Econ Maj + CS Minor for Economics PhD

College Majors
1

<p>I'm currently a sophomore at UC Davis and I would like to ask if an Econ major and CS minor would provide the necessary credentials for an Econ PhD at Stanford/Berkeley/Harvard. I have had a consistent 4.0 GPA throughout all the quarters here and I am confident that these are the graduate schools I'm looking at. I understand that Econ PhD is a very quantitative path and math courses is highly recommended if not absolutely necessary. The GRE aside, how much would not taking enough math courses affect my chances to get into top PhD programs at these schools? What then are the examples of some absolutely essential math courses that admission officers at these universities look at? </p>

2

<p>Recommendations for preparing for economics PhD programs:
<a href=“Preparation | Department of Economics”>Preparation | Department of Economics;
<a href=“Preparing for a PhD in Economics | Department of Economics”>Preparing for a PhD in Economics | Department of Economics;

<p>Using UC Davis’ catalog at <a href=“http://catalog.ucdavis.edu/programs/MAT/MATcourses.html”>http://catalog.ucdavis.edu/programs/MAT/MATcourses.html&lt;/a&gt; , you probably want to take at least 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 67, 22B, 125A, 125B, 135A, 135B.</p>

3

<p>Getting into top PhD programs (and most of the top 50 programs) in economics is very difficult. The vast majority of competitive applicants to PhD programs, not just at Stanford and Harvard but also at Boston College and the University of Washington, majored in math and economics (or math major/econ minor), or at least have taken lots of math classes. If you do not take enough mathematics courses, your admission probability is probably 0. That’s just the bare minimum you need as the vast majority of competitive applicants have also worked as research assistants (not just of any professors but of professors who produce work that is published in top economic journals-- their recommendations are very beneficial). It is also recommended that you take graduate level economics courses if you can (while in undergrad).</p>

4

<p>Econ becomes very mathematical and ‘computational’ in a way at the higher levels. Just as the above poster said you’ll want a lot of math under your belt if you aim on a PhD.</p>