PH D Application

Graduate Studies Abroad1
aatay Kay
Universidad del Rosario
4 August 2015
1
These slides are based on suggestions for applying to graduate schools in economics at Susan Atheys website,
Georgetown Universitys website, and a presentation in Universidad de Los Andes titled Orientacin Posgrados en
el Exterior.
. Kay
Graduate Studies Abroad
1/39
Piled Higher and Deeper by Jorge Cham
www.phdcomics.com
title: "Post-Bachelors Disorder" - originally published 9/30/2002
2/39
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A Decision for Life

I Ph.D. (Doctorate of Philosophy) degree vs. Masters degree.
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A Decision for Life

I Ph.D. (Doctorate of Philosophy) degree vs. Masters degree.
I Which program? Economics, Finance, Public Policy, Environmental
Economics, MBA, or MPA etc.
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Ph.D. degree vs. Masters degree

I A plan for life: 5 years (or up to 8 years) vs. 2 years.
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www.phdcomics.com
title: "I should be done in..." - originally published 9/15/2008
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I Main difference is the research output.
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I Types of work:
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I Types of work:
I
Professor / Researcher: Ph.D. degree.
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I Types of work:
I
Government: Ph.D. degree or Masters degree.
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I Types of work:
I
Private Sector: Masters degree.
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I Types of work:
I
Private Sector: Masters degree.
Some private sectors prefer Ph.D. degree such as consultancy

firms, research groups in private banks, etc.
5/39
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Rankings
Y la Plata?
Some data about Ph.D. degree in Economics

Stock, Finegan,
and Siegfried,
Ph.D.
Caractersticas
deAER,
los2006.
Programa
7 / 26
Characteristics of the 586 students in the entering class of fall 2002.

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Proceso de Aplicacin
Rankings
Y la Plata?
Ph.D. Tasas de Desercin

Attrition Rates in Ph.D. degree in Economics
Stock, Finegan, and Siegfried, AER, 2006.
The 27 programs produced 42% of the Ph.D.s issued by U.S. programs awarding at
least Stock,
one degree
from
to 2001.
programs
are en
overrepresented:
22
Finegan
and 1998
Siegfried,
AER,Higher-ranked
2006. 586 estudiantes
entrando
2002, 27 proof thegramas
27 areque
among
the top-rated
programs.
representan
el 42 por48
ciento
de los Ph.D.s entregados entre 1998 y 2001.
Muestra sobre-representa a los programas mejor rankeados.
8 / 26
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Rankings
Y la Plata?
Predicting Attrition
Ph.D. Prediciendo tasas de Desercin
Stock, Finegan and Siegfried, AER, 2006.
9/
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Una decisin de vida

Algunos Datos Sobre el Doctorado en Economa
Rankings
Y la Plata?
Ph.D.
Duracin
Promedio
TimetoDegree
in Economics
Stock, Finegan and Siegfried, AER, 2011. Mismos 586 estudiantes pero esta vez
observados hasta el 2010. Al 2010 37 por ciento desertaron.
10 / 26
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PhD Program Attrition and Completion Rates

VOL. 101 NO. 3
COMPLETION RATES AND TIME-TO-DEGREE IN ECONOMICS PHD PROGRAMS
177
Table 1PhD Program Attrition and Completion Rates, by Program Rank

Tier
(1)
Program rank
16
Number of programs
3
Number of entering students, fall 2002
103
13.6
First- and second-year attrition rate (percentage)
5.8
Third- through eighth-year attrition rate (percentage)
19.4
Total eight-year attrition rate (percentage)
33.0
Five-year completion rate (percentage)
Sixth- through eighth-year completion rate (percentage) 41.7
74.8
Total eight-year completion rate (percentage)
5.8
Still in program rate (percentage)
(2)
(3)
(4)
715
6
149
17.4
9.4
26.8
31.5
39.6
71.1
2.0
1630
7
141
32.6
10.6
43.3
26.2
28.4
54.6
2.1
3148
6
127
39.4
7.1
46.5
23.6
25.2
48.8
4.7
(5)
>48
5
66
37.9
15.2
53.0
16.7
18.2
34.8
12.1
Total
27
586
27.5
9.2
36.7
27.1
31.7
58.9
4.4
Notes: Attrition, still in program, and completion rates are all calculated relative to the original population of entering students
(N = 586) and are reported as percentages. Numbers in bold indicate that the rate is statistically different from the rate for the
rest of the sample at the 0.05 significance level (two-tailed tests).
out, 93 percent had their degree in hand after

eight years. If 75 percent of the remaining 26
students eventually earn their degree, the final
completion rate for the entering PhD class of fall
2002 will be 62 percent. This is 12 percentage
points higher than the 50 percent completion
rate for economics PhDs reported by William
G. Bowen and Neil L. Rudenstine (1992)
. Kay
for cohorts entering nine leading economics
economics from a different university, more

than 62 percent of our entering cohort will eventually hold a PhD in economics. After taking
transfers into account, we estimate that close to
two-thirds of all fall 2002 entrants will eventually earn a PhD in economics somewhere.1
In sharp contrast with the pattern of completion rates after eight years of study, five-year
Graduate Studies
completion
rates atAbroad
the tier 1 and 2 programs
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Rankings
Y la Plata?
Ph.D.
Prediciendo
Finalizacin
Stock, Finegan,
and Siegfried,
AER, 2006.
Predicting Completion
observados hasta el 2010.
. Kay
11 / 26
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Y la Plata?
Predicting Completion
Ph.D. Prediciendo Finalizacin
observados hasta el 2010.
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12 / 26
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Final Comments
Finally, the relatively few successful objective predictors of student success

point to the larger role played by letters of recommendation and students
essays and transcripts in admissions decisions. It appears that much of the
eventual success of students who enroll in economics PhD programs is simply
unknowable a priori.
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Una decisin de vida

Rankings
Y la Plata?
Composition of Graduate Studies

Caractersticas de los Programas II (Ph.D. y Mster)
American Economic Association Universal Academic Questionnaire
Summary Statistics, 2012.
American Economic Association Universal Academic Questionnaire Summary Statistics 2012.
14 / 26
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The Procedure
I Choosing programs and universities.
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The Procedure
I Asking professors for recommendation letters.
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The Procedure
I Taking the exams: GRE, TOEFL latest in October.
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The Procedure
I Online application: Statement of purpose (SoP) and application forms
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The Procedure
I The package: Recommendation (reference) letters, official grades from
the university (transcripts), diplomas, and other necessary documents.
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The Procedure
I The package: Recommendation (reference) letters, official grades from
the university (transcripts), diplomas, and other necessary documents.

I The deadlines: For USA, December 15th January 15th. For Europe, it
is a little bit later.
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General Suggestions
I Know yourself.
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General Suggestions
I Know yourself.
I Know your professors (especially the ones that you will ask reference
letters).
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General Suggestions
I Know yourself.
letters).
I Learn mathematics: Structural Mathematics, Real Analysis, Topology
etc. (especially for Ph.D.).
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General Suggestions
I Know yourself.
letters).

I Learn academic writing in English.
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General Suggestions
I Know yourself.
letters).

I Learn LaTEX.
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General Suggestions
I Know yourself.
letters).

I Learn LaTEX.
I Learn basic Stata, Mathlab, Gauss etc.
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General Suggestions
I Know yourself.
letters).

I Learn LaTEX.
I Go to the faculty seminars at Rosario or at Los Andes or at Nacional etc.
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General Suggestions
I Know yourself.
letters).

I Learn LaTEX.
I Study well for GRE and TOEFL.
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General Suggestions
I Know yourself.
letters).

I Learn LaTEX.
I Apply a group of universities (depending on your budget but the
average is between 10-15, minimum 5-6 departments). Any top 100

university is worthwhile to study in.
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General Suggestions
I Know yourself.
letters).

I Learn LaTEX.
I Apply a group of universities (depending on your budget but the
average is between 10-15, minimum 5-6 departments). Any top 100

university is worthwhile to study in.
I Talk to visiting professors. If you can, get summer schools in Rosario or
in Los Andes to get the reference letters of professors from abroad.
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Know yourself
Your answers to the following may supply some hints about your motivations for
entering graduate school:
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Know yourself
Your answers to the following may supply some hints about your motivations for
entering graduate school:
I Does living on a small stipend for 4-5 years while studying most of the time
repulse you?
I Do you enjoy writing term papers?
I Does the idea of giving verbal presentations of academic material in front of
large and small groups of very bright people bother you?
I Do you get very interested in answering some questions?
I Do you like to study, and can you do so without direction or assignments from
anyone else?
I Do you dislike library research?
I Are there other careers besides being a researcher that you would like to pursue?
I Do you like the idea of doing research?
I Do you dislike working for a long time on one topic?
I Do you realize that, given the opportunity cost a Ph.D., a MBA or MPA would be
a much better financial investment?
I Do you have the interest and motivation to succeed in a doctoral program? Are
you sincerely excited about your field?
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Know yourself
www.phdcomics.com
title: "The Grad Student Brain" - originally published 10/6/2010
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Know your professors (especially the ones that you will ask reference letters)
I Recommendations which are not from economists have very little value.
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I Recommendations from economists who have contacts at the schools you are
applying to are most useful.
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I However, one letter from someone you have worked for after undergrad may be
useful to document your work ethic, maturity, etc.
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I Get recommendations from people who know you well.
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I Professors will be very excited that you want to get a Ph.D. in economics. Do not
be afraid to approach them. Listen to their advice.
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I Give professors every possible opportunity to say they do not feel comfortable
recommending you to the school you are applying to.
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I Give professors every possible opportunity to say they do not feel comfortable
recommending you to the school you are applying to.
I If they express any hesitation, do not have them send it. One bad letter hurts
much more than any good letters can help.
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Know your professors (especially the ones that you will ask reference letters
from)
Professors will be very excited that you want to get a Ph.D. in economics. Do not be
afraid to approach them.
www.phdcomics.com
title: "Average time spent writing one e-mail" - originally published 7/25/2008
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Choosing Classes
I Graduate schools care much more about what hard classes youve taken and
how youve done in them than about overall GPA.
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Choosing Classes
I If you have taken difficult classes its probably a good idea to point this out in
your application essay because schools might not know what the math classes
are, which economics classes are the advanced ones, etc.
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Choosing Classes
I Real analysis is an especially important class because it tends to be demanding
everywhere, and forces you to do logical and formal proofs. Get a good grade in
this class.
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Choosing Classes
this class.
I Take courses that are demanding.
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Choosing Classes
this class.
I By taking courses, you could start learning LaTEX, Gauss, Stata, Mathlab, etc.
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Choosing Classes
this class.
I Improve your spoken and written English.
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Choosing Classes
this class.
I Improve your spoken and written English.
I Summer courses.
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Choosing Classes
Learn mathematics!
www.phdcomics.com
title: "Your Math Skills" - originally published 8/13/2010
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Application Essays - Statement of Purpose

I On your graduate school application, it is very important to write an essay
saying what kinds of areas of economics you are interested in, what questions
you think are interesting, what papers you have read that you have liked etc.
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I Be as specific as possible. It may be helpful to discuss your thesis or research
assistant work.
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assistant work.
I It is not necessary to have a specific thesis proposal, and odds are if you try to
pretend you have one when you really do not you will come off as sounding
naive which is a bad thing.
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assistant work.
I It is not necessary to have a specific thesis proposal, and odds are if you try to
pretend you have one when you really do not you will come off as sounding
naive which is a bad thing.
I Mostly schools just read these to see what field you are interested in and to get a
sense whether you have any idea what you are getting yourself into.
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www.phdcomics.com
title: "Demonstration" - originally published 9/14/2011
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I Get someone to read your essays, preferably an advanced graduate student or a
faculty member.
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faculty member.
I See here for more information about the graduate admissions essays.
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faculty member.
I For some examples of SoPs, you could reach here.
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faculty member.
I For some examples of SoPs, you could reach here.
I A forum to improve your essay with other users at here.
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www.phdcomics.com
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Application Timing
I As long as it is in by the deadline, it does not matter if you apply earlier.
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Application Timing
I As long as it is in by the deadline, it does not matter if you apply earlier.
I It is an advantage to have your folder be complete very soon after the
deadline, which means making sure your recommenders get their

letters in.
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GRE Scores
I Though the test is not necessarily a good predictor of success, it matters
a lot (especially the quantitative portion).
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GRE Scores

I Studying for the GRE dramatically increases your scores so you should
definitely practice.
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GRE Scores

I Studying for the GRE dramatically increases your scores so you should
definitely practice.
I The Economics GRE does not usually count for much, but it does give a
chance for people who havent taken much economics to make a

positive impression.
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Where to Apply
I If you are well-qualified, you should apply to all of the top-ranked economics
departments (e.g. MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Chicago, Yale, Berkeley),
and several backup schools, depending on the strength of your record.
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Where to Apply
I If you have a somewhat weaker record, there are lots of good graduate programs
out there, but you need to shop more carefully for schools that have well-known
advisors or have recently been investing a lot in graduate students.
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Where to Apply
I You need to do a lot of homework, and talk to lots of faculty members about
good places to apply.
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Rankings
I There are many rankings about the economics departments.
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Rankings
I U.S. News Rankings.
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Rankings
I EconPhD Rankings with respect to subdisciplines and topics.
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Rankings
I EconPhD Rankings with respect to subdisciplines and topics.
I Many other resources in AEAs website.
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Rankings
I Tier 1: Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Berkeley,
UPenn, NYU, Northwestern.

I Tier 2: San Diego, Minnesota, Columbia, UCLA, Wisconsin, Michigan,
UCL, LSE, Rochester, Oxford.

I Tier 3: Duke, Brown, Maryland, Carnegie Mellon, Boston, Toulouse,
Cornell, CalTech, Johns Hopkins, Cambridge.
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Rankings in terms of Placement

I Tier 1: Harvard, MIT, Chicago, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, Berkeley,
Oxford, Minnesota.
I Tier 2: Northwestern, LSE, UPenn, Carnegie Mellon, Rochester, UCLA,
Wisconsin, Michigan, Duke .

I Tier 3: Cambridge, NYU, Columbia, CalTech, San Diego, Penn State,
Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Brown, UCL .
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John P. Conley and Ali Sina nder
211
Conley and nder (2014)

Table 2
Department Rankings based on Graduating Cohorts Publication Performance at
Different Percentiles of the Graduating Class (19862000)
Coup
ranking
Harvard
Chicago
U Penn
Stanford
MIT
UC Berkeley
Northwestern
Yale
U MI, Ann Arbor
Columbia
Princeton
UCLA
NYU
Cornell
U WI, Madison
Duke
Ohio State U
U Maryland
Rochester
U TX, Austin
Minnesota
U IL, Urbana-Ch
UC Davis
Toronto
British Columbia
UC San Diego
U Southern CA
Boston U
Penn State U
Carnegie Mellon
Non-Top-30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Ranking at percentile of the class

99th
95th
90th
85th
80th
75th
70th
60th
50th
2
12
7
6
1
17
9
4
21
11
3
14
19
22
16
25
31
26
10
30
13
28
20
8
24
18
5
23
29
15
27
2
8
11
10
1
15
6
4
21
14
3
19
20
23
18
17
27
29
5
25
13
28
22
7
16
9
30
26
24
12
31
4
8
10
9
2
17
7
5
20
15
1
19
23
22
18
16
30
25
3
27
14
26
21
12
13
6
29
28
24
11
31
4
9
13
10
1
16
5
8
19
17
2
21
23
22
18
14
29
25
3
31
15
26
20
11
12
6
27
28
24
7
30
5
10
12
11
3
17
7
8
18
19
2
20
24
21
16
15
29
25
1
27
14
26
22
13
9
4
31
28
23
6
30
8
10
12
11
3
16
6
9
19
18
2
22
26
21
17
15
27
24
1
29
13
25
20
14
7
4
28
30
23
5
31
6
12
10
9
4
16
7
11
21
18
2
22
26
19
17
15
27
23
1
31
14
24
20
13
8
5
28
29
25
3
30
8
12
13
9
6
15
7
10
20
22
1
21
27
19
17
14
24
25
2
31
16
26
18
11
4
3
28
30
23
5
29
8
17
14
10
6
13
7
11
23
20
1
26
30
15
19
12
28
21
3
27
18
24
16
9
4
2
25
29
22
5
31
Source: Based on the authors own calculations using the data described in the paper.
Note: The first column shows the Coup (2003) ranking of economics departments.
33/39
schools in the sense of first
dominance.
Table2
gives a set of depart.order
Kaystochastic
Graduate
Studies
Abroad
Financing
I Masters Degree:
I
From Colombia: Fulbright, Colciencias, Colfuturo, Icetex,

Gobierno (DNP, Banco de la Republica, Hacienda).
International: Organization of American States (OAS OEA),

World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Ford Foundation,
Embassies (France, UK, Spain), other scholarship announcements.
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Financing
I Masters Degree:
I

International: Organization of American States (OAS OEA),

World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Ford Foundation,
Embassies (France, UK, Spain), other scholarship announcements.
I Ph.D. Degree:
I

International: Mostly from the universities, UN, Ford Foundation,

American Association of University Women.
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Una decisin de vida

Rankings
Y la Plata?
Ph.D.
Stipends (en USA)
Stipends

. Kay
1535/39
/ 26
Financing
I Financing is easier in USA than Europe.
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Financing
I In the universities: You could work as Teaching Assistant (TA) and/or
Research Assistant (RA).
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Financing

I You could also work as a Spanish teacher, as a tutor, as a simple
administrative worker in the faculties or in the library. Note that you

cannot work more than 20 hours with a student visa.
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Financing


I Cost of living changes a lot!
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Financing


I Cost of living changes a lot!
I If you get financing from Colombia, most probably you have to come
back!
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Afterwards
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Afterwards
www.phdcomics.com
title: "Your Life Ambition" - originally published 5/5/2008
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. Kay
Rankings
Y la Plata?
Ph.D.
Salarios
(en USA)
Afterwards:
Salaries

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16
. Kay
References
American Economic Associations website: Link.
Susan Atheys website: Link.
Conley, J. P. and nder, A. S. (2014) The Research Productivity of New
Ph.D.s in Economics: the Surprisingly High Non-Success of the
Successful, The Journal of Economic Perspectives 28(3) 205215. Link.
Georgetown University Graduate School Suggestions: Link.
Stock, W. A., Finegan, T. A., and Siegfried, J. J. (2006) Attrition in
Economics Ph.D. Programs, American Economic Review 96(2) 458466.
Link.
Stock, W. A., Finegan, T. A., and Siegfried, J. J. (2011) Completion Rates
and Time-to-Degree in Economics PhD Programs, American Economic
Review 101(3) 176188. Link.
Summary (2012) Link.
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. Kay

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Graduate Studies Abroad1

Graduate Studies Abroad

Piled Higher and Deeper by Jorge Cham

title: "Post-Bachelors Disorder" - originally published 9/30/2002

Graduate Studies Abroad

A Decision for Life

Graduate Studies Abroad

A Decision for Life

Economics, MBA, or MPA etc.

Graduate Studies Abroad

Ph.D. degree vs. Masters degree

Graduate Studies Abroad

Ph.D. degree vs. Masters degree

Piled Higher and Deeper by Jorge Cham

title: "I should be done in..." - originally published 9/15/2008

Graduate Studies Abroad

Ph.D. degree vs. Masters degree

Graduate Studies Abroad

Ph.D. degree vs. Masters degree

Graduate Studies Abroad

Ph.D. degree vs. Masters degree

Professor / Researcher: Ph.D. degree.

Graduate Studies Abroad

Ph.D. degree vs. Masters degree

Professor / Researcher: Ph.D. degree.

Government: Ph.D. degree or Masters degree.

Graduate Studies Abroad

Ph.D. degree vs. Masters degree

Professor / Researcher: Ph.D. degree.

Government: Ph.D. degree or Masters degree.

Private Sector: Masters degree.

Graduate Studies Abroad

Ph.D. degree vs. Masters degree

Professor / Researcher: Ph.D. degree.

Government: Ph.D. degree or Masters degree.

Private Sector: Masters degree.

Some private sectors prefer Ph.D. degree such as consultancy

Graduate Studies Abroad

Some data about Ph.D. degree in Economics

Characteristics of the 586 students in the entering class of fall 2002.

Graduate Studies Abroad

Ph.D. Tasas de Desercin

Graduate Studies Abroad

Ph.D. Prediciendo tasas de Desercin

Stock, Finegan and Siegfried, AER, 2006.

Graduate Studies Abroad

Una decisin de vida

Graduate Studies Abroad

PhD Program Attrition and Completion Rates

COMPLETION RATES AND TIME-TO-DEGREE IN ECONOMICS PHD PROGRAMS

Table 1PhD Program Attrition and Completion Rates, by Program Rank

out, 93 percent had their degree in hand after

economics from a different university, more

Graduate Studies Abroad

Ph.D. Prediciendo Finalizacin

Graduate Studies Abroad

Finally, the relatively few successful objective predictors of student success

Graduate Studies Abroad

Una decisin de vida

Composition of Graduate Studies

American Economic Association Universal Academic Questionnaire Summary Statistics 2012.

Graduate Studies Abroad

Graduate Studies Abroad