About the Graduate Program

The UC San Diego Graduate Program in Economics has set historical precedence for the strong preparation its students receive in econometrics and microeconomic theory. During the last few years, our Department has expanded dramatically, with rapidly growing strengths in macroeconomics and applied microeconomics. Among the fields we now cover are behavioral economics, development, environmental economics, finance, labor economics, international trade, industrial and organizational economics, macroeconomics, political economy, and public finance, in addition to econometrics and microeconomic theory.

Another important strength of our Department is the close contact between graduate students and faculty. In contrast to many departments, our first year core courses are staffed by leading faculty members so that on your first day at UCSD you will begin studying with top figures in the economics profession. The Department also promotes faculty-student interactions through summer research grants with an advisor, conducts a special workshop for third-year students in which faculty members supervise the initial stages of dissertation research, and organizes a series of lunch-time seminars specifically devoted to early-stage research presentations by graduate students. These are just a few examples of how our Department supports the important mentorship relationship between faculty and doctoral students.

The promotion of collaboration with researchers across the institution is certainly encouraged. UC San Diego has a particularly strong program in Political Science, a remarkable group of faculty at the School of Global Policy and Strategy interested in economic development and at Rady School of Management, a rapidly growing faculty interested in finance and behavioral economics. Faculty from other programs often teach in our program and serve as advisors for our students. Such collaborations often lead to faculty from these departments serving as outside committee members helping to supervise student dissertation research.

Our department has an excellent track record in placing graduates in top departments, including Stanford, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Northwestern, Penn, Wisconsin, Michigan, Cornell and Duke. We also consistently place graduates in top governmental agencies, such as the Federal Reserve Board, and prominent private sector firms.