phd education policy stanford

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Barnett Family Professor of Education, Stanford University, 2018-present Director, John W. Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities, 2018-present Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), 2015-present Professor of Education, Stanford University, 2012-2018 Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs, Stanford Graduate School of Education, 2015-2018 Director, Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis, 2015-2018 Professor of Public Policy and Economics, University of Virginia, 2010-2012 Research Professor of Education, University of Virginia, 2010-2012 Associate Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Swarthmore College, 2005-2010 Director, Public Policy Program, Swarthmore College, 2005-2010 Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Swarthmore College, 1999-2005. Assistant Professor of Economics, School of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1997-1999

Thomas S. Dee, Ph.D., is a Professor of Education at Stanford University and a Research Associate in the Programs on Economics of Education, Health Economics and Children at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). His research focuses largely on the use of quantitative methods (e.g., panel data techniques, instrumental variables, and random assignment) to inform contemporary policy debates. Recent examples include econometric evaluations of incentive and accountability-based reforms and an analysis of recent, stimulus-funded, school-turnaround initiatives.

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Economic Analysis & Policy

Our doctoral program in the field of economic analysis and policy prepares students for research careers in economics. The program offers rigorous training and has several distinct advantages:

Low Student-to-Faculty Ratio

First, enrollment in the program is small. This encourages close faculty-student contact and allows students to become involved in research very early. Students work first as assistants on faculty research projects and, as their interests and skills develop, on their own research. Students often begin their publishing careers before completing their degrees.

Flexible and Innovative Program

Second, the program is flexible and innovative; students can draw on both the school’s and the university’s distinguished faculty. In addition to the faculty in the economics group at Stanford GSB and in the university’s economics department, students have access to faculty in political and behavioral sciences; accounting and finance; mathematics, statistics, and computer science; and many other disciplines.

A Top-Ranked School

Third, the program is part of a top-ranked professional school. This setting allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the actual processes of business decision-making and public policy formulation.

Preparation and Qualifications

Students who enroll in this program have a substantial background in economics and mathematics. They are expected to have, minimally, mathematical skills at the level of one year of advanced calculus and one course each in linear algebra, analysis, probability, optimization, and statistics.

The faculty selects students based on predicted performance in the program. Evidence of substantial background or ability in the use of mathematical reasoning and statistical methods is important. Most successful applicants had quantitative undergraduate majors in economics, mathematics, or related sciences.

In addition to evidence of ability and letters of recommendation, the faculty considers carefully the applicant’s statement of purpose for pursuing the PhD degree. The successful applicant usually has clearly defined career goals that are compatible with those of the program.

Acceptance into the program is extremely competitive. Admitted applicants compare very favorably with students enrolled in the top economics departments of major universities.

Economic Analysis & Policy Faculty

Mohammad akbarpour, claudia allende santa cruz, susan athey, lanier benkard, jeremy i. bulow, modibo khane camara, sebastian di tella, rebecca diamond, yossi feinberg, guido w. imbens, charles i. jones, michael ostrovsky, garth saloner, yuliy sannikov, kathryn shaw, andrzej skrzypacz, paulo somaini, juan carlos suárez serrato, takuo sugaya, christopher tonetti, shoshana vasserman, ali yurukoglu, weijie zhong, emeriti faculty, alain c. enthoven, robert j. flanagan, david m. kreps, peter c. reiss, john roberts, a. michael spence, robert wilson, recent publications in economic analysis & policy, battling the coronavirus ‘infodemic’ among social media users in kenya and nigeria, using wasserstein generative adversarial networks for the design of monte carlo simulations, adaptive novelty detection with false discovery rate guarantee, recent insights by stanford business, at what point do we decide ai’s risks outweigh its promise, nine stories to get you through tax season, a.i. can help “personalize” policies to reach the right people, placement director.

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Joint Degree Programs

Students enrolled in or applying to certain degree programs in the Schools of Business, Education, Engineering, Humanities and Sciences, and Law are eligible to apply for Public Policy joint degrees. Applicants should refer to the application instructions for the home program on how to apply as a joint degree candidate in Public Policy. For further information, see the " Joint Degree Programs " section of the Stanford bulletin and the  University Registrar's site .

• Juris Doctor and Master of Public Policy (JD/MPP)
• Juris Doctor and Master of Arts of Public Policy (JD/MA)
• Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Policy (MD/MPP)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Education and Master of Public Policy (PhD/MPP)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Economics and Master of Public Policy (PhD/MPP)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Management Science & Engineering and Master of Public Policy (PhD/MPP)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology and Master of Public Policy (PhD/MPP)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology and Master of Public Policy (PhD/MPP)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Structural Biology and Master of Public Policy (PhD/MPP)
• Master of Business Administration and Master of Public Policy (MBA/MPP)
• Master of Arts in Education: Policy, Organization and Leadership subplan and Master of Public Policy (MA/MPP)
• Master of Arts in International Policy Studies and Master of Public Policy (MA/MPP)
• Master of Science in Management Science & Engineering and Master of Public Policy (MS/MPP)

Public Policy Joint Degree Requirements

• A joint degree is regarded by the University as distinct from either of its component degrees, and requirements for the joint degree differ from the sum of the requirements for the individual degrees.
• Up to a maximum of 45 units, or one year, of the University residency requirement can be credited toward both graduate degree programs (i.e., the joint degree requirements may contain up to 45 units less than the sum of the individual degree unit requirements). For example, a JD/MPP has a four-year residency requirement, one year less than the sum of the requirements for the separate degrees. This recognizes that there is a subject matter overlap between the fields comprising the joint degree.
• The Public Policy Program strives to encourage an intellectual, professional, and social community among its students. For this reason, joint degree students are strongly encouraged to devote one year of full-time study at Stanford entirely to the Public Policy Program, rather than spacing Public Policy courses throughout their graduate careers. For joint degree Ph.D. students, the core requirements of the M.P.P. should be completed over two contiguous years of study, during which students may also be enrolled in courses from their Ph.D. program. Exceptions to this structure must be approved in advance by petition.
• Joint degree students are expected to have and to consult regularly with an academic advisor. The advisor is generally a member of the faculty of both degree programs and must be a member of Academic Council. The program director and staff are available to make advisor recommendations.
• In order to take advantage of the reduced residency requirement, joint MPP students must define their area of concentration from among courses offered in their non-Public Policy program. Students wishing to concentrate in another field should apply for a dual, rather than a joint, MPP degree.

Stanford University

Stanford Health Policy is a joint effort of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Stanford School of Medicine

PhD in Health Policy

To our prospective students and trainees:.

The Department of Health Policy recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision. 

The Department of Health Policy welcomes graduate applications from individuals with a broad range of life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who would contribute to our community of scholars. The review process is holistic and individualized, considering each applicant’s academic record and accomplishments, letters of recommendation, prior research experience, and admissions essays to understand how an applicant’s life experiences have shaped their past and potential contributions to their field and how they might enrich the learning community at Stanford.

The Application for the 2024-2025 academic year is now closed.

PhD Program Informational Video

Stanford Health Policy offers a PhD program which promises to educate students who will be scholarly leaders in the field of health policy, and will be highly knowledgeable about the theoretical and empirical approaches that can be applied in the development of improvements in health policy and the health care system. The curriculum offers courses across a wide range of health policy areas including health economics, health insurance and government program operation, health financing, international health policy and economic development, cost-effectiveness analysis and the evaluation of new technologies, health law and ethics, health systems operations, relevant statistical and methodological approaches, and health policy issues related to public health concerns like obesity and chronic disease. In addition to taking a set of core courses, students are expected to complete coursework in one of three tracks:

1. Health Economics  -  including the economic behavior of individuals, providers, insurers, and governments and the methodologic training to measure how their actions affect health and medical care,

2.  Decision Sciences  -  with quantitative techniques to assess the effectiveness and value of medical treatments and for decision making about medical care and health policies at the individual and/or collective level,

3. Evaluative Methods  –  encompassing advanced statistical, computational, and other quantitative methodologies appropriate for application in areas of interest to students such as organizational behavior, law, ethics, and data science.

Academic advising by our faculty is a critical component of our graduate students' education.

All matriculating students will be assigned a faculty advisor from the group of  CORE FACULTY  to help them design their academic program. Students will remain with this advisor until the time that they have developed other arrangements for advising.

Advisors will meet with students within the first quarter of each year to discuss students' Individual Development Plan(s) (IDPs).  Additionally, students will meet with their advisor(s) on a regular basis throughout each year to discuss course selection, progress through the program, development of research projects, and career plans.

Academic progress and student completion of program requirements and milestones are monitored by the program staff and directors and discussed at quarterly meetings of all PhD advisors. Students are expected to identify a group of normally 3 thesis advisors before or, at the latest, shortly after the time that they advance to candidacy for the degree. This group will consist of one primary and, at least, two secondary advisors, who may or may not be the same as the initially assigned faculty advisor. The Director of Graduate Studies and the Executive Committee will monitor advising arrangements to ensure that students receive adequate supervision.

For further information on advising in the program, please see the PhD Handbook.

Though circumstances may be different from one student to another, we anticipate being able to provide and/or help students obtain financial support for the first four years of the program. Individuals who are not citizens or permanent residents of the US may apply. However, due to funding restrictions we are limited in our ability to admit applicants who are not citizens or permanent residents and who do not have funding through the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program or substantial funding from another non-Stanford source.  Students who are non-citizens or non-permanent residents are strongly encouraged to apply for such funding. 

For information about the Knight-Hennessy Program, please see:  https://knight-hennessy.stanford.edu/  ( please note the Knight-Hennessy Program has earlier deadlines than the PhD program )

PhD Application Process Explained

You can watch the recording of the PhD Pre-application Information Session.

The Stanford University School of Medicine and the Health Policy Program are committed to fostering a diverse community in which all individuals are welcomed, respected, and supported to achieve their full potential. While race and ethnicity are commonly cited in relation to diversity, we recognize that there are many different aspects to identity, including culture socioeconomic and educational background, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, life experiences, hobbies, and interests. We value diversity because we believe that interaction with people with unique backgrounds and life experiences allows us to reach a greater level of innovation in health policies, health policy research, education and clinical care.

Stanford Health Policy is committed to doing our part to contribute to a more equitable and just society. We hope prospective students from diverse backgrounds consider joining our program to help us continue to make important contributions in health policy to address these and many other problems of our day. Additionally, as a program linked with the Stanford Biosciences Programs, we support the  Biosciences Commitment to Justice and Action  and, where appropriate, will connect and participate in the activities offered in the statement.

The program works with multiple groups and offices across campus to facilitate student access, support, and connectivity. These include, but are not limited to:

Stanford Biosciences:  https://oge.stanford.edu/inclusion/  

Stanford Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education:  https://vpge.stanford.edu/diversity-initiatives/overview

Stanford Office of Accessible Education:  https://oae.stanford.edu

Stanford Graduate Life Office:  https://glo.stanford.edu

Stanford Student Affairs:  https://studentaffairs.stanford.edu

Ph.D. Admissions

Apply here . 

Preparing to Apply

Before starting the application process please read the information about the graduate program requirements  and read our  Frequently Asked Questions . You may also find the Guide to Getting Into Grad School helpful. 

The Political Science department recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision.

All questions regarding graduate admissions should be directed to politicalscience [at] stanford.edu (subject: Admissions%20Enquiry) ( politicalscience[at]stanford[dot]edu ) .

The principal goal of the Stanford Ph.D. program in political science is the training of scholars. Most students who receive doctorates in the program do research and teach at colleges or universities. We offer courses and research opportunities in a wide variety of fields in the discipline, including American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, and Political Methodology. The program is built around small seminars that analyze critically the literature of a field or focus on a research problem. These courses prepare students for the Ph.D. comprehensive exam requirement within a two-year period and for work on the doctoral dissertation.  

Admission to the graduate program in political science is highly selective. About twelve to fifteen students, chosen from a large pool of applicants, enter the program each year. The small size of our student body allows more individual work with members of the faculty than most graduate programs. It also makes possible financial assistance in one form or another to most students admitted to the Ph.D. program. 

Graduate Admissions FAQ

Please visit our list of  frequently asked questions.

You may also find the following links useful if you have general questions about student life and graduate study at Stanford University:  

Vice Provost of Graduate Education (VPGE)

• Graduate Academic Policies and Procedures Handbook (GAP)
• Graduate Life Office
• Stanford Bulletin
• Explore Courses

Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Join dozens of Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences students who gain valuable leadership skills in a multidisciplinary, multicultural community as Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS). KHS admits up to 100 select applicants each year from across Stanford’s seven graduate schools, and delivers engaging experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders ready to address complex global challenges. As a scholar, you join a distinguished cohort, participate in up to three years of leadership programming, and receive full funding for up to three years of your PhD studies at Stanford. Candidates of any country may apply. KHS applicants must have earned their first undergraduate degree within the last seven years, and must apply to both a Stanford graduate program and to KHS. Stanford PhD students may also apply to KHS during their first year of PhD enrollment. If you aspire to be a leader in your field, we invite you to apply. The KHS application deadline is October 11, 2023. Learn more about KHS admission .

Program on Democracy and the Internet

Postdoctoral Fellowship

Philanthropist Resource Guide

About the fellowship

The application cycle for 2022-2023 has closed..

The Program on Democracy and the Internet (PDI) invites promising new scholars to Stanford University for 1 year appointments as postdoctoral fellows, with potential for extension. Fellows will be affiliated with PDI and potentially a department or school at Stanford University. Each fellow will collaborate with one of the PDI faculty on research relevant to their field of study and current line of scholarship. The fellows will spend 80 percent of their time working on their own research and 20 percent assisting in the research of one of the PDI directors.  For examples of past work, see the publications page .  In addition, fellows may be asked to coordinate speaker series and seminars. 

The annual fellowship stipend is $70,000, plus the standard benefits that postdoctoral fellows at Stanford University receive, including health insurance and travel funds. The fellowship program falls under U.S. Immigration J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa activities. 

The start date of the fellowship will be September 2022, unless otherwise agreed. To assume a postdoctoral fellowship, scholars must have a PhD in hand by July 1, 2022. We cannot consider applications from scholars who earned a PhD earlier than September 1, 2019.  

We encourage applications from candidates representing a broad range of disciplines including the social sciences, humanities, law, computer science and engineering.  

About the Program on Democracy and the Internet

The Program on Democracy and the Internet (PDI) envisions digital technologies supporting rather than subverting democracy by maximizing the benefits and minimizing the threats through changes in policy, technology, and social and ethical technological norms.

Digital technologies are having a profound impact on democracy in the United States and around the world. New communication platforms that give voice to the previously unheard also empower nefarious actors who seek to undermine democracy, silence journalists and minority groups, manipulate search engines, sow distrust, and more. Concerns about virality, deception, anonymity, echo chambers, and platform information monopolies pose new challenges for democracy in the digital age. Current research to understand these challenges and, on the basis of theory and evidence, craft solutions, remains nascent, fragmented, and incomplete. A strong knowledge base is critical for policy makers, corporate leaders, and technologists to make decisions that protect and promote democracy in the digital age.

The Program on Democracy and the Internet is investigating key research themes which include:

• Government censorship, propaganda, and information operations on digital media platforms
• Reform options for platforms to combat hate speech, bots, and disinformation
• Algorithmic bias
• Deteriorating health of digital information ecosystems and its effect on democracy and civil rights
• Changes in the media landscape due to shifts caused by digital innovation
• Impact of the internet on election campaigns and voting

The Program on Democracy and the Internet’s work draws from the social sciences, humanities, engineering, computer science, and the law to understand the challenges digital technologies pose to liberal democracies around the world.

The program is led by Principal Investigators Nathaniel Persily , James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and Co-Director of the Cyber Policy Center, Francis Fukuyama , Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute, and PACS Faculty Co-Director and Professor of Political Science, Rob Reich .

PDI is a joint initiative of the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS) and the Cyber Policy Center at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. 

For a sense of the scholarship that PDI supports, see: https://pacscenter.stanford.edu/research/project-on-democracy-and-the-internet/projects/

Questions about the Program on Democracy and the Internet should be directed to [email protected]

• November 8, 2021: Application period opens
• January 31, 2022: Application period closes
• February 2022: Interviews with shortlisted candidates
• March 2022: Offers extended to finalists

How to apply

To be considered for a postdoctoral fellowship with the Program on Democracy and the Internet, submit an application via the online application portal . 

 Applicants will be asked to include the following: 

• Cover letter detailing the reasons for the applicant’s interest in the fellowship.
• Curriculum vitae.
• Fellowship proposal detailing the research that the applicant would undertake while at Stanford, and how it fits within the research agenda of the specific initiative to which the applicant is applying. In this section, please disclose if you have additional funding arrangements.
• Writing sample consisting of either a dissertation chapter or a recent published paper. There are no specific page length or formatting requirements for this sample.
• Graduate transcript with proof that the applicant has completed all the requirements for the PhD, or a letter from their PhD advisor stating when they will do so.
• Two (or more) letters of recommendation submitted via the application portal.

Stanford University is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer, committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce. It welcomes applications from women, members of minority groups, veterans, persons with disabilities, and others who would bring additional dimensions to the university’s research and teaching mission.  

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Thinking of Pursuing a PhD in Economics? Info on Graduate School and Beyond

Kasey Chatterji-Len and Anna Kovner

Becoming a PhD economist can provide a fulfilling and financially secure career path. However, getting started in the field can be daunting if you don’t know much about the preparation you’ll need and the available job opportunities. If you’re wondering what it means to be an economics researcher or how to become one, please read on. We’ll review how to prepare for a career in economics research, what an economics PhD program entails, and what types of opportunities it might bring. Economic education is a core component of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s mission to serve the community. To empower would-be economists, this post provides information for students who seek a career in economics research. We hope this information will be helpful to students interested in economics, regardless of their background and economic situation.  This information is most applicable to students applying to programs in the United States.  

The Breadth of Economics Research  

Academic disciplines conduct research in different ways, so it’s important to have a basic understanding of the types of questions economists ask and how they approach answering them. There are many definitions of economics, but a broadly useful one is the study of how people, organizations, and governments make decisions under different constraints, and how those decisions may affect their outcomes. 

When answering these questions, economists seek to ground their analyses in models and to be quantitatively precise about the effects they assign to any given cause. The range of topics economists can study is wide, but the accepted approaches to answering questions are stricter. Some examples of what economists might ask: 

• How do different public housing programs affect the children who live there? 
• Does a certain type of law encourage businesses to innovate? 
• How will a change in the interest rate affect inflation and unemployment rates? 
• How much does affordable health insurance improve people’s health? 
• How can poor countries eradicate poverty? 

There are many different subfields within economics, including, but not limited to behavioral, econometrics, energy/environmental, development, financial, international, monetary, public, and urban economics. You can familiarize yourself with the latest work in economics by subscribing to working paper series, such as NBER’s New This Week or the New York Fed’s Staff Reports . To get an idea of the breadth of questions economists can answer, you could listen to Stephen Dubner’s “ Freakonomics Radio ” podcast. You may also want to explore the Journal of Economic Perspectives , the New York Fed’s Liberty Street Economics blog, VoxDev , or VoxEU .  

What Is a PhD Program Like?    

Economics PhD programs typically last five to seven years. Unlike masters programs, they are often fully funded with a stipend, though most require students to complete teaching assistant and/or research assistant (RA) work as part of their funding package. In the first two years, students take classes, many of which are mathematically demanding. The rest of the program can include additional classes but is primarily devoted to original research with the aim of producing publishable papers that will constitute the dissertation.  

Faculty advisors are a central part of PhD programs, as students look to them for guidance during the research process. Economics PhD programs are offered within university economics departments, but there are similar programs in public policy and business schools. You can look at their websites to understand any differences in coursework and subsequent job placements. 

What Can You Do with an Economics PhD?  

Upon graduation, students can obtain jobs in a variety of industries. Many PhD students hope to become university professors. Governments and public policy-related institutions such as the Federal Reserve System, the U.S. federal government, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also hire economists to work on policy, lead programs, and conduct research. Finally, economics PhD graduates can also find employment at a variety of private sector companies, including banks, economic consulting firms, and big tech companies. The pay for these different positions can vary. According to the American Economics Association (AEA), the average starting salary for economics assistant professors in 2022-23 was approximately $140,000 at PhD granting institutions and $98,000 at BA granting institutions. 

Programs often publish the placements of their PhD graduates, so you can look online to see specific employment outcomes. See, for example, the University of Maryland’s placements . Ultimately, economists are highly regarded as authorities on a variety of topics. Governments, nonprofits, philanthropic foundations, financial institutions, and non-financial businesses all look to economists to answer important questions about how to best achieve their goals. Thus, earning an economics Ph.D. can potentially help you to influence issues that are important to you. 

Preparing for an Economics PhD Program  

There are several components to an economics PhD program application: college transcripts, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and personal statements. Please download the Appendix linked below to learn more about transcripts and letters of recommendation. The Appendix details ways in which you can select coursework, obtain research experience, and develop relationships to position yourself for success as a PhD applicant.  

If you feel that you are too far along in your academic career to take enough of the classes described in the Appendix, this does not necessarily preclude you from pursuing an economics PhD. For example, it’s possible to take some of these classes through a master’s program, or through a pre-doctoral RA job. Some pre-doctoral RA jobs, such as the one here at the New York Fed , may enable you to take classes in preparation for graduate school. If you are concerned about your transcript, reach out to an economist at your university for advice; program standards for coursework and grades vary, and it’s a good idea to get more personalized advice. 

Research Experience   

If you’re interested in becoming an economics researcher and applying to PhD programs, it’s best to get research experience as soon as possible. Working as an RA is a great way to learn how to conduct research and get a better idea of whether it’s the right career path for you. Additionally, it can help you obtain a letter of recommendation for graduate school applications and improve your qualifications.  

All types of academic research can be enriching, but it’s beneficial to gain experience working directly with an economist. To find a position, you can reach out to professors whose work you find interesting or find an RA program at your school. Typical RA tasks may involve data collection and cleaning, as well as running analyses and creating charts to represent results. This is where coding skills become crucial; having taken math, statistics, and econometrics courses will also enable you to take on more responsibilities. 

You may also have the opportunity to conduct your own research, possibly under the supervision of a professor at your university. This research could be self-initiated or part of a course such as a thesis workshop. Self-directed research is a great opportunity to learn about all stages of the research process. It’s also an excellent opportunity to create a writing sample for graduate school applications. Ultimately, though, your motivation for conducting your own research project should be that you want to answer a question.  One thing economists have in common is a love of answering questions using data and theory. 

Research experience is also often obtained after completing an undergraduate or master’s degree. Taking on a full-time RA position before applying to PhD programs is very common and can make you a more competitive applicant. You may either get an RA job working for a professor or participate in a pre-doctoral RA program.  

Research assistant programs are more structured than positions with individual professors or projects, which could be helpful. Universities, parts of the government, think tanks, research organizations, and the Federal Reserve System are all good places to look for research assistant programs. To help you decide which opportunities are most desirable, you may want to ask potential employers : Where do people in this program tend to go afterward? Will I be working directly with an economist? How much of my time will be spent on academic research work? Will I be able to take classes as part of this program? Considering whether an economist will be able to evaluate your performance is an important factor for recommendation letters. The ability to take classes, either through tuition reimbursement or waivers, can also be an important benefit. 

The Research Analyst program here at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one example of these programs and you should check it out here . The Federal Reserve Board of Governors also has a large program, and many other regional Federal Reserve Banks have similar programs. In addition, the PREDOC website and the  NBER post listings of RA opportunities. J-PAL and IPA also tend to recruit RAs for economic development projects. Another source of RA opportunities is the @econ_ra account on X. 

Who Should Get a PhD in Economics?  

A PhD may not be for everyone, but it is for anyone—people of all genders, religions, ethnicities, races, and national origins have PhDs in economics. Many economists majored in economics, but others majored in math, physics, or chemistry. Because economics is such an integral part of policymaking, it is important that economists come from a wide range of backgrounds so policy can be stronger and more effective. The inclusion of differing perspectives helps ensure that the contribution of economists to work in public policy, academia, and beyond effectively serves the broadest range of society. 

• Coursework Appendix

Kasey Chatterji-Len is a research analyst in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Research and Statistics Group.

Anna Kovner  is the director of Financial Stability Policy Research in the Bank’s Research and Statistics Group.

How to cite this post: Kasey Chatterji-Len and Anna Kovner, “Thinking of Pursuing a PhD in Economics? Info on Graduate School and Beyond,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Liberty Street Economics , May 31, 2024, https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2024/05/thinking-of-pursuing-a-phd-in-economics-info-on-graduate-school-and-beyond/.

You may also be interested in: AEA: Resources for Students

PREDOC: Guidance for Undergraduates

RA Positions-Not at the NBER

Disclaimer The views expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or the Federal Reserve System. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the author(s).

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