An Analysis of Mathematics Requirements and Recommendations for Admission to PhD Programs in Economics

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the mathematics course requirements and recommendations for prospective students seeking entry into economics PhD programs in the United States. We find that applicants must complete seven mathematics courses to safely assume that they have enough math credits for admission to most programs. Using National Research Council (NRC) rankings of economics departments according to the level of research activity, we find no strong evidence that the mathematics courses required and recommended are dependent upon the level of academic research conducted by the faculty in the respective PhD programs. JEL Classifications: A22, A23