What are the best economics schools for undergrad and then graduate school?
I am currently a student at UW-Madison, which is very highly regarded school nationally. The only problem is all my professors are Keynesian.
For undergraduate, I think the list would be topped by such instutitions as Princeton, Harvard, MIT, University of Chicago and Stanford. It kind of makes me sad, because my university isn’t even considered in any rankings, which will make my mission to go to a good graduate school all the more difficult.
Do those all have some of the most Austrian economics professors? Because I think that is what he is asking, is what are the best Austrian economics schools.
For what purpose? At any top-ranked undergrad institution, you will have Keynesian professors. Even at Mason you’ll be taught primarily neoclassical thought in the undergrad program. If you want an Austrian undergraduate education (not a bad idea if you minor or second major in math so that you can get into grad school and do well there) the only places I know of in the US are Grove City and Loyola New Orleans. Neither has a grad program, although I’ve heard for years that Grove City will start one. For grad school, GMU is well known, but the best option, in my opinion, is to get a good Austrian undergrad education, with a lot of math, then go to a mainstream grad school, although hopefully one with at least one Austrian willing to work with you. Or you can choose an area of economics where Austrians are more accepted, such as history of economic thought. So I’d say go to Grove City or Loyola, double major in economics and math, then go to the best grad school that will pay you.
Well I am going to stay here at Madison, get an economics degree with a math minor. Madison is supposably top 10 in the country (but I think that is debatable). My main question is for graduate school, where should I be looking?
I have heard about George Mason (it’d be nice to work with Walter Williams). What about University of Chicago, Northwestern, Stanford, etc?
I plan on becoming a economics professor if that helps.
In general, if you want a job at a top school, with time to do research, you want to go to the best grad school that offers you funding. All the schools you mention fit the bill. Like in college, you’ll have a lot of Keynesian professors (right wing Keynesians mostly at Chicago.) If you want to study Austrian economics in grad school, Mason is your best bet, but it won’t do wonders for you on the job market.
Just ace the GRE exam… get 800 on the Quantitative section and 640 on the Verbal.. Then the world is your oyster. Pick the best Grad school that will take you.
World rankings are here.
Right wing Keynesians? I thought conservatives were mainly Supply Side, or are we talking neoconservatives, war-economy types or Christian Democrat types?
Most professors are Keynesian. It is a fact of life unfortunately.
There are two common mistakes people make: Supply-side is not a school of economic analysis, it is a set of policy recommendations. Keynesianism, on the other hand, is not a policy recommendation, it is a school of economic analysis, although obviously one can use that analysis to come up with (bad) advice. If someone tells you he wants to cut takes, because he believes that will increase government revenue, and then the government can use that revenue (obtained along with decreasing the drag on the economy) to stimulate the economy even further, what type of analysis is he relying on?
Yeah, they’re called Keynesians. The term Keynesian has many different meanings today, and almost none of them have to do with Keynes’ body of work. You have Post Keynesians, New Keynesians, and Neo Keynesians . There are many anti-Keynes Keynesians in the media (Kudlow), intellectual scene and government.
Hey guys, would just like to update everyone.
I am just about to finish the 1st semester of my junior year.
The top of my graduate list are George Mason, NYU, and Chicago. I might consider going to a master’s program first, which San Jose State and Auburn would top the list.
Any more help would be greatly appreciated.
What have you heard about San Jose State’s program? I’m curious because I live about 10 minutes away from San Jose state. I’m currently just in the JC system at Foothill here in Los Altos but I’ve found their a lot of pro-Schiff / Paul professors here. Some seemed convinced that Schiff isn’t an Austrian but a mixture of classical and keynesian.
I don’t know any personally, but I have heard there are a few professors who were educated at George Mason.
Is there econ program worthwhile?
Supply Siders are Keynesians.
The big ones are: Princeton, Harvard, MIT, LSE.
Other notables: Chicago, Stanford, Michigan, Yale, Columbia.
I’m at Harvard right now for grad school. I can tell you that if you want to study economics at the university level then you have to be interested in learning material that you don’t agree with and don’t want to learn. Most of what you’ll learn at the university level is useless, but that’s the name of the game. Don’t try to argue with your professors. If you have a bone to pick, then just use the Socratic Method and ask questions. If you want to get a comprehensive grasp of AE then just study the material (available for free!) in the mises.org database.
The only reason to get a degree in economics is if you want to teach, and for that, you’ll need a PhD.
I want to be a teacher for sure, maybe write a few books too.
I don’t know if I can afford Harvard, Yale, etc… unless I get a lot of help from them financially.
I will keep revisiting this thread for help and advice.