Does anyone have any information about the Political Economy degree at Tulane? I looked on the website and I was hoping for some personal experiences or extra information.
@jnc127 -I think my son (a Tulane sophomore) has a couple friends majoring in Political Economy. If I’m right (which I’m often not!), I’ll get back to you with their contact info.
I can try to help.
Here is a summary, with information that is easily accessible on the website (murphy.tulane.edu) :
The Political Economy major at Tulane is run by an entity called the Murphy Institute, which offers resources specifically for Political Economy majors at Tulane.
Political Economy encompasses topics from many disciplines, specifically Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy.
There are 24 credits (8 courses) that are required as a part of the core curriculum of the major. These are listed on the website. The rest of the credits are composed of electives, which you choose depending on what you would like to concentrate in. There are four options:
- Law, Economics, and Policy
- Moral and Historical Perspectives
- International Perspectives
- Economics and Public Policy
The different courses for each are listed on the website.
The institute is a great resource by being a school within a school. For example, there are internship grants that are given to students who apply, and these are only for students within the Political Economy major.
All of this information is easily accessible, but I think the question most people have about the major is: What do you do when you graduate?
If you go here: http://murphy.tulane.edu/publications/exchange you can see the annual newsletter of the Murphy Institute, which provides data and statistics, alumni biographies and information, current student information, etc. It’s helpful to gauge what careers are sculpted out of the major. Another helpful resource is the 2007 Alumni Survey Results, which I have a hardcopy of but struggle to find an online version. It has in-depth information about alumni career paths, where alumni have obtained graduate degrees, percentage that attend law school/business school, salaries, etc. It’s really an awesome document that gives a good image of what alumni do. Honestly, the answer is everything. Everyone biography has a different story then the next, from working in the Office of Management and Budget of the Federal Government, Venture Capitalists, Professors, Journalists, Managers in International Business, etc.
The Political Economy major at Tulane and the Murphy Institute are a hidden gem, and are unique to Tulane. The Political Economy major is one of the best of its kind, and has lots of successful alumni, The cover of the alumni survey results has a stat written in large numbers: “96% of respondents would choose political economy as their major, if given another chance to choose an undergraduate major.”
I have a friend who is a senior at Tulane that studies political economy if you want me to put you in touch with him I’d be happy to and he would gladly answer any questions you have about the program!