all students

Chris Blattman's "10 things not enough kids know before going to college"

first years

economics and math economics majors

My advice

Take a calculus class at CC early. Even if you have Calc 1 on your transcript from high school, take Calc 2 here. The econ classes will feel easier when you've refreshed your math skills.
Finish the intermediate theory requirements (301 and 302) your sophomore year.
Think about taking econometrics your sophomore year. Professors are more likely to hire you as a research assistant after you've taken econometrics, and two summers of RA work is better than one.
Choose electives with an eye towards choosing your thesis topic. In addition to topics, take classes from professors you'd like to work with and learn skills that will be useful during your thesis.

Chris Blattman's "How much economics should you study in college?"

international political economy majors

My advice

Take Econometrics. It's not required of you (yet) but basic knowledge of regression analysis will be helpful in your career.
Take my Impact Evaluation class. You need to know how to measure the impact of the programs you will advocate in your career.

considering an economics phd?

My advice

Come talk to me and your other professors! We want to help you succeed.
Develop your data analysis skills. Take econometrics early and take it seriously, work as a research assistant for professors over the summers, emphasize data analysis in your thesis.
At minimum, you need Calc 1, Calc 2, Prob Stat, and Linear Algebra. Calc 3, Differential Equations, Statistical Modelling, Numerical Analysis, and Real Analysis are also good.
If you didn’t take much math in undergrad, don’t freak out! You can still get an Econ PhD. Many people take additional math in between undergrad and grad school, and some admissions committees will see it as a positive signal about your commitment. But isn’t that expensive? It can be. I asked friends and mentors from a range of schools (top 5 Econ - top 50 Econ, top 5 Ag Econ - top 20 Ag Econ) and most agreed that it’s ok to take the lower level math classes at a community college (i.e. those “at minimum” courses listed above) but probably best to take the upper level classes at a 4 year university.
Take Real Analysis, but take it at a time when it will be your highest priority. Getting a very good grade in Real Analysis will be a big help in getting you into top programs, and getting you funding.
Think about learning a programming language. Python is good for many tasks. Coding will be increasingly important in our field.
Work for 2 years after undergrad and before graduate school, preferably at a job that improves your data analysis or theoretical modeling skills.
How should you decide which programs to apply to?
1. Talk to your academic advisor, thesis advisor, and bosses at work. (You ARE working for two years between undergrad and grad school, yes?) Aside from you, they know you and your potential best.
2. Know that there are several types of degrees that can get you the same jobs. A Public Policy PhD is generally thought of as less prestigious than an Econ PhD from the same school. For example, a PhD from Harvard's Kennedy school is less fancy than a PhD from Harvard Econ. The same is true of Agricultural or Applied Economics degrees. However, a PP PhD from Harvard out ranks an Econ PhD from Michigan and depending on your package, you may have a better shot at a PP/Ag/Applied program at a fancier school than an Econ PhD from a less fancy school. Fancier schools tend to have more money to give you grants and more name recognition to get you job interviews. So for your applications, you should think of a portfolio strategy in which you apply to some Econ PhDs and some PP/Ag/Applied PhDs.
3. Start at the top of the rankings of schools. Various rankings can be found here: https://www.aeaweb.org/resources/students/grad-prep/program-rankings
4. Decide what fields you might be interested in pursuing and make separate lists of schools that are good in those fields. The top 5-7 are good at everything. After that, not all schools are good at all things. These rankings by field are old but not a bad place to start: http://econphd.econwiki.com/rankings.htm
5. For the top 30 or so schools on your list, visit their webpage and find out what programs they offer: Econ, Public Policy, Ag/Applied Econ. PP/Ag/Applied programs that require you to take classes with Econ PhD students are usually better than those that do their own thing. Look particularly at the methods classes. Is it real econometrics or is it "methods"? Look at the professors who teach in those programs. What are they good at? Are their recent working papers interesting to you? Are they publishing in good journals? Are they publishing regularly? You're looking for potential PhD advisors who are active but still have time to mentor you. Winnow your list to 20 or so.
6. Try to find the recent placements of each program on your list. Remember, you're looking for a job at the end of this, not just a PhD. Where are people being placed? Would you be interested in those jobs? Can you figure out how many do not get jobs when they graduate? Some schools post placement lists on their website. For others, a graduate program secretary will send you a list if you ask nicely. To determine the fraction of students who don't get jobs, or don't get jobs their first time out, look at this year's job market candidates (these are usually posted November-February). What is the average number of years the job market candidates have been in the program? Good programs graduate most students in 5-6 years.
7. This one is a bit of a reach, but try to find out what fraction of incoming PhD students are fully funded (meaning a tuition waiver and a living stipend), either through grants (preferably) or through RA jobs (next preferred) or TA jobs. (DO NOT TAKE OUT LOANS if you can possibly avoid it, particularly in your first year.) Again, a graduate program secretary might be willing to tell you.

Advice from Owen Rask (Colorado College ‘24) on applying to pre-docs

Hello, if you are reading this text, it means you are an undergraduate either considering or are already working your way towards trying to obtain a Ph. D. in economics. This is the same position I was once in! Now, while there are an endless number of pathways one could take to get to a Ph. D. economics program, the points I will be discussing in this blurb apply most directly for those looking to go to a pre-doctoral research program from undergrad and then to a Ph. D. program. If you are currently thinking in this manner, then I hope through sharing the tips and pointers I learned along the way in my experience below, that you will be less in the dark in this endeavor and succeed to your dream program.

Before we begin, I emphasize that these pointers are my experience alone, and that they are dated from the years of 2023-2024 (the end of my Junior/Senior years as an undergraduate at Colorado College). It is crucial to note that the path to an economics Ph. D. has changed significantly in the last 20-30 years. Thus, while this advice is relevant now, it always helps to talk to those who have recently obtained a Ph. D. in economics or those who are currently in that process. Regardless, here is some advice I have picked up along the way—in no particular order!

Tip 1: Classes

Having a sizeable background in mathematics is super important. If one is not already a math-econ major, I highly recommend doing a math minor. Specifically, the modeling minor, as one of the essential upper level classes you need is Ordinary Differential Equations. Beyond the Calcs/Linear Algebra, any extra math courses one takes are helpful (also having some statistics courses looks good, especially since at CC they usually involve a lot of R coding). However, the big math course, which will really make you stand out, is Real Analysis I. HOWEVER, if you take this course, you must do your upmost best to succeed and get a good grade in this course, as it matters a lot (still) in Ph. D. admission decisions. Additionally, classes in computer science are also becoming important—but really only Python. Thus, the intro comp-sci course or CP116 python elective are courses you should try to take to get some experience with Python.

Tip 2: Coding

The three primary coding languages to know are Stata, R, and Python. Stata is favored by the older crowd, but R and Python are quickly becoming the preferred language among younger Ph. D. economists. I suggest that you know one of these language really well, and have experience in the others (for example, I knew R in and out, was proficient in Stata, and had a foundation in Python). The flexibility of having some experience in all three languages helps open up as many pre-doc positions as possible.

Tip 3: Thesis Timing + Research

As much as one possibly can, DO YOU ECON THESIS BLOCKS IN THE FALL OF YOUR SENIOR YEAR. I got my thesis done by the end of block 3. Now the reason for this is that having your thesis done will allow you to have some research experience you can talk about in interviews plus some deliverables, which includes your thesis code (which should be well organized) and your written thesis (a writing sample). However, it is important to note that there are quite a lot of pre-doc positions that have an initial cut-off date of around Mid-October (and a few even close at the end of September), so during your undergrad it is super awesome to do some research prior to your thesis. Either a job working with a Prof or a summer SCoRe grant (that’s what I did the summer of my Junior year which helped me make my thesis really good). Regardless, a lot of pre-doc positions that you will be applying for will close/start seriously hiring around the new year time, and thus I recommend you have your thesis done by block 3 or 4. Personally, I finished my thesis in block 3 and did the large majority of applications in block 4—and got my offer/accepted it by January of the new year.

Tip 4: Where do I find Pre-Docs?

Pre-Doctoral research positions, because they are jobs, are individually posted on university, FED, etc hiring websites. However, the two best places which pool all these positions are

Pre-doc.org

Go to “For Undergraduate” 🡪 “Pre-Doc opportunities” to see all the listings

https://predoc.org/

The “Econ RA Listings” page on X (Twitter)

https://x.com/econ_ra?lang=en

Now, Pre-doc positions are posted and taken down on a individual basis (based on the professors offering them), so it is wise to check these two sites often and start compiling a list of which ones your most interested in pursuing.

Tip 5: Applying to Pre-Docs

First off, apply to as many pre docs as early as possible, the earlier you get your foot in the door the better. Also, you are going to get rejected from a lot and not get past many coding test (I failed a couple), but the more coding tests you do the better you get at them so starting early also gets you more practice. Apply to every position you have a hint of interest in, every application will basically be a cover letter (which you should make a great template then slightly alter for each position), your CV, references (make sure you have a reference—professor—who can speak to your classroom abilities and one who can speak to your research abilities), a coding sample, and potentially a writing sample (why having your thesis done plus its code is super helpful). Truthfully, my process was going through all the positions available on pre-doc.org during my block 4 and applying to all the one’s which were in my economic interests—I ended up applying to around 38-ish positions for context.

Dina Pomeranz's advice on Twitter

Eve Ewing's advice for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds, also on Twitter