Graduate Studies
Welcome/Introduction (Continued...)
We are extremely interested in having current undergraduate students join our program as Master’s degree students. All of our M.A. students now enroll in our Ph.D. stream Master’s program and are treated identically in all respects as our Ph.D. students. We have found that talented undergraduate students perform well academically and quickly appreciate the wide variety of benefits that come from being enrolled in a true Ph.D. stream M.A. program (e.g., benefits related to the learning environment, funding, office space, and time-to-completion of a Ph.D.). However, it is important to stress that entering our Ph.D. stream MA program does not represent a commitment to pursuing a Ph.D. at UWO or at all. Indeed, we believe that a valuable aspect of our Ph.D. stream MA program is that it helps students learn whether it makes sense for them to pursue a Ph.D. after receiving their Master’s degree.
More generally, we have a strong desire to bring in talented students from a variety of backgrounds. As always, we are very interested in having current MA students in Economics enter our program as Ph.D. students. In addition, we have made changes to our program to allow talented students with strong quantitative backgrounds in fields such as Mathematics, Physics, and Engineering to pursue an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics even if they have no previous Economics background.
We are looking for current undergraduate and Master’s students who are excited by the prospect of learning economics in a rigorous program and like the idea of being part of a close-knit, active community. Our program is challenging - indeed, this is very natural given that our faculty are extremely active and believe that a rigorous program is necessary in order to prepare students to do leading-edge research and obtain quality job placements. At the same time, our program also reflects our strong belief that students benefit greatly from a supportive environment in which they quickly form relationships with other students and faculty and are encouraged to immediately begin discussing economic ideas outside the classroom.
Rankings
- 1st in Canada: Graduate placement in economic
departments.
Rabah and Knauff. 2008. "Ranking Economics Departments Worldwide on the Basis of PHD Placement." Review of Economics and Statistics, 90(1), pp. 185-90. - 1st in Canada: Research
publication average relative impact factor
Canadian University Publications 2006: University Profiles. Toronto: Research Infosource Inc.
Our three week first-year summer orientation session provides an informative snapshot of our views about graduate education. With respect to the classroom portion of the summer session, we now offer separate review courses in micro, macro, math, and econometrics with these courses being taught by some of our best faculty members. With respect to other academic content in the summer session, an innovative addition to the program has been our book discussion club which encourages faculty and students to discuss Economic books usually written for the lay audience. Finally, the summer session includes a variety of enjoyable social activities that allow students to form close relationships with each other and to immediately become comfortable with our faculty. These activities have included the traditional first-night student/faculty cookout on campus, the now traditional party at the graduate director's house, Friday happy hours at our graduate bar, a putt-putt golf outing, and a student beach trip.
More generally, we believe that the benefits of this type of interactive environment extend well beyond the beginning of the first year. As a result, the types of activities that we offer in the summer session continue after the summer session. Perhaps our most popular tradition is the student/faculty Friday happy hour which provides a weekly, informal setting for students and faculty to interact. Many other formal and impromptu social events involving students and faculty also arise throughout the year including the fall hike and fall party.
In the end, the strongest endorsement that we can give for our program is that we have worked hard to implement the type of learning environment that we would find desirable if we were students. We hope you are interested in learning more about whether our program might be a particularly good fit for you.
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