Saturday, 7 October 2017: 5:05 PM
In this paper, we identify mathematics requirements and suggested mathematics and statistics courses for applicants to economics Ph.D. programs in Canada and the United States. In order to find these courses, we surveyed the directors of all the Ph.D. programs in the United States and Canada and/or retrieved the information from the programs’ websites. The mathematics courses that were listed in our survey are Calculus 1, Calculus 2, Multivariate Calculus, Statistics 1, Statistics 2, Econometrics 1, Econometrics 2, Real Analysis, and Stochastic Processes. This paper lists for each university which mathematics courses are required and which courses are recommended. The paper then lists each of the mathematics courses and lists the number of economics Ph.D. programs that require, recommend, or neither require nor recommend, each of these courses. This will assist potential economics Ph.D. students when they are deciding where to apply.Then the paper analyzes these results by conducting a Chi-squared test to determine whether these programs are more likely to require or recommend certain courses. This paper also attempts to examine whether the number of mathematics courses is a function of the research conducted by program faculty. Then the paper compares the requirement differences between Canadian and United States economics Ph.D. programs. The paper then discusses how the increased mathematics requirements for entrance into an economics Ph.D. Program may affect the number of women and minorities enrolling in economics Ph.D. programs. The increased emphases on mathematics in economics may also decrease the interaction between economists and other social scientists.