Strong econ/stats background -- Should I take more math courses?

[leetuh]

Hi everyone,

I currently work a job doing econometrics, cleaning data and tuning OLS and probit models. I'm interested in applying to a poli sci PhD to start in Fall 2023 an am hoping to get into a strong quant program. That said, will only having taken calculus 1 be seen as a weakness, or will my other coursework make up for it? I am wondering whether taking calc 2 at a community college would be a good use of time on top of studying for the GRE and prepping other app materials. Also, are there programs that lean more towards quantitative research, or it more of an advisor by advisor basis?

My background:

• Graduated from a large public university in Spring 2021: econ/poli sci double major, 3.92
• TA'd and RA'd for different poli sci professors
• Wrote a poli sci thesis that definitely skewed quantitative, but still included a lit review
• Courses:
  • 3 econometrics (1 grad level, A-, A, A)
  • 3 poli sci data analysis in R (A's)
  • 2 stats (A's)
  • calc 1 (A-)

Any advice would be appreciated!

[LatinAmericanFootball]

1. Your math background is already way above average for Poli Sci PhD applicants. If the cost of taking calc 2 or some linear algebra is low (i.e. won't keep you from working or cost you time that you need to study for the GREs or prep a writing sample or SOP), it couldn't harm. But it is likely that the marginal benefit is not very high and that just by being an econ major and having taken grad econometrics you can already convincingly argue that your math skills are solid.

2. Most programs at the very top (think Stanford, Harvard, Princeton) are primarily quant-oriented. Other programs in the top 20 are "boutique" quant programs, meaning that their main strength is game theory or statistics. These include WUSTL, NYU, Rochester and maybe Emory. But you'll certainly find space for quant-heavy research at any top 20 program.

Good luck!

[uncle_socks]

very confused about what a grad-level econometrics class that only has a prereq of calc 1 is supposed to be comprised of, but ok. only calc 1 is not really a weakness: in most programs, having had calc 1 in college puts you in above-average math skills coming in. that being said, calc 2 or linear algebra will basically not do you very much good: they're both mostly unnecessary (you'll be taught what you need to know of them in grad school, and there's a lot of stuff that is practically irrelevant unless you want to be a methodologist, in which case, you probably need a lot more than calc 2/linear algebra) and won't matter if you have an awesome quant score. Just focus on getting a high quant score, your coursework is good enough on the coursework side. 

Basically all top schools are mostly quantitatively-oriented. Quants still do lit reviews btw. Read new papers from faculty in departments, and you'll see how dominating quantitative work is in this field.