UCLA Economics PhD Placement: A Comprehensive Analysis

The UCLA Department of Economics is dedicated to training students for successful careers as economists across various sectors, including academia, business, and government. The doctoral program is designed to provide rigorous training in economic theory and the study of real-world problems. This article examines the placement statistics of UCLA's Economics PhD graduates, providing insights into their career paths and the program's effectiveness.

Program Overview

The Ph.D. program in Economics at UCLA combines rigorous work in economic theory and the careful study of real-world problems and institutions. The Ph.D. is the degree objective of the graduate program. This degree is awarded to students who demonstrate professional competence by passing written qualifying exams and by completing a major piece of individual research (the Ph.D. dissertation). Preparation for the qualifying exams through coursework and independent study occupies most student time for the first two years. Thereafter the focus shifts to independent research and finally to the writing of a Ph.D. dissertation.The department includes internationally recognized scholars in economic theory, econometrics, and all the major applied fields. Research in progress by our graduate students as well as our faculty is presented at workshops that meet weekly throughout the academic year. Currently, the Dept. has workshops in Theory and Mathematical Economics, International and Development Economics, Labor and Population Economics, Business Organization and Regulation Economics, Economic History, Econometrics, and Monetary Theory. In addition, many graduate students work as research or teaching assistants for faculty members.

Degree Tracks

The Department of Economics offers two degree tracks: a Master of Quantitative Economics (MQE) and a PhD in Economics. Students who are accepted into our doctoral program can earn their Master’s of Arts (MA) in Economics en route to earning their PhD. The PhD program does not admit students whose final goal is to earn a Master of Arts in Economics. If you are interested in a Master’s only, please apply to the MQE Program. They offer a terminal Master’s degree curriculum designed to prepare students to enter the field of Economics. The program only admits students once a year in the fall; we do not have spring or winter admissions. Applications must be submitted by 11:59pm PST on December 1, (2:59am EST on December 2) of the application year. Recommendation letters are given a 2 week grace period.

Placement History and Trends

Graduates from this program work at major universities around the world, national and international government agencies, banks, research centers and in private businesses. Some of our graduates have achieved great prominence, such as William Sharpe, who earned both his B.A. and Ph.D.

To provide a clearer picture of the career paths of UCLA Economics PhD graduates, let's examine placement data from other top economics programs. Although specific data for UCLA is not provided, information from comparable institutions can offer valuable insights.

MIT Economics PhD Placement Statistics

In a typical year, every MIT Economics PhD graduate finds a job. Over the past six years, the department has helped place a total of 135 graduates in academic, research, government, and industry jobs. Of these, 103 graduates (76%) chose positions at academic institutions and 32 graduates (24%) chose non-academic positions. Of the 103 academic placements, 44 (32%) were at top-15 US economics departments or top-10 US business schools.

Notable Placements by Year (Examples from other universities)

To illustrate the diverse career paths of economics PhD graduates, here are some notable placements from other universities, categorized by year and sector:

2019 Placements (Examples)

Christopher Rojas: Principal Quantitative Modeler, Economic Research Group, Capital One (Econometrics)
Flavio Stanchi: Data Scientist, Airbnb, San Francisco (Applied Microeconomics)
Isha Agarwal: Assistant Professor, Sauder School of Business, The University of British Columbia (Macroeconomics)
James Elwell: Economist, Joint Committee on Taxation (Applied Microeconomics)
Jorgen Harris: Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Occidental College (Applied Microeconomics)
Juan David Robalino: Professor of Economics, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito Ecuador (Behavioral Economics)
Khai Zhi Sim: Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Eastern Connecticut State University (Macroeconomics)
Luoyi Su: Twin Beech Capital, Equity Research (Econometrics)
Malin Hu: Assistant Professor of Economics, Vanderbilt University (Macroeconomics)
Marisa Carlos: Associate, Analysis Group (Applied Microeconomics)
Maulik Jagnani: Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Yale University, then Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Colorado-Denver (Development Economics, Environmental Economics, Labor Economics)
Naveen Sunder: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Harvard University (Applied Microeconomics)
Rhiannon Jerch: Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Temple University (Applied Microeconomics)
Seollee Park: Post-Doctoral Fellow, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University (Applied Microeconomics)
Thomas Eisenberg: Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Delaware (Applied Microeconomics)
Xin Gao: Associate, Analysis Group (Applied Microeconomics)

2018 Placements (Examples)

Alexander Willen: Assistant Professor, NHH Norwegian School of Economics
Barton Willage: Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University (Health Economics, Public Economics, Applied Microeconomics)
Corbin Miller: Economist, Office of Tax Analysis at the Treasury (Public Economics, Labor Economics, Economics of Education, Health Economics)
Daniel Reeves: Capital One (Behavioral, Public Finance, Applied Microeconomics)
David Jaume: Research Economist, Bank of Mexico (Development Economics, Labor Economics)
David Murphy: Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Evansville, Schroeder School of Business (International and Development Economics)
Erwin Knippenberg: Lead Economist, Cooper/Smith (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Jakina Debnam: Assistant Professor of Economics, Amherst College (Food & Agricultural Economics)
Jianwei Xing: Assistant Professor, Peking University, Beijing, China (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Juan Nicolas Hernandez-Aguilera: Earth Institute Postdoctoral Fellow, The Earth Institute, Columbia University (International and Development Economics)
Kai Wu: Assistant Professor of Finance, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China (Management (Finance))
Lawrence Jin: Research Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore (Behavioral Economics, Health Economics)
Lin Xu: Economist, The Joint Committee on Taxation (Behavioral Economics, Health Economics, Insurance)
Linden McBride: Assistant Professor of Economics, St. Mary's College of Maryland (International and Development Economics)
Michiel Paris: Principal Consultant, Edgeworth Economics (Public Economics, Applied Microeconomics)
Miriam Larson-Koester: Economist, Federal Trade Commission (Labor Economics, Economics of Gender, Econometrics)
Oleg Firsin: Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Maryland (International and Development Economics)
Ryan Finseth: Economist/Air Quality Specialist, South Coast Air Quality Management District, CA State Government (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Sarah Prenovitz: Senior Analyst/PhD Economist, Abt Associates (Labor Economics, Public Finance, Economics of Education, Health Economics)
Sherry Zhang: Post Doctoral Fellowship, University Wisconsin Madison
Steven Otto: Economist, ISO New England (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Sujan David: PricewaterhouseCoopers (Macro-Finance, Monetary and Financial Economics, Time Series)
Todd Jones: Post Doc Associate, Georgia State University (Labor Economics, Economics of Education, Applied Microeconomics)
Vesall Nourani: Post Doc, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Development Economics, Political Economy, Applied Microeconomic Theory)
Yanan Li: Assistant Professor of Economics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China (International and Development Economics)
Yang Zhang: Associate, Cornerstone Research (Empirical Industrial Organization, Health Economics)
Zhenda Yin: Assistant Professor, Peking University, HSBC Business School (Labor/Personnel Economics; Industrial Organizations; Applied Microeconomics)

2017 Placements (Examples)

Andrew Green: Economist, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (Labor, Applied Econometrics)
Bryce Little: Quantitative Researcher, Citadel LLC (Macroeconomics, Financial Economics, Econometrics)
Daniel Ludwinski: Visiting Assistant Professor, Colgate University (Health)
Di Wu: Principal Consultant, Edgeworth Economics (Management (Finance))
Ellen McCullough: Assistant Professor, University of Georgia, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics (International and Development Economics)
Gary Cohen: Economist, Amazon (Labor, Applied Economics, Education)
Jason Cook: Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh (Labor, Public Finance, Education)
Jennifer Cisse: Senior Risk Advisor, USAID (International and Development Economics)
Jie Li: Research Associate, Cornell University, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management (Food and Agricultural Economics)
Kibrom Tafere: Research Economist, World Bank (Development Economics)
Leigh Wedenoja: Post Doc, Brown Univesity (Labor Economics, Economics of Education, Behavioral Economics)
Liyuan Cui: Assistant Professor, City University of Hong Kong (Financial Econometrics)
Mehreen Mookerjee: Assistant Professor, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (Environmental Economics, Development Economics)
Nicholas Tilipman: Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, University of Illinois (Health Economics, Industrial Organization, Applied Microeconomics)
Nobuyuki Kanazawa: Post Doc, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University (Monetary and Macroeconomics, Labor Economics)
Sanket Roy: Assistant Professor, American University of Sharjah (Environmental Economics, Development Economics)
Sida Peng: Research Economist, Microsoft Research (Econometrics, Empirical Industrial Organization, Applied Microeconomic Theory)
Tanvi Rao: Research Associate, IMPAQ International (International and Development Economics)
Xiaoli Fan: Assistant Professor, University of Alberta, Canada (Food and Agricultural Economics)
Yiwei Wang: Data Analyst, Center for Governmental Research (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Yu Ye: Associate Consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers (Environmental and Resource Economics, Policy Analysis, Industrial Organization)
Yuzheng Sun: Economist, Amazon (Empirical Corporate Finance, International Finance)
Zhonghao Fu: Assistant Professor, School of Economics, Fudan University (Econometrics)

2016 Placements (Examples)

Andrew Simons: Assistant Professor, Fordham University, Department of Economics (International and Development Economics)
Andrew Waxman: Assistant Professor, Arizona State University, School of Public Affairs (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Boyang Zhang: Analyst, Ziff Brothers Investments
Debi Mohapatra: Assistant Professor, Univ. Dept. of Agriculture (International and Development Economics)
Leah Bevis: Assistant Professor, Ohio State University, Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics (International and Development Economics)
Nadia Streletskaya: Assistant Professor, Oregon State University, Applied Economics Department (Food and Agricultural Economics)
Nellie Zhao: Capital One (Labor, Macroeconomics)
Richard Klotz: Assistant Professor, Colgate University, Department of Economics (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Ross Milton: Assistant Professor, Kansas State University (Public Finance)
Sra Chuenchoksan: Bank of Thailand
Tamara McGavock: Assistant Professor, Grinnell College (Economic Development, Labor)
Tirupam Goel: Economist, Bank for International Settlements (Financial, Macroeconomics)
Vidhya Soundararajan: Assistant Professor, Economics and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (International and Development Economics)

2015 Placements (Examples)

Ankita Patnaik: Mathematica Policy Research (Labor)
Anna Choi: Young Professionals Programme, OECD, Paris
Brandon Tripp: Post Doctoral Associate, Cornell University (Behavioral)
Daniel Grossman: Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, West Virginia University
Dennis Becker: Associate, Dean & Company (International and Development Economics)
Duk Gyoo Kim: Dan Searle Postdoctoral Fellow in Economics, California Institute of Technology (Public Economics, Political Economy, Behavioral Economics)
Evan Buntrock: Economist, Amazon (Labor)
Hao Lu: Senior Quantitative Analyst, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Joanna Upton: Post-Doctoral Associate, Dyson School, Cornell University (International and Development Economics)
Jubo Yan: Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technological University (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Julia Berazneva: Assistant Professor, Middlebury College (International and Development Economics)
Kalyani Raghunathan: Associate Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (Development)
Kyle Rozema: Post Doc Fellow, Northwestern Univ. Securities & Exchange Commission (International and Development Economics)
Pimbucha Rusmevichientong: Assistant Professor, California State University (Food and Agricultural Economics)
Priya Mukherjee: Assistant Professor, College of William & Marry (Development, Political Economy)
Richard Patterson: Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, US Military Academy, West Point
Samuel Bell: Co-Founder & CEO, Vitalite Zambia Limited (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Sharmini Radakrishnan: Economist, Abt Associates (Public Finance)
Teevrat Garg: Assistant Professor, University of California, San Diego (International and Development Economics)
Xiaomeng Lu: Assistant Professor, SAIF at Shanghai Jiaotong University (Behavioral)
Yanlei Ma: Associate, Cornerstone Research (Macroeconomics, Political Economy)

2014 Placements (Examples)

Adrian Lopes: Assistant Professor, American University of Sharjah, Department of Economics (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Ahmed Jaber: PricewaterhouseCoopers (Basic Analytical Economics)
Anna Hill: Economist, Mathematica Policy Research
Benjamin Leard: Fellow, Resources for the Future (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Catalina Herrera-Almanza: Assistant Professor, Northeastern University (International and Development Economics)
Chayanee Chawanote: Assistant Professor, Thammasat University (International and Development Economics)
Elaine Hill: Assistant Professor, University of Rochester (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Joel Landry: Assistant Professor, Pennsylvania State University (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Jonathan Dressler: Associate Director, MetLife Agricultural Investments (Food and Agricultural Economics)
Jose Balmori de la Miyar: Associate Dean of the Faculty of Business at Universidad Anáhuac México
Jun Sung Kim: Monash University, Melbourne (Econometrics/Economic Statistics)
Katherine Michelmore: Post Doctoral Fellowship, University of Michigan
Kira Villa: Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico (International and Development Economics)
Lauren Jones: Assistant Professor, Dept of Consumer Science, Ohio State University
Mahmut Kemal Ozbeck: Economic Theory
Nathaniel Jensen: Post-Doctoral Associate, Dyson School, Cornell University (International and Development Economics)
Nichole Szembrot: Trinity College (Applied Economics)
Philip Armour: RAND Corporation
Romi Kher: Post-Doctoral Associate, Dyson School, Cornell University (Management (Business Econ))
Sean Lyons: Congressional Budget Office (Labor)
Seung Won Woo: Financial Management
Shadi Atallah: Assistant Professor, Purdue University (Food and Agricultural Economics)
Shooshan Dangagoulian: Wayne State University (Econometrics/Economic Statistics)
Tianli Zhao: Research Economist, World Bank (International)
Woo Young Jeon: Associate Research Fellow, Korea Energy Economics Institute (International and Development Economics)
Xin Jin: University of South Florida (Monetary/Macro)
Yu Qin: Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore (International and Development Economics)
Zhuo Zhong: University of Melbourne (Economic Theory)

2013 Placements (Examples)

Alexander Rees-Jones: NBER Post-doctural Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania (Behavioral)
Anuk Serechetapongse: Economist, IMF Economist Program (International)
Aurelie Harou: Assistant Professor, Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Canada (International and Development Economics)
Chen Zhao: Economist, Analysis Group (Labor)
Christopher Handy: Visiting Professor, Washington and Lee University (Labor)
Dusan Drabik: Post-Doctoral Associate, European Commission (Food and Agricultural Economics)
Esther Washburn Mezey: Economist, Axioma (Labor)
Freeha Fatima: Economist, World Bank (Development)
Jingxian Angie Zheng: Financial Engineer , Pacific Investment Management Company LLLC (PIMCO) (Econometrics)
John Owsley: Ernst & Young (Macroeconomics)
Kevin Roth: University of California at Irvine (Enviornmental)
Kristen Cooper: Assistant Professor, Gordon College (Environmental, Energy and Resource Economics)
Leslie Verteramo Chiu: Post-Doctoral Associate, Dyson School, Cornell University (Food and Agricultural Economics)
Minwook Kang: Nanyang Technological University (Macroeconomics)
Nolan Kopkin: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Department of Africology (Labor)
Peilin Billy Hsieh: Xiamen University, China, Wang Yanan Institute for Studies in Eocnomics (Econometrics)
Stephen Ciccarella: Senior Associate, Crowe Horwath, LLP (Labor)
Tae-Hoon Lim: Korea Institute International Economic Policy (KIEF) (International Finance)

Areas of Specialization and Placement Opportunities

UCLA's Department of Economics offers workshops in various fields, including:

Theory and Mathematical Economics
International and Development Economics
Labor and Population Economics
Business Organization and Regulation Economics
Economic History
Econometrics
Monetary Theory

These workshops reflect the department's strengths and the diverse research interests of its faculty and graduate students. Graduates specializing in these areas find opportunities in academic institutions, research organizations, government agencies, and private sector firms.

Factors Influencing Placement Success

Several factors contribute to the successful placement of UCLA Economics PhD graduates:

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Rigorous Training: The program's emphasis on economic theory and real-world applications equips students with a strong foundation for research and analysis.
Faculty Support: The department's internationally recognized scholars provide guidance and mentorship to graduate students, enhancing their research capabilities and career prospects.
Research Opportunities: Workshops and research assistant positions offer students valuable opportunities to engage in cutting-edge research and collaborate with faculty members.
Networking: The department's connections with major universities, government agencies, and private sector firms facilitate networking and job placement opportunities for graduates.

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