Download Guidance if you want to Study Economics in Graduate School

ACE “Grad School Track” Advising Guidelines
The requirements for the ACE degrees should be viewed by students as minimum standards. For
students who might be interested in applying to graduate schools, the guidelines below suggest
additional classes and activities that will position you well to apply.
In the guidelines below, classes marked with a * are available online from UIUC through
NetMath.
For all kinds of graduate programs:
1) Do a serious independent research project.
Rationale: Graduate school is different from undergraduate programs in that students must show
much stronger independent academic motivation, and be able to work independently on research
projects. The best way to demonstrate motivation and the capacity for independent work is to do
an independent research project that is significant enough to yield a paper that looks like a
journal article.
For MS programs in economics or agricultural/applied economics:
1) Calculus through Calc III (*MATH 241)
Rationale: You need this for microeconomic theory at the Master’s level. This is truly necessary
if you want to do grad school in some form of economics.
2) Take ECON 202/203 instead of ACE 261
Rationale: The two semester sequence provides a better foundation for graduate statistics than
the one semester class. This is truly necessary if you want to do grad school in some form of
economics.
3) Take more probability and statistics: examples are *MATH 461, STAT 400/410, ECON 471
Rationale: Economics is a highly quantitative field. Doing well in these classes shows you can
handle quantitative material, and taking them will make statistics and economics in grad school
much easier.
4) Take ECON 302 early in your program and work to do well in it.
Rationale: Intermediate micro is a bread and butter class for applied economics; if your grade is
low in this, graduate programs will wonder if you can handle graduate classes in the same field.
As an aside, if you want to do a Master’s degree in economics, you might want to take
intermediate macro as well even though that isn’t required for the ACE degree.
For a PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics:
Do everything listed above plus the following:
1) Linear Algebra *MATH 415 - this is more important than the other two
Rationale: Graduate econometrics makes heavy use of linear algebra. This class is absolutely
necessary to do a Ph.D. in applied economics.
2) Real Analysis MATH 444
Rationale: This class provides math skills that are used in some parts of microeconomic theory at
the Ph.D. level.
3) Set Theory.
MATH 432
Rationale: This class provides math skills that are used in some parts of microeconomic theory at
the Ph.D. level.
Note: That ends up being a lot of math. You might consider getting a Minor in Mathematics
while you’re at it!