Graduate Program

Introduction and Overview

The Economics Department's highly regarded doctoral program enrolls about 22 students each year. The program was ranked as the best economics Ph.D. program in the United States in the most recent National Research Council study and was also ranked as tied for first by U.S. News and World Report. More than 65 percent of the Department's Ph.D. candidates obtain their degrees in five years or less. Doctoral students take required courses in microeconomic theory, macroeconomics, econometrics, and economic history. Students are also expected to complete four fields in economics (two major and two minor) and to pass general examinations in their major fields. The field options include public finance, industrial organization, international economics, monetary economics, labor economics, economic history, economic development, econometrics, financial economics, and advanced theory.

Graduate study at MIT consists of more than satisfying course requirements. Every major field has a weekly research workshop as well as a weekly faculty-student lunch. Faculty and students discuss research ideas at the informal lunches, while the workshops provide a more formal setting for discussion. Fall workshop schedules typically include many students introducing the research papers that they plan to present on the job market.

Graduates of the Ph.D. program teach in leading economics departments and business schools. They work on congressional staffs and government advisory councils studying economic, environmental, regulatory, and scientific policy, and with organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the National Economic Council, the Council of Economic Advisers, the Federal Reserve, and the Treasury Department.

Graduate Research

Graduate students work closely with faculty to learn the craft of research. This is particularly evident in empirical research, where information on data sets, research strategy, and econometric tools is often passed on informally rather than in a classroom setting. Tonja Bowen, who studied at Brigham Young University before coming to MIT, and Hui Shan, who attended FuDan University in Shanghai and the University of Michigan before beginning the MIT Ph.D. program, are working with Associate Department Head James Poterba on a range of issues involving the economics of retirement saving. Tonja is working with a large sample of defined benefit pension plans for U.S. employers to compare the risks associated with traditional defined benefit pension plans with the risks in defined contribution plans. Hui is analyzing the market for individual annuities, and how insurance companies decide what information to collect from potential policyholders and how to use that information in setting insurance rates. Both projects have the potential to offer important insights on the prospective retirement experience of the Baby Boom cohort.

"Field Lunches"
A key component of the dissertation advising system at MIT is a set of weekly "field lunches" at which students who have passed their general exams try out new research ideas. The presentations can range from very early stage research, hardly more than a literature review and a few ideas for future work, to nearly-complete dissertation projects. The informality of these workshops makes it possible for students to explore research topics in a setting where no one is expected to present finished work. Faculty members view attending field lunches as a central departmental responsibility.

Many past graduates of MIT's Ph.D. program report that field lunches were invaluable in providing them with a sounding board for new research topics. Since most thesis writers volunteer to present a talk each semester, the field lunches also have the important benefit of setting near-term, but managable, deadlines for dissertation progress.

All students who have passed their general examinations are required to attend at least one field lunch each week and to make a presentation in at least one lunch during the course of the year. Many students present their research in multiple workshops, and thereby obtain a range of different faculty and student input. First and second year students who are carrying out research are also welcome to participate in these workshops.

The Program

The graduate program in Economics at MIT began in 1937. Since the addition of a Ph.D. program in 1941, it has grown to its present size of 129 full-time students and 35 faculty members. Its major emphasis is on the training of doctoral candidates in a broad program of advanced study and research for professional careers in universities or colleges, in public and private research and consulting organizations, and in financial institutions and other private businesses. The demands on a professional economist are such that the depth and breadth of the doctoral program have become indispensable training for a professional career. The Department of Economics, therefore, admits to full-time graduate study only candidates for the Ph.D. In order to maintain a close and continuing contact between students and faculty, the Department restricts the size of each incoming class. This year's class of 25 will include 12 international students and 10 women.

MIT operates on the semester system. The fall term, including examinations, ends before winter vacation. In January, during Independent Activities Period, there are no regular classes. This permits students the freedom to write papers and to attend special lectures, seminars, or colloquia organized by students and faculty. It also allows students to pursue their own research interests. The spring term runs from February through May.