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The economics department offers a major, minor and electives for undergraduates and a Ph.D. program. |
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A Unique Opportunity for Ph.D. Education
Clark's Ph.D. program in economics offers students the unique opportunity to earn a Ph.D. in the setting of a liberal arts and research university. These advantages include small classes, ready access to faculty who have published in leading journals in their fields, and an intellectual environment where differences in disciplinary approaches need not serve as barriers to learning. The program has been granting Ph.D.s since the 1930s, and its graduates have developed successful careers in teaching, research, and business.
The program structure emphasizes the development of the theoretical understanding and empirical skills required to carry out research in applied economic analysis. Already in their second year, students have opportunities to conduct and present original research. The early emphasis on research helps students move rapidly after reaching the dissertation stage. This emphasis also assists Clark Ph.D.s in their job search.
The Clark program develops basic skills in economic theory and econometrics
as well as in research. All students complete two semesters in introductory
statistics and econometrics, two semesters of microeconomic theory and two semesters of macroeconomic theory. In addition, they specialize in two fields, each consisting of two to three semesters of coursework, and take additional course work in two electives. The Clark program regularly offers students specializations in four fields:
- International Economics
- Spatial Environmental Economics
- Applied Econometrics
- Development Economics
Other fields are occasionally offered and it is possible to combine related courses into a field, subject to the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. Elective graduate courses are offered in a variety of areas, including urban economics, industrial organization and labor economics. These courses are offered contingent on faculty and student interest.
The list of recent dissertations provides an overview of the exciting research in applied economics being conducted by Clark Ph.D. students. The congenial size of the program and the emphasis at Clark on high-quality teaching also offer students opportunities to cross field boundaries in their own research. Combinations of trade and industrial organization or environmental economics and economic development are two examples of how Clark Ph.D. students can draw on insights and techniques in related fields for their research.
In addition, for students with strong interests in economic development, environmental economics, and international economics, the program offers added opportunities. Several students have used their involvement in grant-funded research to help develop their own research. In addition, related graduate and research programs at Clark offer unusual opportunities for acquiring additional research tools and insights. Programs in environmental analysis, international and community development, and geographic information systems offer course work that addresses complementary topics and offers skills useful for applied economics research. For example, several recent graduates have been able to combine theoretical insights and issues drawn from the economics literature with data based upon geographic information systems for their dissertation research.
One student examining the problem of land use change in the Yucatan was able to link his data set of farm households to ecological and economic data derived from satellite imagery for a richer understanding of farming decisions crucial to deforestation. Another now working for the World Food Program linked economic models of famine with geographically specific data from Ethiopia.
An Excellent Research and Learning EnvironmentThe Clark faculty in Economics has published in the leading general-interest journals such as the AER , the Journal of Political Economy , the Southern Economics Journal , and the Review of Economics and Statistics as well as in the leading journals of their fields. Grants from the Lincoln Land Institute, the National Institute for Child Health and Development, the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Environmental Protection Agency currently or have recently funded faculty research. Clark faculty members sit on the editorial boards of several important journals in fields as well. For more information on the faculty, please see the individual faculty biographies.
Located equidistant from Providence and the Boston area, Worcester is close enough to allow members of the Department community to take advantage of research resources available there. In addition, the proximity of Clark to these two cities permits the Department to draw on speakers from the area for its seminar series. The workshop also provides graduate students opportunities to present research.
Clark University offers a strong infrastructure for research as well. It is fully networked, and graduate students in Economics have access to a personal computers equipped with the latest econometric, modeling, and word processing programs. The Goddard Library of the university has collections that include more than 555,000 volumes, 265,000 monographs and subscriptions to 2,000 periodical titles. The Library provides full Internet access and nearly 50 end-user subject specific data bases. As a member of the Worcester Consortium for Higher Education , Clark offers students the use of eight academic consortium libraries and a combined local collection of more than 3.5 million volumes
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Academic Catalog & Requirements
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Additional Resources
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Taking Advantage of Economics: New Skills and Perspectives Across Disciplines
Clark has long-established programs in Economic Development (IDCE) and Geography. Both of these programs offer students opportunities to acquire skills at using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) for data development. GIS data have found a number of applications in environmental and urban research. Professor Ickowitz is an affiliated scholar with the IDCE. In addition, Clark is the home of the George Perkins Marsh Institute, which provides a research focus for environmental and development issues. Professors Geoghegan and Gray are affiliate faculty members of the Institute. Professor Geoghegan also has an affiliation with the Clark Graduate School of Geography. |
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