Department Welcomes Record Number of New Master’s Students

18 August 2014 1:31PM

The Economics Department’s new master’s students have descended upon campus, and they are kicking off the start of their programs with a week of orientation events. 

“This week is designed to give students all the information they need for the upcoming semesters,” said M.A. program assistant Addie Stagg. “Students should keep any items that may be given to them – especially how-to documents, maps, or guides.”

Stagg has spent the summer coordinating various events for the departmental master’s orientation, which will include a two-day math review, group advising sessions, and a welcome dinner.

“It will be awesome to put faces to all the students I have been speaking to via the phone or email,” Stagg said. “There’s something to be said for actual interaction versus virtual communication.”

The challenge will be to put together a record number of faces to names.

In total, there are 82 new master’s candidates in the three programs – M.A. in economics, M.S. in economics and computation (MSEC), and M.S. in statistical and economic modeling (MSEM) – up from 70 students in the previous academic year. They represent 23 different countries, including China, India, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

According to the Graduate School, the department’s M.A. program is the largest master’s program in terms of both number of applicants, 547, and incoming class size, 67. MSEC received 43 applications, with seven matriculated students; MSEM received 282 applicants, with eight matriculated students.

Professor Kent Kimbrough, director of graduate studies for the M.A. and MSEM programs, said he looks forward to meeting and getting to know the incoming students. “They are such a strong and highly diversified group that it will be exciting to get to work with them.”

As a member of the admissions committees for MSEC and MSEM, MSEC Co-Director and Research Professor Charlie Becker saw firsthand that the quality of applicants was high. “There’s no obvious quality different among the MSEM, MSEC and regular M.A. students,” he said.

This is the inaugural year for the MSEC program, which is jointly administered by the Departments of Economics and Computer Science. According to Becker, the MSEC students “look like an awesome, wide-ranging group,” and he anticipates that they will be outstanding students. “I’m looking forward to see how quickly they are snapped up as research assistants and, with slightly less enthusiasm, poached by industry.”

Becker has long been preparing for the new students’ arrival. This seasoned advisor has 11 years of working with the department’s master’s programs under his belt, so he knows how to prioritize for their arrival.

“I checked to make sure that my new advisees had registered for reasonable courses and sent out emails to engage them,” he said. “Of course, there will be changes, but I want to make sure that (they) have good options. And, I’ve been trying to help arrange RA- and TA-ships.”

The curriculum will be challenging, as it requires students to undertake technical coursework that combines economics, computer science, and programming. Becker said the MSEC students will have the “greatest adjustment shock” because they have the most academic ground to cover, but he believes it will be exciting to work with them to plan effective schedules.

Both he and Kimbrough cautioned new students not to spread themselves too thin.

“The greatest risk of disaster comes from underestimating the difficulty of courses and the quality of one’s peers,” Becker said. “Our incoming students are accustomed to being at the top and thriving. Here, everyone is smart and works hard, and even with one’s best effort there may be bad exams and mediocre papers. Those who succeed are the ones who deal with this without collapsing.”

Kimbrough suggested that students start slowly, if need be, do well, and make steady progress in their coursework. He also encouraged them to stay in touch with their advsiors regarding any issues – academic or otherwise – that might affect their academic performance.

“Our advisors are a tremendous resource the students can draw on, and they should definitely take advantage of the opportunity to consult with them,” he said.  

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