Harvard University's Department of Economics ranked first in the 2009 "U.S. News & World Report" survey. The undergraduate program offers coursework in economic history, finance, game theory/decision theory, labor economics, micro- and macroeconomic theory, behavioral economics and public sector economics. Coursework prepares students for careers in fields such as business, international trade, banking, law or the stock market. The doctoral program offers the opportunity to work with faculty and researchers from other Harvard schools, such as law, government or business. Each year, this highly competitive program receives about 800 applications and admits 30 to 33 students.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, Department of Economics tied for first place in the "U.S. News & World Report" rankings. The undergraduate program offers hands-on research opportunities. Required coursework include macro- and microeconomics, statistics and econometrics. Students choose electives from subfields such as economic theory, monetary economics, labor economics or the economics of education. MIT's Ph.D. program accepts up to 24 students each year from a pool of 800 applicants. As of January 2011, about half of currently admitted students held undergraduate degrees from countries other than the U.S.
Also tied for first place, Princeton University's Department of Economics is home to 11 research centers and programs including the Bendheim Center for Finance, the Economic Theory Center, the Office of Population Research and the Princeton Laboratory for Experimental Social Science. Undergraduate degrees prepare students for work in fields such banking, consulting and business. Of 700 annual applicants, Princeton's graduate program accepts from 20 to 25 students. Most graduates work in academia or serve in the public sector. Ph.D. students must complete a dissertation, pass a general exam and pass a final oral exam.
The University of Chicago's Department of Economics also tied for first place. The department is responsible for many historical and current economic theories, such as general equilibrium models of foreign trade, applied welfare economics, the monetary approach to international finance and rational expectations in macroeconomics. The Ph.D. program requires students to pass a series of examinations in the first two years of study before completing a dissertation. The school has an enrollment of about 200 full-time graduate students. About 260 undergraduates receive their degrees each year.