Resources for students at Grinnell
Academic Resource centers at Grinnell…
DASIL: http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/dasil
Writing lab: http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/writinglab/
Reading lab: http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/readinglab
Library (front page): http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/index.php
Library (Econ subject guide): http://libweb.grinnell.edu/sp/subjects/ECN
Data links…
Library (data page): http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/subsplus/subjects/display.php?subject=sg_stats
AEA data links: http://www.aeaweb.org/RFE/showCat.php?cat_id=2
Other resources
Midwest Economics Association: http://web.grinnell.edu/mea
Resources for students post-Grinnell
Graduate School Information
Students interested in opportunities for post-graduate work will find it helpful to start at the CDO (http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/cdo/students/graduateschoolinformation). The CDO offers general assistance with the planning and application process to graduate and professional schools. Most graduate and many professional schools require the GRE (http://www.ets.org/gre), while professional schools like business (http://www.lsac.org/) and law (http://www.gmac.com/gmac) require specialized tests. Information and rankings on graduate programs can be found at the US News Online (http://www.usnews.com/sections/rankings) and Petersons.com (http://www.petersons.com/), while a general listing of American colleges and universities is available here (http://www.clas.ufl.edu/au/).
Additional information about graduate work in Economics, Public Administration, Mathematical Finance, Business, and Law is provided below:
Graduate Study in Economics
Only a minority of Economics majors continue on in this discipline, but recent graduates have attended such prestigious schools as Columbia, Berkeley, Yale, Stanford, the University of Michigan, Duke, and others. Becoming a professional economist typically means getting a Ph.D. Virtually all well-reputed Ph.D. programs have a first year theory sequence that is heavily mathematical. There is a simple rule of thumb about that first year in graduate school: the more math you have had, the easier it will be. A year of calculus and a semester of linear algebra should be regarded as a bare minimum. Most Ph.D. programs strongly recommend work in real analysis (as covered in Math 316, Foundations of Analysis). Also, any student considering graduate study in economics should take both Econometrics (312) and Mathematical Economics (339). It would also make sense to include Math 335 and 336 in your program. General information about requirements for graduate school can be found on the AEA website (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AEA/students/GraduateStudy.htm).
Public Administration
Economics majors are often attracted to public policy and public administration programs. Graduates in these areas – usually with masters degrees – typically work in federal, state or local government. They are usually managers or administrators, but sometimes work in research.
Graduate study in public policy or public administration normally requires less quantitative training than economics, but intermediate theory courses will usually be required if you have not completed them as an undergraduate. Econometrics would likely prove useful. Also, courses related to operation of the government in the economy (e.g. Public Finance, Current State of the U.S. Economy) might be of special interest.
Mathematical Finance
This relatively new field provides an outlet for those with strong math and econ backgrounds who are interested in the financial industry. Issues addressed include budgeting, trading financial assets, borrowing, lending, insuring, hedging, diversifying, forecasting, and managing risk. Because the future cannot be known with certainty, financial economics deals with the impact of uncertainty in resource allocation.
Business and Law School
Probably the most common areas of graduate study among Economics majors are business and law. Many students are surprised to learn that neither business nor law schools have undergraduate course requirements. They accept students with all kinds of diverse backgrounds. Nevertheless, some courses in the Economic curriculum are especially useful in those disciplines. All business students must eventually take microeconomic theory (our ECN 280), in graduate school if not as an undergraduate. Microeconomics also comes up in law courses. Similarly, Financial and Managerial Accounting (286) and Corporate Finance (287) are useful to both law and business students.
Career Information
The starting point for a search about career options in the Career Development Office (http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/cdo). The Career Development offers an assortment of resources and assistance for you throughout your college years and beyond. Employment opportunities are available through Consortia, On-Campus Recruiters, and Resume Referrals from employers. Let the CDO help you with your job search.
Information on job postings can be found at a number of sites on the internet, include Jobweb (http://www.jobweb.com/), True Careers (http://www.truecareers.com/), CareerBuilder (http://www.careerbuilder.com/?siteid=cmhome), CareerPath (http://www.careerpath.com/), CareerSite (http://www.careersite.com/), and Monster (http://www.monster.com/).
