Diversity in Econ PHDs

[Cheddar]

Hello everyone, I'll be going through the application process for doctoral programs in Econ this fall. I've been reading a lot on the subject and I was wondering if diversity plays any particular role in admissions? I've yet to find any information on the subject directly concerning programs in economics.

[Behavioral]

If you mean race, gender, SES, etc., there is little to no evidence that priority for such populations exist in doctoral admissions.

There are more funding sources available to 'minority' students, but this is contingent on your being accepted somewhere first.

[jblsmith]

While the demography of economics is quite racially diverse it is absolutely dominated by men. I feel this is due more to the quantitative nature of the field than to bias or prejudice in the academe. It's well documented that men tend to be more inclinde towards quantitative subjects than women. And a large portion (if not the majority) of US graduate students are international because of the superior math and science training in other parts of the world. The only disadvantage international students have is that their first language may not be English. Adcomms due indeed consider this when making their admissions decisions because all too often brilliant international students wash out because they could not overcome language or cultural barriers.

There are a number of factors that are correllated with race and gender that play into adcomms decisions, however admissions are not based on ethnicity or sex.