General Philosophy
The program ensures that graduates are prepared to teach at the introductory and intermediate undergraduate levels. To achieve this, students take a mandatory course on teaching economics and intern as independent course instructors.
Mathematical programming and statistical packages, such as Maple, Mathematica, SAS, and STATA, are an integral part of the program. This promotes our applied orientation. Although we view mathematics as an indispensable part of the program, we use mathematics as a tool to understand and apply economics rather than as an end in itself.
We intend to graduate students in four years. To achieve this, students are not left to work in isolation. A low student-to-faculty ratio ensures students sufficient individual attention.
Weekly seminar-type workshops ensure students have the opportunity to discuss and receive feedback on their research with faculty and peers.
We encourage students to present their research at external conferences and to submit their research to academic journals for publication. The workshops are an ideal environment in which student can prepare for this.