Political Science to Economics

[coffeeman123]

I am currently a junior majoring in political science, I was scared of taking economics for the longest time because it was more math heavy and I did not do well in math in HS. However, I found my stride in stats and have an A in econometrics without any real difficulty. My interests are in IPE, I can be more specific if necessary. I was wondering how feasible you guys think it would be to make myself competitive for an econ phd if i take an extra year in undergrad. Feasibly I could make it through a full calc sequence before next years admissions cycle, but if I need more than that I'd have to tack on a year. 

 

Type of undergrad institution: Public T40 in Political Science, and Economics 

Major/Minor: Political Science / Economics and Statistics

Overall GPA: 3.78 Major: 4.0 (1 B in Macro 3 years ago, one A- in international finance the rest are As)

Special: one graduate level IPE course, graduate level comparative Political economy, game theory, analysis of economic data, econometrics, research methods in poli sci, multiple 4000 level stats and econ courses

GRE: I have been prepping for around 6 months and think a combined 325-330 is likely with mostly the same quant and verbal

LOR: Two from professors, one Tenured one TT I have done research with, 1 in the school of business, the other is an economist by PhD but in the Poli Sci dept. and said that he would vouch in LOR for my economic credentials and a professor who knows me very well from the Community College I went to while I was dual enrolled in HS, also TT.

Research: Full academic year of research on business sustainability, one DIS, another semester working with the political economy and game theory (If I add another year I could probably get another year working in PE and game theory. 

Teaching: None

Subfield/Interests: Mostly interested in IPE and Development

Other: One poster presentation about the sustainability project, standard B.S. thesis, one paper under review, solo author, focusing on game theory and employment.

 

 

[Cophysneurec]

You need MINIMUM 165 quant, 167 is acceptable at most programs. One course in Real Analysis and one course in Linear Algebra with A or A+ in both is just about necessary for admission to most Econ PhD programs. Econ PhD programs are extremely math intensive, far beyond undergraduate Econ coursework, so be warned. You should love math if you want to to a PhD or MA/MS in Econ.