nyu university phd programs

NYU Center for Data Science

Harnessing Data’s Potential for the World

PhD in Data Science

An NRT-sponsored program in Data Science

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Advances in computational speed and data availability, and the development of novel data analysis methods, have birthed a new field: data science. This new field requires a new type of researcher and actor: the rigorously trained, cross-disciplinary, and ethically responsible data scientist. Launched in Fall 2017, the pioneering CDS PhD Data Science program seeks to produce such researchers who are fluent in the emerging field of data science, and to develop a native environment for their education and training. The CDS PhD Data Science program has rapidly received widespread recognition and is considered among the top and most selective data science doctoral programs in the world. It has recently been recognized by the NSF through an NRT training grant.

The CDS PhD program model rigorously trains data scientists of the future who (1) develop methodology and harness statistical tools to find answers to questions that transcend the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines; (2) clearly communicate to extract crisp questions from big, heterogeneous, uncertain data; (3) effectively translate fundamental research insights into data science practice in the sciences, medicine, industry, and government; and (4) are aware of the ethical implications of their work.

Our programmatic mission is to nurture this new generation of data scientists, by designing and building a data science environment where methodological innovations are developed and translated successfully to domain applications, both scientific and social. Our vision is that combining fundamental research on the principles of data science with translational projects involving domain experts creates a virtuous cycle: Advances in data science methodology transform the process of discovery in the sciences, and enable effective data-driven governance in the public sector. At the same time, the demands of real-world translational projects will catalyze the creation of new data science methodologies. An essential ingredient of such methodologies is that they embed ethics and responsibility by design.

These objectives will be achieved by a combination of an innovative core curriculum, a novel data assistantship mechanism that provides training of skills transfer through rotations and internships, and communication and entrepreneurship modules. Students will be exposed to a wider range of fields than in more standard PhD programs while working with our interdisciplinary faculty. In particular, we are proud to offer a medical track for students eager to explore data science as applied to healthcare or to develop novel theoretical models stemming from medical questions.

In short, the CDS PhD Data Science program prepares students to become leaders in data science research and prepares them for outstanding careers in academia or industry. Successful candidates are guaranteed financial support in the form of tuition and a competitive stipend in the fall and spring semesters for up to five years.* We invite you to learn more through our webpage or by contacting  [email protected] .

*The Ph.D. program also offers students the opportunity to pursue their study and research with Data Science faculty based at NYU Shanghai. With this opportunity, students generally complete their coursework in New York City before moving full-time to Shanghai for their research. For more information, please visit the NYU Shanghai Ph.D. page .

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Doctor of Philosophy Teaching and Learning

Our doctorate aims to prepare first-rate scholars and practitioners. Your pathway is highly customizable, so you can tailor your degree to your specific career goals and interests in areas such as history, social studies, and global education; literacy education; mathematics education; early childhood and childhood education; science and environmental education; urban education; or special education.

Degree Details

Official degree title.

Doctor of Philosophy in Teaching and Learning

How You’ll Learn 

Because the development and completion of a dissertation depends on intensely individual interest and work, this PhD emphasizes the individual tailoring of your degree from the very beginning. We aim to suit the unique interests and experiences that you bring to the program and develop during your course of study.

Concentrations

Early Childhood and Childhood Education

Become a researcher or teacher educator dedicated to understanding children’s development and learning, and supporting them in their education.

History, Social Studies, and Global Education

Advance your knowledge and work with faculty members to conduct research and develop curricula that promote civic engagement.

Literacy Education

Work closely with faculty members to develop your research skills in language and literacy development, and apply that research to improve literacy instruction.

Mathematics Education

Learn strategies for designing and analyzing research studies in mathematics education while working closely with faculty on all aspects of the research process.

Science and Environmental Education

Develop your skills in research in science and environmental education and learn about current science pedagogy, teacher education, technology, and more.

Special Education

Develop expertise in special education policy, research, and practices as you collaborate with our faculty.

Urban Education

Advance your knowledge, work with faculty on research, and prepare to be an educational leader committed to scholarship and action in urban educational settings.

Online Info Session

In this session, NYU faculty share information about the PhD programs in the department of Teaching & Learning, including the PhD in Teaching & Learning, PhD in English Education, PhD in Bilingual Education, and PhD in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Faculty provide an overview of the programs and answer questions from potential applicants.  

Funding for Full-Time PhD Students

NYU Steinhardt offers a competitive funding package for PhD students who study full time.  Learn more about our funding opportunities .

Questions 

If you have any additional questions about our degree, please feel free to contact Jennifer Ruocco at [email protected] .

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Chemical Engineering, Ph.D.

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Chemical engineering is part of a rapidly expanding field that requires interdisciplinary engineers educated in both the molecular and medical sciences. For every discovery made in the health and industrial sectors, a chemical engineer finds a way to develop and implement it on a large scale.

The Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering program at the School of Engineering prepares you to fulfill that role. Our curriculum offers an advanced course of study to refine your research skills, and we teach you the problem-solving skills to surmount any problem along the way.

Our Ph.D. program in Chemical Engineering is designed to outfit you with expert knowledge of the field’s core fundamentals as well as the latest research in its subtopics. By doing so, we further your specialization beyond a master’s degree, helping you achieve superior competence in a minor topic within chemical engineering.

Admission Requirements

A BS degree in chemical engineering or a related field of science or engineering is generally required for admission to graduate study. If you earned a bachelor’s degree from a foreign institution, you must submit TOEFL scores. Submitting graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are optional. Applicants with degrees in other fields or from other colleges may be admitted with undergraduate or graduate deficiencies as evaluated by the graduate adviser. You will need to have had at least one course in differential equations.

Find out more about  Admission Requirements .

Urban Science Doctoral Track

Each doctoral candidate must complete a minimum of 75 credits of academic work past the bachelor’s degree, including a minimum of 36 credits of dissertation research, to complete the Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering program. A minimum of 30 graduate credits beyond the bachelor’s degree (not including Ph.D. dissertation and non-dissertation research credits) are required in chemical engineering or related subjects. Of the 30 credits, 12 are to be taken as part of the required graduate core courses in Chemical Engineering and 18 are taken as electives. For electives: at least 3 electives (9 credits) are to be chosen from approved CBE courses, 6000-level and above. The remaining electives need to be selected in consultation with and with the explicit approval from the chemical engineering graduate adviser. In addition to the required coursework, attendance is required at departmental colloquia.

Students must also pass a comprehensive qualifying examination in chemical engineering and present a doctoral dissertation. The qualifying exam is given once a year. Additional details on the qualifying examination will be provided by the graduate adviser.

To meet graduation requirements, students must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher, excluding dissertation credits, and must not obtain a grade of C or lower in more than two required core courses.

A student who has earned graduate level credits and/or been awarded an MS degree should consult with the graduate adviser for course registration and possible credit transfer.

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The rigorous Doctorate of Philosophy in Public Health program at GPH allows you to balance the theoretical with the practical; the innovation with the application. You’ll work side-by-side with and under the guidance of esteemed faculty from NYU’s global and interdisciplinary network on vanguard research and solutions to universal public health issues.

You’ll further tailor your studies by selecting one of four areas of study – Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Social & Behavioral Sciences, or Public Health Policy & Management – to gain the innovative approach and aptitude you need to prepare for a successful future in academia and/or research.

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Although the maximum allotted time you have to complete the degree is seven years, we expect most GPH doctoral students to complete their degree in four or five years. The sample timeline below assumes that you have completed the prerequisite courses  prior to entering into the doctoral program; if you have not, another year of coursework would be added to this timeline. 

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• Biostatistics

The Epidemiology concentration will deepen your understanding and application of advanced data analytic techniques and research methodology, taking at least three courses in these disciplines. You’ll also identify a specialization area (e.g. chronic disease epidemiology, mental health epidemiology, etc.) and take a minimum of two courses in this specialization area.

Learn more about the courses you’ll take in the Epidemiology concentration.  

The Social and Behavioral concentration prepares individuals to use social science and behavioral theory and an array of methodological approaches to understand and address the social and behavioral determinants of health and illness on the population level. The curriculum provides students with rigorous training in foundational social and behavioral theory, quantitative and qualitative research methods and intervention and implementation science. Upon completion of the program, graduates will be equipped to conduct independent scholarly research in academic and research settings and translate that knowledge to solve pressing contemporary public health challenges.

Learn more about the courses you’ll take in the Social & Behavioral Sciences concentration.

The Public Health Policy and Management concentration prepares students to: (1) apply appropriate research methods to analyze health policy and management issues and questions, (2) synthesize evidence to guide policymaking and assess public policies and programs that promote population health and health equity, and (3) assess different theoretical perspectives in management and apply these ideas to the identification, analysis and understanding of critical themes and issues in health care and public health. The PHPM PhD concentration builds on doctoral-level methods, policy and management courses offered at Wagner and Stern, combined with PhD-level public health policy and management as well as health services and policy research courses offered at the School of Global Public Health.

Learn more about the courses you’ll take in the Public Health Policy & Management concentration.

The Biostatistics concentration prepares students for careers in which they will develop and apply statistical methods to advance research in public health and biomedical sciences. The program is designed to train students to be independent scholars in the theory, methodology, and application of biostatistics. The program includes classroom learning, training in consulting and scientific collaboration, and mentored independent research. Dissertation research will typically be motivated by important problems in public health that require novel statistical methods for design or analysis. Upon completion students will have gained a broad foundation in statistical computing, public health sciences, and learned to communicate effectively with biostatisticians and scientists from other disciplines.

Learn more about the courses you’ll take in the Biostatistics concentration.

View the PhD Program Handbook

Are you ready to start creating pioneering solutions to some of global health’s most demanding issues with venerated faculty from around the world apply to the phd in public health today.

PHD in Public Administration

Interdisciplinary. Flexible. Powerful.

Through theoretical and methodological training, NYU Wagner's doctoral students learn how to produce insights required for effective and equitable public and nonprofit programs and policies. Our program is interdisciplinary, just like our faculty, so students can draw on economics, political science, sociology, psychology, organization studies, and other fields. What's more, it is flexible, allowing students to design a plan of study that takes advantage of the many courses offered at NYU Wagner and NYU's other graduate schools.

We encourage students to study the questions that drive them, while providing the guidance necessary to have the greatest impact. And, we emphasize research and teaching experience. Students have many opportunities to participate in research projects with individual faculty or through our affiliated research centers, as well as opportunities to lead classes as teaching colleagues and instructors.

Students interested in conducting research in these areas are encouraged to apply:

• Education policy
• Health policy
• International development
• Public finance and financial management
• Public policy
• Urban policy

The program prepares graduates for careers at academic institutions, in think tanks, research firms, and research units of public, quasi-public, and private organizations, as well as for other positions with substantial responsibilities for the supervision and administration of research.

If you have questions about the PhD program, please contact [email protected] . 

Doctoral Admissions Financial Support Request More Information

Why Should One Pursue a PhD?

Professor Brian Elbel explains the many personal and professional reasons why a PhD may be a good fit for some students and may not be a good fit for others.

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Ph.D. Program in Mathematics

Degree requirements.

A candidate for the Ph.D. degree in mathematics must fulfill a number of different departmental requirements.

NYU Shanghai Ph.D. Track

The Ph.D. program also offers students the opportunity to pursue their study and research with Mathematics faculty based at NYU Shanghai. With this opportunity, students generally complete their coursework in New York City before moving full-time to Shanghai for their dissertation research. For more information, please visit the  NYU Shanghai Ph.D. page .

Sample course schedules (Years 1 and 2) for students with a primary interest in:

Applied Math (Math Biology, Scientific Computing, Physical Applied Math, etc.)

Additional information for students interested in studying applied math is available here .

Probability

PDE/Analysis

The Written Comprehensive Examination

The examination tests the basic knowledge required for any serious mathematical study. It consists of the three following sections: Advanced Calculus, Complex Variables, and Linear Algebra. The examination is given on three consecutive days, twice a year, in early September and early January. Each section is allotted three hours and is written at the level of a good undergraduate course. Samples of previous examinations are available in the departmental office. Cooperative preparation is encouraged, as it is for all examinations. In the fall term, the Department offers a workshop, taught by an advanced Teaching Assistant, to help students prepare for the written examinations.

Entering students with a solid preparation are encouraged to consider taking the examination in their first year of full-time study. All students must take the examinations in order to be allowed to register for coursework beyond 36 points of credit; it is recommended that students attempt to take the examinations well before this deadline. Graduate Assistants are required to take the examinations during their first year of study.

For further details, consult the page on the written comprehensive exams .

The Oral Preliminary Examination

This examination is usually (but not invariably) taken after two years of full-time study. The purpose of the examination is to determine if the candidate has acquired sufficient mathematical knowledge and maturity to commence a dissertation. The phrase "mathematical knowledge" is intended to convey rather broad acquaintance with the basic facts of mathematical life, with emphasis on a good understanding of the simplest interesting examples. In particular, highly technical or abstract material is inappropriate, as is the rote reproduction of information. What the examiners look for is something a little different and less easy to quantify. It is conveyed in part by the word "maturity." This means some idea of how mathematics hangs together; the ability to think a little on one's feet; some appreciation of what is natural and important, and what is artificial. The point is that the ability to do successful research depends on more than formal learning, and it is part of the examiners' task to assess these less tangible aspects of the candidate's preparation.

The orals are comprised of a general section and a special section, each lasting one hour, and are conducted by two different panels of three faculty members. The examination takes place three times a year: fall, mid-winter and late spring. Cooperative preparation of often helpful and is encouraged. The general section consists of five topics, one of which may be chosen freely. The other four topics are determined by field of interest, but often turn out to be standard: complex variables, real variables, ordinary differential equations, and partial differential equations. Here, the level of knowledge that is expected is equivalent to that of a one or two term course of the kind Courant normally presents. A brochure containing the most common questions on the general oral examination, edited by Courant students, is available at the Department Office.

The special section is usually devoted to a single topic at a more advanced level and extent of knowledge. The precise content is negotiated with the candidate's faculty advisor. Normally, the chosen topic will have a direct bearing on the candidate's Ph.D. dissertation.

All students must take the oral examinations in order to be allowed to register for coursework beyond 60 points of credit. It is recommended that students attempt the examinations well before this deadline.

The Dissertation Defense

The oral defense is the final examination on the student's dissertation. The defense is conducted by a panel of five faculty members (including the student's advisor) and generally lasts one to two hours. The candidate presents his/her work to a mixed audience, some expert in the student's topic, some not. Often, this presentation is followed by a question-and-answer period and mutual discussion of related material and directions for future work.

Summer Internships and Employment

The Department encourages Ph.D. students at any stage of their studies, including the very early stage, to seek summer employment opportunities at various government and industry facilities. In the past few years, Courant students have taken summer internships at the National Institute of Health, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and NASA, as well as Wall Street firms. Such opportunities can greatly expand students' understanding of the mathematical sciences, offer them possible areas of interest for thesis research, and enhance their career options. The Director of Graduate Studies and members of the faculty (and in particular the students' academic advisors) can assist students in finding appropriate summer employment.

Mentoring and Grievance Policy

For detailed information, consult the page on the Mentoring and Grievance Policy .

Visiting Doctoral Students

Information about spending a term at the Courant Institute's Department of Mathematics as a visiting doctoral student is available on the Visitor Programs  page.

Achieving both scholarly eminence in research and the highest levels of pedagogical impact in the classroom and beyond are what makes a research university truly great. Practical resources that foster the enhancement of teaching and learning may be found here. 

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The Center for Faculty Advancement is devoted to faculty support and dev­elop­ment—from recruit­ment to career ad­vance­ment—through­out the faculty life cycle, fostering both individual scholars and the academic community at large by enhancing research and teaching excellence, and promoting public engagement with the world outside of NYU.

Teaching Advancement Grant

NYU's Teaching Advancement Grant aims to help faculty members undertake projects that will enhance student learning and promote innovative teaching practice. The program works to increase classroom impact across NYU, and potentially other universities, by developing measurable, evidence-based, and effective classroom practices capable of improving student learning in a variety of contexts.

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NYU offers numerous opportunities for faculty to get involved with NYU's global network across the three degree-granting campuses and 12 global sites. Faculty have access to an unparalleled range of international and multi-disciplinary opportunities for research, teaching, and scholarly collaboration.

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Northeastern University and Marymount Manhattan College to merge, giving Boston school foothold in NYC

N ortheastern University is expanding to the Big Apple where it will open its fourteenth campus, to be called “Northeastern University — New York City,” officials announced Wednesday.

Northeastern’s newest campus is the result of a merger with Marymount Manhattan College , a private liberal arts school with a thriving performing arts program on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

“We are differentiating ourselves at a time of great uncertainty in higher education,” Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun said Wednesday in a letter to the university community announcing the merger.

“As always, our guiding principles for building the global university system remain,” Aoun said. “Enhanced mobility for undergraduates; industry-aligned lifelong learning opportunities; and unparalleled opportunities for faculty to globalize their teaching and research.”

The merger has been approved by governing boards at the university and the college. The agreement is subject to state and federal regulatory approval.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Northeastern will assume all of Marymount’s assets and liabilities.

“MMC has a desirable location for students, high-quality academics, and deep connections to the New York City arts and theater ecosystem,” according to a statement issued Wednesday by the merging schools.

Marymount’s campus at 221 E. 71st St. includes 55 teaching spaces and two dormitories with 750 beds. Thirty-two additional floors of student housing are located at the 55th Street Residence Hall.

Marymount was established in 1936 and offers 34 undergraduate majors, including entrepreneurship, behavioral neuroscience, biotechnology, and environmental studies. The college has about 1,400 undergraduate students.

Concerns about dropping enrollment and the challenges faced by small colleges in the United States prompted the college’s board of trustees to explore options “with the goal of preserving the college’s educational mission,” according to the statement.

Approximately one college closes every week in the nation, the statement said.

Marymount’s board voted unanimously to pursue the merger with Northeastern, the statement said.

“We are very excited to establish this connection based on our shared values,” the college’s interim president, Peter Naccarato, said in the statement.

“MMC and Northeastern are natural partners,” Naccarato said. “The institutions reflect each other in many ways, including how we foster meaningful engagements with our communities and create opportunities for our students to take advantage of the resources of world-class cities to find an edge in career and life.”

Aoun said Marymount’s “foresight and dedication to the well-being of their students is both admirable and increasingly necessary as the higher education landscape continues to shift.”

When the merger is completed, Marymount students and faculty will gain access to Northeastern’s global university system that includes campuses in the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as well as experiential learning programs in 149 countries.

Northeastern students and faculty will be able to take advantage of programs “anchored to a campus in the financial and media capital of the world,” the statement said.

Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, the largest higher education advocacy organization in the country, hailed the merger as a “win-win” for both schools and “the students they serve.”

“This merger exemplifies the innovation and creativity happening across the diverse landscape of American higher education, as colleges and universities seek new and creative pathways that enable them to spur student success and enhance institutional capacity,” Mitchell said in the statement.

After the merger, current Marymount students will continue as Northeastern students. They will not incur tuition or fee increases (apart from customary annual increases), according to the statement.

Marymount’s full-time faculty will become Northeastern faculty with one year contracts. They will be considered for available tenured and non-tenure positions. All Marymount staff will become Northeastern employees.

Northeastern, established in 1898, has about 22,000 undergraduate students at its campuses in Boston, London, and Oakland, Calif. Another 20,000 students are enrolled in professional graduate programs, according to the statement.

Northeastern campuses in Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, Miami, Silicon Valley, Charlotte, N.C., Arlington, Va., and Portland, Maine, prioritize graduate and professional master’s programs.

Campuses in Burlington and Nahant are home to Northeastern’s Marine Science Center, which focuses on research.

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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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