I'm Charles Becker.
I've been at Duke since 2003, and have been
involved in building and helping direct the
master's program in economics, which has grown
from a small program to a very large, multidimensional
program today that is one of the most exciting
aspects of our department.
Our program differs from just about every
other master's program that I know of — and
this includes the entire range of our master's
programs — in that it's academically extremely
rigorous.
Students at Duke also have the run of departments.
It's not a lock-step program.
People choose a set of courses in conjunction
with their advisor, that they choose a set
of courses that best fits them.
And those will include courses in mathematics,
statistics, computer science, political science,
public policy, the business school, and environmental
science.
So there's this huge range, and people tailor
the academic program that meets their needs
best.
And they end up working.
Many work as teaching assistants or as data
consultants, but there's a very large proportion
— I would say probably a majority — who
at some point will end up working as research
assistants.
That's really important, because really learning
economics, really acquiring the technical
skills — both the modeling skills and the
econometrics skills — that make you valued
in the job market occurs when you actually
have to do it, not simply sit back and absorb.
And working hand-in-hand with a professor,
one-on-one, is the best way to do that.
We don't want just one type of student.
I would say the most important characteristic
is not so much knowing exactly what you want
to do with your life, but being willing to
take risks.
We want people who are excited, engaged; we
want people who will not only take advantage
of of this program for themselves, but will
contribute to others learning.
That's the kind of person we want.
