why uci economics?
When Nikki Tavasoli was thinking about where she wanted to pursue her graduate degree in economics, UC Irvine was at the top of her list.
"UCI has so many professors who are so esteemed and high ranking in their fields - I wanted to come here and absorb their knowledge and expertise," she says. "I also chose to come to UCI because of the great funding they provide."
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Ranked #24 among all public economics
programs in the country (U.S News & World Report), the UCI graduate program in economics offers admitted
students 5 years of guaranteed funding.
Scholars in the department have a proven track record of earning competitive research funding from
national agencies, including the National Science Foundation, Army Office of Research, and U.S.
Department of Agriculture; from private foundations including the Russell Sage Foundation and Arnold
Foundation; and from campus-level fellowships, such as the Public Impact, Fletcher Jones and
Chancellor's Club fellowships.
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"UCI excels in economics because of the way it provides students with so many great research opportunities - both within the department and across campus through interdisciplinary work," Nikki says.
For her, that means getting access to real consumer data for her research on health economics - specifically how nutritional characteristics and pricing schemes impact consumer dietary choices. And she also gets to work with faculty in medicine as well as economics to better understand her field.
"These are unique opportunities that you'd be hard-pressed to find elsewhere," she says.
And it's true - the department has achieved national stature by attracting well-known senior scholars to its faculty and through the advancement of a host of young economists who have achieved national prominence for breaking new research ground in exciting fields. And graduate students have incredible opportunities to publish alongside these world-renowned faculty.
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The economics department has 28 permanent faculty members with research and teaching interests that span a broad range of fields. In addition to strengths in micro theory, macroeconomics and econometrics (Bayesian and classical), the department has expertise in many applied fields, including:
- Economic history
- Industrial organization
- International economics
- Labor economics
- Public choice
- Public finance
- Transportation economics
- Urban economics
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UCI economists pursue research with real-world policy impacts in areas including minimum wage debate, California policy toward enterprise zones, regulation of airline alliances, California high-speed rail demand forecasts, and public health. And students have an opportunity to earn a master's degree while in pursuit of their Ph.D. |
For graduate students, there's also a healthy work-life balance when grad life gets stressful.
"Life as a UCI Ph.D. student is really fun. We go to the beach, hang out with friends, hit any one of the number of different restaurants around town...we find time to work and play here," Nikki says.
It's easy to do when your school is less than 10 miles from Newport Beach on a 1,500 acre campus with endless running and hiking trails. And not to mention UCI is the #1 university committed to
economic diversity and upward mobility (The New York Times College Access Index) and the #9 ranked public university in the U.S.(U.S. News & World Report).
Graduate students from UCI's economics program have gone on to work in high-tech startups, research consultancy companies, government offices, and in professorial posts around the world. A quick sampling of recent placements:
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- Amazon
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Clemson University
- U.S. Federal Reserve
- Office of the Comptroller of Currency
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- Purdue University
- SUNY Buffalo
- Tulane University
- University of Oklahoma
- U.S. Department of the Treasury
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so what are you waiting for?
If full funding, opportunities to publish and a proven track record of excellence in the field are what you’re looking for in a graduate program, contact us today to learn more about UCI economics.
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