Aschkan

Hi everyone, I have recently been admitted to the European University Institute (EUI), in Florence. The institute and its program seem very interesting to me, but due to its specific nature (it is not a university) it is not all that famous and it is hard to find serious opinions about it. I wonder: how good is the EUI for studies in Economics, and how does it compare with top British universities, say like Warwick (where I might also be admitted) ? Has anyone here been there ? Thanks, Aschkan

Hi, I am a student in Applied Mathematics from ETH but I am doing my master thesis in the Economics department and I am mainly taking PhD courses in Economics. The ETH Zurich Economics department is of moderate size, but remains competitive in the german-speaking world. I believe it to be perfect for students looking for a demanding and liveable PhD : you will get from it what you put in it. The environment is close to perfect and the salary (yes, salary not scholarship) is amazing. It is not a department applying pressure on its PhDs but if you look for challenge, you'll find it. It is one of the perfect places to be if you seek to work for the Swiss National Bank (SNB) or any other official institution in Switzerland. Remember, the Bank for International Settlements is in Basel ;-), one hour away from Zurich. The city of Zurich is the paradigm of european cities : everything is at walking distance, there are tramways everywhere, the landscape is breathtaking etc. I am not mentioning that the city is exceptionally expensive because your salary will be more than enough to compensate for it. If you're willing to learn a few words of German, then you'll have the highest standard of living in the world. And I mean it. The Swiss just don't brag about it, that's all. The University of Zurich (UZH) is literally at the same place, you might even have to register for courses there. But the spirit is very different. At ETH, you'll have to take 2h/week courses and start reading articles for your research immediately: you learn what you need and get to work. If you haven't studied economics before, this might be hard at first, but it will remain doable. At UZH, you'll be back at school for at least one year; you will have to take heavy (6h/week) courses and see for your thesis later. If you have other questions, don't hesitate to ask. Aschkan