New MA Program Structure Brings More Opportunities to Students

24 July 2013 4:35PM

This summer, the Master’s program at Duke Economics moved to a team-based leadership model as a means to expand services to students and to continue pursuing its mission of being the top Master’s program in economics. 

“These changes bring together our commitment to expand faculty involvement and student support, broaden research opportunities, and increase the number of teaching assistantships and other work opportunities for our MA students,” Department of Economics Chair Patrick Bayer explained. “This will in turn strengthen what is a unique feature of our program: that so many Master’s students find themselves in research relationships with our faculty.”  

Charles Becker, who has served as the director of the Master’s program for the past decade, will continue to serve on the team of directors. 

“I am excited about being able to focus on PhD placement in my new role,” Becker said. “I am equally enthusiastic about working with colleagues who each will bring great experience, insight and connections to our program.” 

Below are the new positions and leaders of the MA program

Director of MA Studies  
Kent Kimbrough structures the MA program. He oversees daily operations and coordinates the advising system and EcoTeach support.

Director of Admissions
John Komlos, together with a small committee of faculty, leads the process of admitting new students to the program.

Director of Career Advising and Placement
John Caccavale, together with a small committee of faculty, leads advising and placement for students headed to non-academic placements.

 Director of Pre-PhD Advising and PhD Placement
Charles Becker, together with a small committee of faculty, leads the advising and placement of PhD-program bound students.

 Director for Financial Aid and Strategic Planning
Becker also coordinates financial aid decisions and leads strategic thinking for future collaborations and partnerships involving the MA program.

 “Charlie Becker really built the program up and it is in excellent shape,” said Kimbrough. “But as the program has grown and improved, the job has become too large for one person to handle. By spreading all of the tasks among several faculty members, students will benefit from a more individualized and better focused administration of the MA program.” 

Caccavale, who also directs the Duke Financial Economics Center (DFE), added that “the new MA program structure will provide a more targeted approach to non-academic career advising and placement for students by leveraging the close partnership between the DFE, the Department of Economics, and the Career Center."

Komlos views the recent changes as completely in line with the goals of the Master’s program. 

“We will continue to maintain the high quality of the MA program by attracting motivated students from around the globe,” he said. “Students that thrive here are those who are well prepared for the challenging curriculum and who take full advantage of the stimulating environment offered by the Duke community.” 

The MA program is fully supported administratively through the EcoTeach center, the instructional arm of the Department of Economics.

Learn more about the Master’s program.