The Department of Economics offers programs leading to the Ph.D. degree in Economics and M.S. degree in Applied Economics and Finance.

The Ph.D. program in Economics provides students with training in modern microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics, combined with specialized training in the fields of international finance and international trade and options to pursue specializations in economic development, monetary economics, applied microeconomics, experimental economics and other areas. The core emphasis of the program is on international trade and finance, and the program offers more intensive course work in these areas, as well as greater faculty depth in various aspects of international economics, than do traditional Ph.D. programs in economics that offer international economics as a single subfield. However, the department is also home to a large number of internationally recognized faculty whose work is outside of international and who regularly supervise Ph.D. students. Graduates of the program have conducted research on a wide variety of topics; examples include monetary economics, experimental economics, environmental economics, and economic growth and development as well as international economics.

Graduates of the program have taken positions at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. Treasury, the Bank of Canada, the Swiss National Bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and tenure track academic appointments at Brandeis University, the University of Wisconsin, Ryerson University, the University of Alberta, Indiana University, Mount Holyoke College, Royal London College, Vassar College, and the National Dong Hwa University.

The M.S. program in Applied Economics and Finance is designed for students who wish to supplement their undergraduate work in economics with analytical graduate training that prepares them for careers in business, international and domestic banking, consulting firms, government, and nonprofit organizations. The program combines theory with meaningful applications that students are likely to face in their professional careers. The program is more practical than a typical M.A. program and provides more training in economics and statistics than most M.B.A. programs.

Recent graduates have found employment with a wide range of public and private sector employers, including VISA Inc., Providian Financial, Deloitte and Touche, Wells Fargo, the World Bank, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.