princeton phd economics gre

Introduction to Microeconomics

Professor/instructor.

Economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources. The subject of this course is microeconomics, which examines the decision making of individuals and firms with regard to consumption, production, and allocation of good and services in a market system. We examine the benchmark "perfectly competitive" market setting as well as market settings that are not perfectly competitive. We discuss the appropriate role of government in addressing these "market failures". Two one-hour lectures, and one precept.

Introduction to Macroeconomics

The theory, and some of the evidence, of how and why national economies fluctuate, with periods of boom and bust, and periods of high and low inflation. Substantial emphasis is given to fiscal policy and monetary policy and the ensuing recessions in the US and abroad. Attention is also paid to international economic issues and to problems of economic growth. Special attention will be paid to the effects and implications of the pandemic and its aftermath for the economy and for policy. Two lectures, one precept.

Statistics and Data Analysis for Economics

An introduction to probability and statistical methods for empirical work in economics. Descriptive statistics, probability, random variables, sampling, estimation, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, introduction to the regression model. The class uses STATA as statistical software package. Prerequisite: MAT 103. Two 90-minute classes, one precept.

Microeconomic Theory

This course builds on your knowledge of microeconomics from ECO 100. The general themes are (1) choices made by individual consumers and firms, (2) equilibrium from the interaction of these choices in markets or similar institutions, and (3) the role of government policy in improving economic outcomes. In each case, the analysis will be more in depth than it was in ECO 100. Some new concepts and techniques will be developed, especially for studying behavior under uncertainty, and strategic interactions (game theory).Prerequisites: 100, MAT 175 or equivalent. Two 90-minute lectures, and one precept.

Macroeconomics

The determinants of national income, unemployment, inflation, interest rates and exchange rates. Includes analyses of business cycles, monetary and fiscal policies, consumption, investment, economic growth, and issues in international monetary macroeconomics. Two lectures, one precept. Prerequisites: ECO100 and ECO101.

Econometrics

The objective of this course is to prepare students for basic empirical work in economics. In particular, topics will include basic data analysis, regression analysis, testing, and forecasting. Students will be provided with the opportunity to use actual economic data to test economic theories. Prerequisites: 100 or 101, and 202, or ORF 245; MAT 103 or equivalent. Two 90-minute classes and one precept.

Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach

Topics include consumer and firm behavior, market equilibrium, efficiency, an introduction to game theory, and information economics. Uses multivariable calculus and linear algebra to treat the topics in greater depth and to better prepare for advanced courses. Prerequisites: MAT 201 or ECO 201, or instructor permission. Two lectures, one precept.

Macroeconomics: A Mathematical Approach

This course examines the determinants of economic growth, business cycle fluctuations, and the conduct of monetary and fiscal policy. The first part of the course develops a framework for the analysis of households' consumption and savings behavior and firms' production decisions, and uses that to analyze long-run growth and financial crises. The second part of the course extends that analysis to examine business cycle fluctuations, including inflation, unemployment. Current issues in macroeconomic and financial policy are discussed throughout. Prerequisites: MAT 201 or ECO 201, or instructor permission. Two lectures, one precept.

Econometrics: A Mathematical Approach

Statistical analysis of economic data. The two-variable regression model, multiple regression. Techniques for dealing with violations of the regression model's assumptions, including autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, specification error, and measurement error. Dummy variables, discrete-choice models, time series models, and forecasting. Introduction to simultaneous equations. Estimation and testing of economic models will be an important part of the course. Prerequisites: MAT 201 or equivalent and ECO 202 or equivalent or instructor permission. MAT 202 is recommended. Two 90-minute lectures, one precept.

Econometric Applications

This course provides hands-on experience in econometric analysis designed to help students to acquire the skills necessary to carry out their own empirical analyses in economics. Various aspects of empirical research in economics will be covered, including development of testable economic models, appropriate use of data, identification and causal inference, and specification and techniques for estimation of econometric models. Prerequisites: 302 or 312; and calculus. Two lectures, one precept.

Topics in Macroeconomics

By extending ECO 300-level macroeconomics, we develop alternative macroeconomic frameworks with financial frictions to understand business cycles, financial crises and public policy. The lecture begins with a historical overview of financial crises and basic financial accelerator models which emphasizes the interaction between borrowing constraint, asset prices and aggregate production. We then introduce financial intermediaries and government to study banking crisis, credit policy and macro prudential policy. Two 90-minute lectures, one precept.

The Economics of Uncertainty

The microeconomic theory of individual decision making under uncertainty and economic interaction under asymmetric information. Topics include expected utility, value of information, risk-sharing in insurance and asset markets, contracting with moral hazard and adverse selection, and auctions. Applications include health insurance and finance. Prerequisites: 300, MAT 175 or equivalent, and basic probability. Two lectures, one precept.

Firm Competition and Strategy

An economic analysis of the structure of markets and of corporate behavior. The development and interpretation of public policies, including antitrust legislation and direct regulation related to market structure, corporate mergers, restrictive and discriminatory practices, advertising, and research and development. Two lectures, one class. Prerequisites: 300 or 310, and MAT 175 or equivalent.

Law and Economics

An introduction to the economics of law. Application of price theory and welfare analysis to problems and actual cases in the common law - property, contracts, torts - and to criminal and constitutional law. Topics include the Coase Theorem, intellectual property, product liability, deterring crime, incarceration as punishment, and social choice. Prerequisite: ECO 100. Two 90-minute lectures.

Economics of the Internet: The Digital Revolution

Using applied microeconomic theory and case studies, this course examines the impact of digital technology on markets. In a connected market, information is freely and instantly available to all participants. We ask how these features affect the way markets function. Topics include the economics of platform markets and multisided markets, the impact of the internet on the news media, education, health care and new industries, such as big-data driven industries, social networks, technological innovation and intellectual property, internet security, privacy and other regulatory issues.

Firm Competition and Strategy: A Mathematical Approach

This course considers firms, markets and competition. We will study the theory of industrial organization, focusing on models of the way firms make decisions and compete and the impact of those decisions on market outcomes such as prices, quantities, the type of products offered and social welfare. This is a more math-focused version of ECO 321. For most topics considered, we will write down and solve a model of firm behavior, before considering real-world examples of the phenomenon the model seeks to analyze. We will use the examples to assess the model's ability to capture real-world outcomes.

Disease Ecology, Economics, and Policy

The dynamics of the emergence and spread of disease arise from a complex interplay among disease ecology, economics, and human behavior. Lectures will provide an introduction to complementarities between economic and epidemiological approaches to understanding the emergence, spread, and control of infectious diseases. The course will cover topics such as drug-resistance in bacterial and parasitic infections, individual incentives to vaccinate, the role of information in the transmission of infectious diseases, and the evolution of social norms in healthcare practices. One three-hour lecture, one preceptorial.

Environmental Economics

An introduction to the use of economics in thinking about and dealing with environmental issues. Stress on economic externalities and the problem of dealing with them as instances of organizing gains from trade. Applications to a wide variety of problems, among them air pollution (including, importantly, global climate change), water pollution, solid waste and hazardous substances management, species preservation, and population policy.

Economics of the Labor Market

Applies microeconomic analysis to the demand for labor, labor supply, and the determination of wages. Examines investments in human capital, unemployment, discrimination, unions, government intervention in the labor market. Empirical findings as well as theoretical models are studied. Prerequisites: 100, 302, and MAT 175 or equivalent. Two lectures, one precept.

Economics of Health and Health Care

This course will provide an opportunity to apply the concepts and methods studied in economics core courses to analyze selected topics in health economics. Topics will change from year to year. Prerequisites depend on topic. Two 90-minute lectures and one precept.

Public Finance

This course develops a conceptual framework for examining government taxing and spending, and uses this framework to analyze current public policy issues. We focus on both the efficiency and equity aspects of the government.

Money and Banking

This course explores the role that money, financial markets and institutions, and monetary policy play in shaping the economic environment. The class investigates why these markets and institutions arise and may lubricate the resource allocation analytically (rather than descriptively), using tolls of economic theory. Two lectures, one class.

Game Theory in Politics

An introduction to the use of mathematical models and, especially, game theory in the study of politics. The basics of game theory are presented through applications to a broad range of political phenomena: voting, legislative politics, political campaigns, comparison of electoral systems, the evolution of cooperation, and international relations. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Economics of Development

Surveys development economics including current issues, historical background, growth theories, trade and development, markets and planning, strategies for poverty alleviation, agriculture, technology, employment, industry, population, education, health, and internal and external finance. Selective attention to particular countries and regimes. Prerequisites: 101 and 300 or 310, or instructor's permission. Two lectures, one precept.

International Trade

Examination of the causes and economic consequences of international trade in goods and services, investment and migration. Stress on the possibility of aggregate national gains from trade, and the distributional conflicts generated by trade. Analysis of policies regarding these issues from the perspective of economics and political economy. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Prerequisites: WWS 100 or ECO 300 or ECO 310.

GRE Requirements by Degree

For each of our graduate degrees, our application review process is robust and time-intensive. We read every file individually and on its own merits. We want to learn about your story. We seek to understand your goals. We look at your professional trajectory. In doing so, we consider all aspects of your background, focusing on your strengths.

We intentionally put together admission committees comprised of faculty, administrators and alumni from across our community. We want wide-ranging perspectives and backgrounds. We seek different areas of expertise. We demand an open mind.

We take great care to work through a comprehensive approach, and have always avoided an over-reliance on any one aspect. We are cognizant that letters of recommendation can sometimes reveal unconscious bias. Our holistic approach considers multiple indicators of success beyond those measured on a transcript, to include creativity, tenacity and perseverance. We are keen on people who have persisted and succeeded in their careers in spite of personal challenges, professional setbacks or financial barriers. We seek those who will contribute to our intellectual diversity. We know that the best applicants do not all come from the same place. We care about the composition of our community.

To be sure, we look for a commitment to public service, and we will do a dive deep into your work history and volunteer pursuits to better understand your commitment. We want leaders. We desire people who will make a difference in the world. We look at academic accomplishment and promise, and for evidence that applicants can survive and profit from our challenging curriculum.

• Our MPA has a quantitative core curriculum . As a result, we are looking for applicants to demonstrate their quantitative preparation. Some demonstrate this through undergraduate coursework in statistics, math or economics. Others show this through their professional pursuits. Each year, there are a number of applicants who did not have the chance to take quantitative coursework in college. Some didn’t know they needed to take foundational courses for policy school, while others did not have room in their course schedules. Whatever the reason, for those without the expected quantitative coursework, the GRE can serve as evidence of quantitative reasoning experience not otherwise apparent in the file. In some cases, there is no other evidence a student has the background in basic math that would allow them to get through the core curriculum. Without the GRE, we may not admit some students who could succeed in our MPA program. We more often use the GRE score to pull candidates into the class, not to “weed them out.”  
• Our MPP program does not have a core curriculum and MPP applicants must have a minimum of seven years of full-time professional work experience to apply ( most students have more ). As a result, we are less focused on quantitative reasoning and more on leadership and professional trajectory in our application review. With more time from the individual undergraduate experience, there is a rich history of professional accomplishment and action to assess.  
• Ph.D. students will specialize in Security Studies or STEP at Princeton. Most competitive applicants will have sufficient coursework in the specific topic-area they wish to pursue. Faculty readers can readily discern whether there is sufficient academic preparation for engagement with the respective coursework, and if there is overlap with a Princeton SPIA faculty member or members that might serve as advisors. Research and writing skills as well as undergraduate GPA and professional work will all be important components in the Ph.D. review.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges across the world. Our systems of healthcare, employment, government services, and education have all been severely affected by this global pandemic. We understand some students are having difficulty scheduling exams as testing centers are closed, while others are taking the GRE at home . It is through this lens, and many others, that we have revisited our GRE requirements. For the 2020/21 application and admissions cycle, with an application deadline of December 1, 2020 , the following will hold:

• All applicants to our two-year Master in Public Affairs (MPA) * must * take the GRE. Scores will be reviewed as part of the holistic admission review process. Required GRE scores cannot be waived. If the cost of the test poses an issue, please review the GRE fee reduction program .  
• Applicants to our one-year mid-career Master in Public Policy (MPP) do not have to take the GRE. GRE scores will not be considered during the admission review process.  
• Applicants to our five-year Ph.D. in Public Affairs do not have to take the GRE. GRE scores will not be considered during the admission review process.

In the end, the GRE is but one aspect of a file. It is neither determinative in granting admission nor discounting in our process. If you’re a strong test taker, great. If you struggle with timed tests, don’t fret. We look at all the ways you excel. We evaluate all your coursework—quantitative and otherwise. We weigh your professional work and impact toward creating change. We discuss all candidates for admission in admissions committee meetings.

As you begin preparing for the fall 2020 application cycle , we wish you all the best. We are excited to learn about your passion for public service and thank you for your interest in our community. During these challenging times, we wish you good health and safety.

Photo credit: Princeton University, Office of Communications, Danielle Alio, 2020

Access, Diversity and Inclusion

Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Initiative

The Pre-Doctoral Fellowship is an initiative designed to offer promising graduate students an additional year of graduate study to help ensure their success in graduate school. Ideal candidates for this fellowship are those who will contribute to the scholarship and rich intellectual and personal diversity of their academic fields but who, whether due to issues of access or opportunity, or the circumstances of their academic, personal, or professional backgrounds, may benefit from the opportunity to engage in additional academic work in their doctoral degree program.

Eligibility

All interested applicants for regular admission are invited to apply for consideration. Interested students are strongly encouraged to visit the FAQ page.

Pre-Doctoral Benefits

Full funding for academic year (tuition and stipend)

Priority for University housing

Graduate Scholars Program Invitation*

Pre-docs are invited to participate in the Graduate Scholars Program (GSP), a cohort-based community for entering first-year graduate and pre-doctoral students from diverse backgrounds designed to enhance and support academic, social, and community development during their initial graduate school experience.

Applications Open in September

How to apply.

• Pre-Doctoral Fellowship applicants are required to complete and submit the online regular admission PhD application.
• Pre-Doctoral Fellows must meet the eligibility requirements for PhD admission.
• For more information about  applying to Princeton and all eligibility requirements please go to the following link: https://gradschool.princeton.edu/admission/applying-princeton

Within the regular admission PhD application, applicants must select "yes" to the "Are you interested in being considered for the Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Initiative?" question. If you answer 'yes,' you will then be prompted to briefly explain why you are interested in being considered for the Pre-Doctoral Fellowship initiative. [500 words max].

Your response can address any of the following questions:

How would you benefit from the fellowship? What would you want to accomplish during your fellowship year? What skills would you want to enhance during your fellowship year?

Note: Your answer to these questions will have no impact on the admission process for the department to which you are applying and does not finalize enrollment in the pre-doctoral fellowship program.

Participating Departments

Specific departments are participating in this program, therefore only those departmental applications will include the pre-doctoral fellowship initiative question.

At this time the participating departments include:

Application Requirements

Application requirements are department specific, please check our Fields of Study page to determine the application requirements for the department you are interested in applying. The requirements may include but are not limited to the following:

Application Deadline

Click  HERE for a list of all department deadlines. (E.g. November 15 — 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time). Pre-Doctoral Fellowship application deadlines correspond with the sponsoring department's PhD application deadline.

APPLY HERE  

Fee Waiver Requests 

Please see details regarding fee waivers here .

Please address program-related questions to Associate Dean Joseph Lewis at [email protected] . 

For application-related questions please reach out to [email protected] for assistance and allow at least 24 hours for a response. When contacting us, please include your application number, full name and associated email address.

Applicants who require additional accessibility assistance may also contact  [email protected] or call (609) 258-3034.

Learn more about the Grad Scholars Program (GSP)!

Check out the Prospective Ph.D. Program (P3)!

Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in the News!

Princeton’s Graduate School has launched a new pre-doctoral fellowship, which will fund students to study at Princeton for a year before they enroll as first-year Ph.D. students. Students from groups historically underrepresented in higher education are especially encouraged to apply for…

Princeton University Math Club

Princeton University

Math and Economics

I don’t know if there is a news magazine called The Mathematician, but there is one called The Economist, and it’s read by economists, policy makers, and millions of others every week (mathematicians included). The title of the magazine speaks to the crucial role that economics plays in policy-making, business, and other fields today. And though it may seem that economists simply like to bicker over arcane ideology–neo-monetarists always battling neo-Keynesians–that’s largely not the case. Instead, economics is a wide, rich, and growing field dedicated to solving real-world problems. Plus, economic theory and data analysis is driven by math. So what’s not to like?

Math majors often find it easy to study economics on the side, and a few Princeton math majors every year end up in economics graduate school. Math majors who go into economics are often seen as technically competent and able to pursue interdisciplinary research.

Although Princeton does not offer a certificate in economics (the certificate in finance is not the same thing), there are a few classes that graduate schools and employers will look for. Specifically, graduate schools require:

• ECO 310: Mathematical Intermediate Microeconomics. Students can take this course without having taken introductory microeconomics.
• ECO 311: Mathematical Intermediate Macroeconomics. Ditto.
• ECO 312: Mathematical Econometrics.

Beyond the required courses, though, students have wide latitude in choosing their courses. Other recommended courses are:

• Statistics : ORF 245 or POL 345. The AP Statistics test is adequate, as is self-study.
• Probability : highly recommended for math-econ students. ORF 309, MAT 390, or ORF 526.
• Programming : COS 226 or COS 323. Economic research is becoming more and more technical and computer-science oriented.

Admission to competitive economic graduate schools depends on several factors other than your grades in the above courses. Equally important are letters of recommendation, research background, GRE scores, and graduate courses.

• Letters of recommendation : Princeton has many top economics professors; graduate schools will want to see at least one letter of recommendation from one of them.
• Research background : Schools don’t expect math students to have significant economics research under their belt (let alone published papers), but a junior paper or summer internship in economics will only help. One’s senior thesis doesn’t necessarily have to be in economics, and choosing to work with an economics professor can sometimes backfire since they may also be advising five or more other students. Some students choose to spend one or more years post-graduation working in economic research before going to graduate school. A good place to look for such fellowships is at the NBER.
• GRE : Take a good two weeks off during the summer to study for the GRE. A good score on the GRE will strengthen your application. If your grades in math classes are lower than you hoped, you can also take the GRE math subject test (but this isn’t necessary for most students). There is no GRE economics subject test.
• Graduate courses : some economics-oriented math majors choose to take classes from the core sequence of the economics PhD program at Princeton (ECO 501-502 are micro, 503-504 are macro, and 517-518 are econometrics). This helps for admissions but certainly isn’t required (don’t do this if there are more interesting courses you want to take). One advantage is that students don’t have to repeat the courses if they matriculate in Princeton’s PhD program.

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Economics Graduate Student Resources: Home

Relevant library (and auxiliary) services.

• Data Statistical Services Data and Statistical Services (DSS) provides data and statistical consulting. Gateway to the data collections at Princeton University, including crime, elections, public opinion, population, social, and economic data.
• Digital Map and GIS Center The Center provides access to geospatial data, digital map services and geographic information systems (GIS).
• Princeton Research Data Service Offers expert services and infrastructure needed to store, manage, retain, and curate digital research data, and to make research data available to the broader research community and to the public.
• Stokes - VizHub The Stokes Visualization Hub is a space and service that supports the interdisciplinary digital research and information visualization needs of the Princeton University community.
• Princeton Research Computing Services including system administration, programming, research software engineering, cloud computing and secure research infrastructure. Systems including clusters and large memory servers and data storage systems for data ranging from working data sets on our computational resources to persistent published data..
• General Library Resources for Graduate Students Guidelines for graduate students on library material access.

Literature Review

• Scopus This link opens in a new window International coverage of journal articles, selected web sites, and patents in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities; provides citation tracking for 1996+ (select coverage for earlier periods) and cited reference searches back to 1970. 1996+ more... less... Princeton's Institutional ID (needed for Papers software): 51401.
• Web of Science (ISI) This link opens in a new window Multidisciplinary index to journal literature in the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities. Offers the option to find cited references, which are the authors lists of articles used in their research.  Journal coverage in the social sciences, arts, and humanities is not comprehensive.  Includes conference proceedings in the sciences and social sciences.
• EconLit This link opens in a new window Indexes international economic literature. Includes major journals, articles in collective volumes (essays, proceedings, etc.), books, full-text book reviews, dissertations, and working papers. 1886+

Presents the IMF staff's analysis and projections of economic developments at the global level, in major country groups (classified by region, stage of development, etc.), and in many individual countries. Focuses on major economic policy issues as well as on the analysis of economic developments and prospects.

• ICPSR Bibliography of Data-Related Literature This link opens in a new window Citations of known published and unpublished works resulting from analyses of data held in the ICPSR archive.

Data Resources

This resource requires you to obtain a username and password prior to accessing the materials. Union data for elections, contracts, work stoppages, settlement summaries, and unfair labor practice charges. Primarily 1990s+. Includes the Daily Labor Report (December 2009+).

You can request a username and password for this resource from Charissa Jefferson: [email protected] . 

• CEIC This link opens in a new window Provides macroeconomic and financial time series data for many countries. Contains a wide range of data on topics including national accounts, government and public finance, demographic and labor markets, inflation, foreign trade, foreign direct investment, financial markets, and data on a variety of industry sectors. Includes subnational data for Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and Russia. Please logoff the database. We have 5 concurrent users. Additional help information can be found on their site . more... less... For off-campus use, connect to the campus network via SRA before utilizing this resource. It does not work with our standard EZproxy service. Please log off the database. We have 5 concurrent users.
• Sage Data (formerly Data-Planet Statistical Datasets) This link opens in a new window Provides easy access to a wide variety of economic, social, and political indicators. Includes IMF's International Financial Statistics, Direction of Trade (1980+), Balance of Payments, and Government Finance Statistics. Data is also accessible through Data-Planet Statistical Ready Reference .
• Data and Statistical Services (DSS) Data Catalog DSS maintains a catalog of microdata sources organized by topic and region.
• ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research) This link opens in a new window World's largest archive of digital social science data. more... less... Must register for an account in order to download data. Restricted to academic research by Princeton University faculty and students.
• ILOSTAT This link opens in a new window International Labour Office data for over 230 economies regarding labor and consumer prices. 1950+
• Roper iPoll Survey Database This link opens in a new window Largest collection of public opinion poll data, 1935-present. Contains more than 825,000 searchable questions and over 25,000 datasets from both U.S. and international polling organizations. Topics include social issues, politics, pop culture, international affairs, science, the environment, and much more. When available, results charts, demographic crosstabs, time-series trends, and full datasets are provided for immediate download. Registration is required but free using your Princeton email. Many of iPoll's international surveys are not searchable at the question level, but downloadable as full datasets. See also Roper's Featured Projects , including their Health Poll Database and Researching Black American opinion.
• IPUMS International Project dedicated to collecting and distributing census data from around the world.
• POLITICO Pro This link opens in a new window POLITICO Pro provides real-time policy reporting in agriculture, budget & appropriations, campaigns, cybersecurity, defense, education, eHealth, energy, financial services, health care, labor & employment, sustainability, tax, technology, trade, and transportation.
• GrayHair New Mover File Includes all historical consumer new mover records dating back to 2009. 2009 and 2010 data is quarterly. Afterwards, data is monthly. Includes consumer new mover records and those deemed undeliverable at the new address records. Includes all USA states, Puerto Rico and US territories.
• Lightcast Snowflake (formerly Burning Glass) This link opens in a new window Lightcast, formerly Burning Glass, data is available via a Snowflake Reader account. The tool includes a comprehensive US Job Postings dataset, as well as the Professional Profiles dataset. Users can perform research on the supply and demand for jobs and skills to identify emerging trends in the labor market as well as industry, occupational, skills, and employer-specific changes over time. Users may not publish or otherwise make available to any third party, any element of the Licensed Dataset. You can request a username and password for this resource from Charissa Jefferson .

Labor Economics Librarian

Economics & Finance Librarian/Data Services Librarian

Bobray Bordelon Economics, Finance, & Data Librarian [email protected]

• Last Updated: Apr 16, 2024 11:35 AM
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Princeton BCF’s Master in Finance program couples tailored career services with advanced academic coursework to prepare students at the highest level.

Finance and Beyond

An Interdisciplinary Approach

Regularly ranked #1 across several global academic rankings, Princeton BCF’s two-year Master in Finance program provides students with the necessary background in financial economics, data analysis and technology, financial engineering, and computational methods to earn competitive positions in both the public and private sectors.

As an interdisciplinary program, the degree’s curriculum is strengthened by drawing from a variety of departments across Princeton, including the Department of Economics, the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering, the Department of Computer Science, the Department of Mathematics, and more.

Over the last several years, the program has expanded to include new courses in machine learning, fintech, data science and entrepreneurship, and more. In all its coursework and activities, the program educates and trains students at the frontiers of finance so they are prepared to lead at the world’s most innovative firms and organizations.

What Separates the Master in Finance from an MBA?

Many prospective students inquire about the differences between the Master in Finance program and a traditional MBA. While an MBA is valuable for understanding corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, the Master in Finance degree has become the preferred degree for algorithmic trading, quantitative asset management, risk management, derivatives pricing and trading, fixed income analytics, and other areas where the pricing and analysis of complex securities require significant quantitative input. The program also prepares students for opportunities outside of traditional investment banking, including opportunities in insurance, commercial banking, commodities and energy trading, and risk management for traditional industrial companies.

Unparalleled Career Services

The Master in Finance program invests significant time and resources preparing students for a wide range of careers both inside and outside the financial industry. In addition to studying with some of the world’s leading professors, all enrolled students have access to one-on-one career counseling and support. When searching for jobs and internships, students benefit from the center’s strong connections with its global alumni network and corporate partners.

Career Development and Job Placements

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Certificate in Machine Learning

Students completing the program in two years have the opportunity to obtain the Graduate Certificate from the Center for Statistics and Machine Learning (CSML).

Data-driven research increasingly involves large-scale, complex data that needs to be analyzed using innovative methods from the fields of statistics and machine learning. This approach, coupled with advancing data science’s underlying methods and algorithms, has become an essential component of modern scientific discovery.

The Certificate in Machine Learning deepens and enhances students’ understanding and application of data science techniques and represents Princeton’s commitment to preparing students to lead in these emerging areas.

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Testing Coefficient Variability in Spatial Regression

This paper develops a test for coefficient stability in spatial regressions. The test is designed to have good power for a wide range of persistent patterns of coefficient variation, be applicable in a wide range of spatial designs, and to accommodate both spatial correlation and spatial heteroskedasticity in regressors and regression errors. The test approximates the best local invariant test for coefficient stability in a Gaussian regression model with L´evy-Brown motion coefficient variation under the alternative, and is thus a spatial generalization of the Nyblom (1989) test of coefficient stability in time series regressions. An application to 1514 zip-code level bivariate regressions of U.S. socioeconomic variables reveals widespread coefficient instability.

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Princeton University Library

Exhibitions.

The University Archives owe a great deal of our visual evidence of Princeton University in the mid-twentieth century to local photographer, Elizabeth Menzies (1915-2003). Menzies contributed countless photographs of the Princeton campus to Princeton Alumni Weekly magazine starting in 1936, through World War II, and late into the 1960s.

Inspired by the charts and maps created by sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois that depict wealth disparities between Blacks and whites, The Dignity + Debt Network and the VizE Lab for Ethnographic Data Visualization at Princeton University visualize the color lines and the social complexities within the urgent issue of student loan debt in this new exhibition.

“Monsters and Machines: Caricature, Visual Satire, and the Twentieth-Century Bestiary,” the Library's fall 2024 exhibition in the Milberg Gallery at Firestone Library, will focus on the use of animal and zoological motifs in visual satire between World War I and the Cold War. 

Princeton University Library (PUL) is delighted to present “Ulises Carrión: Bookworks and Beyond,” the spring 2024 exhibition in the Milberg Gallery at Firestone Library. Curated by  Sal Hamerman , Metadata Librarian for Special Collections at PUL, and  Javier Rivero Ramos , a recent Ph.D graduate from the Department of Art & Archaeology

Opening April 24, 2023, a new exhibition at Seeley Mudd Manuscript Library showcases photographs and documents from two watershed events during the 1960s U.S. civil rights movement: the Freedom Rides of 1961 and the Selma-to-Montgomery marches of 1965. 

Come see tales transformed at “Once Upon New Times: Reimagining Children’s Classics,” currently on display at the Cotsen Children’s Library! Curated as a companion to the  larger exhibit  in the Milberg Gallery of Firestone Library, each item offers a different perspective on a cherished classic. 

In honor of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s First Folio of 1623, Princeton University Library (PUL) presents “ In the Company of Good Books: Shakespeare to Morrison ,” in PUL’s Milberg Gallery.

“Securing the Social Safety Net: Princeton, J. Douglas Brown & the Cornerstone of Economic Security,” was created to help mark the 100-year anniversary of the Industrial Relations (IR) Section at Princeton University. The exhibition showcases the work of labor economist, and Princeton economics professor, J. Douglas Brown '19, *28, (1898-1986).

“Toni Morrison: Sites of Memory” excavates the creative process of writer and former Princeton University Professor and 1993 Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. Curated by Autumn Womack, associate professor of English and African American Studies, the exhibition is the center of a community-wide exploration of how Morrison’s archive continues to influence us today.

A 2022 exhibition at Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library to celebrate the 275th anniversary of Princeton University's founding.

Conceptualized by Frederick F. Wherry *00 *04, the Townsend Martin, Class of 1917 Professor of Sociology at Princeton, the “Debt Collectors Series” tells the story of the debt industry, and features re-envisioned artwork by Ari Riggins ’23 and Rachel Mrkaich ’21.

Selma, Lahore, Warsaw, Santiago…”Records of Resistance: Documenting Global Activism 1933 to 2021,” captured continuity and change in practices of protest and activism in diverse geographic contexts and around issues that may be particular to an area or of universal concern.

Industrial Relations Section and PUL exhibition that displayed a series of pamphlets that helped depict the political origins of antidiscrimination efforts in the workplace.

Graduate School

Political Economy

General information, program offerings:.

• Interdepartmental Program

Department for program:

Director of graduate studies:, graduate program administrator:.

The allocations of markets and other economic institutions are subject to the political environment in which these institutions operate. Students interested in understanding the effects and the design of economic policies should have an appreciation of the political context in which these policies are set. At the same time, students interested in political outcomes and institutions must consider the economic forces that interact with the political realm. Work in political economy aims to develop theoretical and empirical understanding of the connections between economics and politics.

The Princeton Program in Political Economy is designed for students who seek to engage in scholarship at the intersection of the two disciplines. It enables students in the Department of Economics or the Department of Politics to supplement their disciplinary training with relevant study in the other department and to engage in specialized work in political economy. The program also provides for interaction among students and faculty members of these academic units and facilitates research on topics in political economy. The program is administered by a program committee drawn from faculty in the participating academic units.

Closely affiliated with the doctoral program is the Research Program in Political Economy  (RPPE). RPPE sponsors research workshops and colloquia, conferences, short-term visits to Princeton by scholars who work in political economy, and grants to students to aid their research in political economy.

Students join the program by entering either the Department of Economics or the Department of Politics through the normal admission process and will receive the doctoral degree of their home department. Students applying to one of these units who are interested in the program should indicate this interest in their applications.

Students intending to enroll in the program should have a solid foundation in mathematics. Ordinarily, students will take a course offered by the economics department (S500, Mathematics for Economists) in order to further develop the required competence in mathematics. Regardless of how a student enters the Program in Political Economy, it is important to have some experience with multivariate calculus, linear algebra, and real analysis, as well as basic probability and statistics. Without this background, a student will not be able to handle the material in many of the courses required for completion of the program. 

Students are expected to fulfill the normal requirements of their home departments, with some modifications for the Program in Political Economy.

Program Offerings

Program offering: interdepartmental program.

Economics  students are required to take, on a graded basis, two graduate courses in politics (other than POL 584, the politics half of the political economy sequence) chosen from a list of appropriate courses drawn up by the program committee. These two courses would count toward the fulfillment of the second-year course requirement for economics graduate students.

Politics students should take the two-semester political economy sequence ECO 520 and POL 584. In addition, students are required to take, on a graded basis, two graduate courses in economics, not including the economics part of the political economy sequence (ECO 520). Normally, these would be the microeconomics courses ECO 501 and 502, but others may be substituted with approval from the program committee. 

General exam

To prepare for their general examinations in political economy, students are expected to master the material covered in a two-course sequence in political economy (ECO 520 and POL 584). These courses will be offered jointly by the economics and politics departments. The general examination in political economy is set by a committee appointed by the program committee.

Economics students are required to choose political economy as one of their two field general examinations, and politics students are required to designate political economy as one of their three fields for the general examination and must take the written general examination in political economy.

Dissertation and FPO

All students in the program are expected to write a dissertation on a topic in political economy.

Additional requirements

All students in the program are also expected to participate regularly in a research workshop in political economy.

• Matias Iaryczower

Associated Faculty

• Roland J. Benabou, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
• Carles Boix, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
• Charles M. Cameron, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
• Thomas Fujiwara, Economics
• German S. Gieczewski, Politics
• Gene M. Grossman, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
• Faruk R. Gul, Economics
• Gleason Judd, Politics
• Ilyana Kuziemko, Economics
• David S. Lee, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
• Alessandro S. Lizzeri, Economics
• John B. Londregan, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
• Nolan McCarty, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
• Atif R. Mian, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
• Helen V. Milner, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
• Pietro Ortoleva, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
• Wolfgang Pesendorfer, Economics
• Grigore Pop-Eleches, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
• Kristopher W. Ramsay, Politics
• Maria Micaela Sviatschi, Schl of Public & Int'l Affairs
• Rocío Titiunik, Politics
• Leonard Wantchekon, Politics
• Leeat Yariv, Economics

For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website.

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Department of History

Recent Accomplishments from Graduate Students – August 2024

Joseph bishop.

Joseph Bishop published an article in the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. The article is titled “From Photography to Radiology: How Physicians Leveraged Early Hospital X-ray Machines to Supplant Photographers."

The Princeton Review’s Top 50 Online MBA Rankings Released for 2024

Saunders College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology is ranked 43rd nationally in The Princeton Review’s Top 50 Online MBA Programs as part of its Best Business Schools 2024 rankings. This ranks #3 among New York State programs and is only one of two Executive MBA programs included in the ranking. The Princeton Review’s yearly rankings are based on student surveys, career outcomes, admissions selectivity, and academic rigor, among other categories.

Saunders’ online executive MBA program is a rigorous program meant to push professionals to reach their full potential. The curriculum includes high-level courses on topics such as effective team leadership, economics, marketing strategy, and international business. 

The online Executive MBA is accredited by AACSB and is intended for seasoned professionals who want to put their creativity and innovation to the test to propel themselves into higher leadership roles.

Saunders’ undergraduate and graduate programs are internationally ranked and recognized . Visit our events page to view graduate information session opportunities and other events

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