Florida State Ph.D.

[JCP82]

I am primarily interested in applying to top-tier Ph.D. programs in public policy, but I have also been looking at FSU's economics Ph.D. program. It's not even in the top 50, but I really like the design of the program. It has several faculty that actively publish the exact kind of research that I want to do, and they have 2 centers focused on the kinds of questions I am interested in. It would also allow me to stay in Florida, which would be a huge plus for me.

I would like to pursue a career doing research, but not necessarily at a university (though I would certainly be very open to this), and not for the sole purpose of creating new knowledge. I would like to perform research that is useful to economic policymakers (state legislators, etc). I would be perfectly content working in a think tank or for a legislature (I currently work for the Florida House of Representatives) or other governmental entity.

In a situation like mine, would doing a Ph.D. in economics at a school like FSU be worth considering?

[wdoerner]

I am in my fourth year at FSU. I hope these comments will aid you (and any other interested people).

I am primarily interested in applying to top-tier Ph.D. programs in public policy, but I have also been looking at FSU's economics Ph.D. program. It's not even in the top 50, but I really like the design of the program.

Very true, but we're getting close. The latest NRC rankings put us competitively in the mid 50s or low 60s. Every ranking is biased and the NRC is faulty for using 2006 data...which I wasn't even here yet and our program has gone through significant changes in material and professors since that point. Still, I think we're getting a fairer ranking than I have seen elsewhere. My guess is that we're close to 50, but not consistently under that mark. The program is definitely improving.

It has several faculty that actively publish the exact kind of research that I want to do, and they have 2 centers focused on the kinds of questions I am interested in. It would also allow me to stay in Florida, which would be a huge plus for me.

Seems like a good fit for you. The faculty are pretty active in applied research. Public policy is a broad idea, but we have faculty that get involved in a variety of ways like consulting, legislative advice, etc. The center I work for (DeVoe Moore) has one or two annual conferences that are academic but tend to revolve around local public policy issues like crime, real estate, etc.

I would like to pursue a career doing research, but not necessarily at a university (though I would certainly be very open to this), and not for the sole purpose of creating new knowledge. I would like to perform research that is useful to economic policymakers (state legislators, etc). I would be perfectly content working in a think tank or for a legislature (I currently work for the Florida House of Representatives) or other governmental entity.

This is completely possible. I was hired for consulting work in my first few years and brought in a few of my fellow grad students to help. We did a nationwide analysis on earmarked funds and it was actually cited by a state legislature in their decision to not raise taxes. Pretty neat! My current research is more academically-oriented. Since FSU is not ranked extremely well (as pointed out), it tries to help out grad students by giving them a number of research and travel opportunities. We have a handful of students who will be presenting at the Southern Economic Association (SEA) meetings and others have attended respectable summer conferences at places like Cornell. I just got back from the Atlanta Fed and will be out in Denver at a conference in a month to present work I am doing with a professor on house prices and local government budgets. In a nutshell, FSU is working to get its students good publicity before they hit the job market, which might be academia or somewhere else.

I know that other schools are holding back students because they don't think they are prepared enough to be competitive. From what I can tell, it seems like our faculty push their students earlier so they are competitive from the start. Sure, you could criticize the program and say that we aren't competitive for the jobs where students are being held back, but I don't think anybody comes here under the illusion that we will get a top 10 or top 20 placement. We do, however, tend to place pretty well within our level of "competition." The Ph.D. page has a link with placements (just google "FSU Economics PhD").

If you get a chance, stop by the department to talk with the faculty about the program. You may know some of them (not sure if you went to undergrad here), but it's always a good idea to visit the program before making a decision...and that holds for whether it's FSU or any other place. It'd be good to talk with some of the younger grad students, too. The other option is to think about a Masters if you want to just do consulting or legislative work. The time-to-degree is a lot shorter and we have an extremely strong program.

In a situation like mine, would doing a Ph.D. in economics at a school like FSU be worth considering?

FSU tends to put people in more relaxed research universities (not top 30), teaching universities, and the government. Sometimes we have people go into consulting (i.e. litigation or legislative). It seems like you might fall into those categories. If you have the math background and scores, then I would encourage you to apply. Without the usual math, you will need to take a few courses to catch up first. Foreigners don't get much in the way of funding so it will help if you are domestic.

If you have questions, when you stop by, feel free to find me (given my username it shouldn't be hard) and you should try to make an appointment with Tom Zuehlke. He is our graduate director and can explain the program in more detail.

[JCP82]

Thanks so much for the feedback! I'll definitely try to stop by next time I am in Tallahassee.