College
15 0.23% 6,432 Rice University
6 0.23% 2,599 Reed College
9 0.23% 3,954 Ohio Wesleyan University
16 0.22% 7,162 Smith College
3 0.22% 1,381 Scripps College
5 0.22% 2,308 Beloit College
6 0.22% 2,773 Haverford College
11 0.22% 5,115 Lafayette College
5 0.21% 2,386 Claremont McKenna College
8 0.21% 3,821 Occidental College
19 0.21% 9,260 Johns Hopkins University
8 0.20% 3,952 Illinois Wesleyan University
8 0.20% 3,989 Allegheny College
67 0.20% 33,736 Cornell University, All Campuses
29 0.20% 14,669 Brown University
21 0.20% 10,684 Dartmouth College
13 0.19% 6,810 Colgate University
29 0.19% 15,531 Duke University
104 0.18% 56,363 University of California-Berkeley
3 0.18% 1639 St John's College (both campus)
4 0.18% 2,199 Knox College
25 0.18% 13,887 Washington University
8 0.18% 4,448 Hobart William Smith Colleges
5 0.17% 2,879 Bryn Mawr College
21 0.17% 12,139 American University
25 0.17% 14,485 George Washington University
34 0.17% 19,770 Northwestern Univ
12 0.17% 6,987 Brandeis University
4 0.17% 2,396 St Vincent College and Seminary
8 0.16% 4,936 Mount Holyoke College
31 0.16% 19,161 University of Notre Dame
6 0.16% 3,769 Davidson College
13 0.16% 8,364 Wake Forest University
4 0.15% 2,620 University of the South
7 0.15% 4,632 Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
8 0.15% 5,386 Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL)
2 0.15% 1,365 Benedictine College
6 0.15% 4,113 Bates College
18 0.14% 12,422 Tufts University
2 0.14% 1,394 Trinity College (Washington, DC)
9 0.14% 6,638 University of Puget Sound
11 0.13% 8,170 Bucknell University
2 0.13% 1,515 Bethany College (Bethany, WV)
2 0.13% 1,522 Trinity International Univ-Coll of Arts and Sci
5 0.13% 3,827 Kenyon College
9 0.13% 6,901 St Olaf College
5 0.13% 3,845 Washington and Lee University
6 0.13% 4,695 St Lawrence University
12 0.13% 9,428 Carnegie Mellon University
3 0.13% 2,361 Hampshire College
3 0.13% 2,394 Lake Forest College
3 0.12% 2,411 Rockford College
36 0.12% 29,049 University of Virginia, Main Campus
3 0.12% 2,424 Gordon College (Wenham, MA)
3 0.12% 2,435 Northwestern Oklahoma State University
7 0.12% 5,702 Vassar College
2 0.12% 1,664 Illinois College
7 0.12% 5,835 Furman University
4 0.12% 3,357 Colorado School of Mines
5 0.12% 4,199 Hamilton College
3 0.12% 2,541 Hood College
3 0.12% 2,588 Millsaps College
62 0.12% 53,612 University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
3 0.12% 2,598 Lawrence University
25 0.11% 21,761 University of California-Santa Cruz
3 0.11% 2,624 Virginia Military Institute
3 0.11% 2,699 Alma College
8 0.11% 7,213 University of Richmond
13 0.11% 11,830 University of Rochester
2 0.11% 1,828 Bridgewater College
4 0.11% 3,682 Andrews University
63 0.11% 58,176 University of Wisconsin-Madison
3 0.11% 2,804 Graceland College
41 0.11% 38,488 University of California-Davis
5 0.11% 4,705 Connecticut College
</p>
<p>a list in percentage phD dosnt show strength opf departnemt</p>
<p>if u had to put som orm of rank on tem - what woudl u do?</p>
<p>My opinion is that the only thing that can be concluded about PhD rankings is that some schools produce a "higher rate" of PhDs than other schools... and only some at a statistically significant rate more.</p>
<p>Let's remove Swat from the calculation 1st as it may be an aberation. If you do the calculations between 0.7% (williams/grinnell and carleton) to the majority of schools that are 0.22-0.25% and use the alumni # for Haverford (that I'm most familiar but you can crunch using any #) you will get...</p>
<p>13,000 x 0.007 = 91 PhDs
13,000 x 0.0022 = 29 PhDs or difference of 62 PhDs out of 13,000
or 5 more PhDs per 1000
or 1.5 more person per graduating class who decides to get a PhD in econ. </p>
<p>When comparing even relatively "large" differences in rate as on that list, you can see that the actual # themselves are small and a list that goes top down is misleading cause it suggests large differences when there is possibly little. PhD lists comparing even rarer degrees like music, history, phil will be even weaker.</p>
<p>Some of the schools however seem to produce significantly more PhDs in econ but I think making a commentary on the department or academics is not supported by the data. Even though my conjecture isn't data supported as well, personally, I think the main cause is that some schools attract a particular type of student and it is these students who are the main driver behind PhD production... not necessarily the quality nor offerings by the professor, the department, ect. It's very possible that some schools like Carleton, Swat and Grinell, who advertise "intellectual, quirky and geeky" may attract kids more inclined to stay in academia/policy (and get a PhD) rather than work in industry/business where personalities and skill sets are viewed differently and the demand for an econ PhD not as valued.</p>
<p>I know you asked for LACs, but UChicago has a thoroughly liberal arts curriculum, as well as one of the best economics departments.</p>
<p>Here we go again: there are probably 50 threads on CC that pose the same question! </p>
<p>First of all, there are NO consistent metrics that will provide a comprehensive or remotely defensible answer. When it comes to undergraduate Economics departments, all compilations of "data" are mere expression of the bias chosen by the "researcher." In the end, if one finds the number of PhD in Economics to be a reasonable yardstick for the quality of education at a particular school, then the list compiled by Interesteddad presents some validity. On the other hand, if one considers the extreme narrow scope between the absolute number of PhD and the absolute number of students who graduated with a degree in Economics and NEVER pursued an academic career that required a PhD, the results present a rather obvious lack of relevance. </p>
<p>Since the programs in Economics are indeed ubiquitous, one should exercise great care in analyzing the individual departments at each school. It is obvious that there are schools where the Economics department is far from being an afterthought. However, that is not universal.</p>
<p>In this regard, the size, breadth, depth and quality of the faculty is extremely important as it is a direct representation of the commitment by the college to feature a competitive department in Economics. </p>
<p>You can't get blood out of a turnip!</p>
<p>It's extremely difficult to try to come with any kind of objective data to rank economics depts. What would you use? avg SAT of students in the major, % of students at a school who major in it? ratio of profs to # of majors? ratio of courses to # of majors? Some measure of job placement comparison? Citations or measure of quality of prof research? Teaching quality of profs? # of office hours? Square footage of classroom space as a % of # of majors? </p>
<p>All these things are relevant and extremely difficult to measure, nevermind compare. PhD production is one of the only metrics that at least is somewhat relevant that is more easily quantified.</p>
<p>The relevance is in the eye of the beholder.</p>
<p>The problem with the ranking above is that it calculates %PhDs based on total number of undergraduates, not undergraduates ** with that major**.</p>
<p>A better ranking system would be %PhDs per economics major. A list exists like this for history PhDs <a href="http://www.historians.org/Perspectives/Issues/2005/0509/0509new1.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.historians.org/Perspectives/Issues/2005/0509/0509new1.cfm</a> but dont' know of one for economics.</p>
<p>(# of History PhDs) (# of history majors) (%)</p>
<p>Wesleyan University* 100 607 16/100<br>
University of Chicago* 119 727 16/100<br>
Pomona College 43 284 15/100<br>
Bryn Mawr College 40 267 15/100<br>
Swarthmore College 52 350 15/100<br>
Wellesley College 45 307 15/100<br>
Reed College 42 306 14/100<br>
Johns Hopkins University 36 274 13/100<br>
Oberlin College* 90 693 13/100<br>
Stanford University* 110 985 11/100<br>
Mount Holyoke College 43 389 11/100<br>
Smith College 49 446 11/100<br>
Cornell University* 112 1029 11/100<br>
Kalamazoo College 15 141 11/100<br>
Carleton College 58 550 11/100<br>
Earlham College 17 162 10/100<br>
Amherst College 44 437 10/100<br>
Grinnell College 37 380 10/100<br>
Harvard University* 250 2707 9/100<br>
Brown University* 141 1539 9/100<br>
Macalester College 39 428 9/100<br>
Georgetown University* 84 927 9/100<br>
Lawrence University 20 221 9/100<br>
Yale University* 235 2733 9/100<br>
Rice University 32 376 9/100</p>
<p>Rugg’s Recommendations economics</p>
<p>American U. (DC) …….
Amherst (MA) …..
Babson (MA) …..
Barnard (NY) ……
Bates (ME) ……..
Boston University (MA) ….
Bowdoin (ME) …….
Brandeis (MA) ……_
Bryn Mawr (PA) …..,
Bucknell (PA) ……..
California, U. of (Los Angeles) ….,
California, U. of (San Diego) ….,
Chicago, U. of (ll) …….
Claremont McKenna (CA)….
Colby (ME) ……..
Columbia (NY) …
Connecticut College…..
Cornell (NY) ……….
Dallas, U. of (TX) …….,
Dartmouth (NH) …
DePauw (IN) …,….,
Duke (NC) ……..
Georgetown (DC) ….
Georgia Inst. Of Tech. ….
Grinnell (IA) ……….
Hamilton (NY) …
Harvard (MA) ….
Haverford (PA) ……
Holy Cross (MA) …….
Kalamazoo (MI) ..,
Kenyon (OH) …….
Lafayette (PA) …….
Macalester (MN) …..,
Michigan, U. of ‘”
MIT (MA) ……….
Middlebury (Vf) ……
Mount Holyoke (MA) ….
Northwestern (IL) …
Occidental (CA) ……,
Pennsylvania, U. of ……
Pomona (CA) ……….
Princeton (NJ) …..,
Rhodes (TN) …….._
Rochester, U. of (NY) .
Rose-Hulman (IN) …..,..,
Smith (Mass)….. </p>
<p>St. Mary’s Coll of Maryland…..
St. Olaf (MN) …..,……
South, U. of the (TN) ….,
Southwestern (TX) …
Stanford (CA) ……
Swarthmore (PA) .
Trinity (CT) ……
Trinity (TX) ….
Vanderbilt (TN)..
Villanova (PA) …
Virginia, U. of …._
Wabash (IN) …..
Wake Forest (NC) …..
Washington & Lee (VA) ….
Wellesley (MA) …….
Wesleyan (CT) ….,.
Whitman (WA) ..
Willamette (OR) ……..
Williams (MA) ……
Yale (CT) ……….</p>
<p>sbut if u had to arbitrarily rank them, how owuld u?</p>
<p>Davidson, Colgate, Williams, Holy Cross, Bowdoin, Amherst, Bucknell have very good programs in addition to strong alumni networks.</p>
<p>hmmmmm, i like that list - little unsure of holy cross, and williams is missing</p>