Daily Archives: December 19, 2005

Applying to grad school

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The first generation of CIDE students that I met is about to graduate in a few months. Some are considering grad school. I dont have particular advice for PolSci but there is good info available on Economics programs–IMO, the generic rules should not vary a lot among disciplines in top schools anyway. Here are some pointers:

1. Stanford Prof. Susan Athey’s advice on applying to economics grad school.
2. Guide to applying at www.econphd.net (with lots and lots of additional info)
3. And a nice Q&A from Davidson College:

Why go to graduate school in economics?
How long does it take to get a Ph.D. in economics?
What is a typical course of study?
What can you do with a Ph.D. in economics?
Should I get a Master’s degree in economics?
What is the Diploma in economics?
What about a Ph.D. in public policy?
Should I go directly to graduate school?
How much does graduate school cost?
What is the average salary?
How hard is it to get into a top program?
What are the admissions committees looking for?
Where should I apply? And to how many places?
What are my chances of graduating with the Ph.D.?
Where have recent economics Ph.D.’s found jobs?
What you need to be doing now?

Just write

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David Romer’s Rules for Making It Through Graduate School
and Finishing Your Dissertation

 

“Out in Five”

  1. Don’t clutter up your life with other activities; just write.
  2. Don’t carry out a thorough and comprehensive search of the literature; just write.
  3. Don’t attempt to make sure that every page you write shows the full extent of your professional skills; just write.
  4. Don’t write a well-organized, well-integrated, unified dissertation; just write.
  5. Don’t think profound thoughts that shake the intellectual foundations of the discipline; just write.
  6. If you don’t have a paper started by the spring of your third year, be alarmed.
  7. If you don’t have a paper largely drafted by the fall of your fourth year, panic.
  8. Have three new ideas a week while you are getting started.
  9. Don’t try to game the profession, work on what interests you.
  10. Good papers in economics have three characteristics:
    • A viewpoint.
    • A lever.
    • A result.
This is a fax to myself.  I first saw this list on my 1st year at grad school.  I was not out in five.  I know on which points from the above list I did well and on which ones I was more lackluster.  (Of course, I won’t reveal it in here because everything you say on the web can be used against you.)