Graduate Student Career Placement

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Where Do ACE Graduate Students Go?*

Graduate programs in the Department of ACE prepare students for – and place students in – the futures they want

Facts to Know

  • Half of our PhD students end up in faculty positions (UMass-Amherst, Purdue, Texas A&M, etc.)
  • 28% of our MS students go on to PhD programs
  • Most PhD students finish in 4-5 years
  • Most MS students finish in 1.5-2 years
  • 75% of PhDs that with initial placements in postdocs then move into tenure track jobs

Initial Placement of Master’s Students (with examples)

  • PhD programs (25%): MIT, UIUC, UC-Davis, Cornell, etc.
  • Private sector: (36%) Industrial Economics, Rabobank, Noble Americas, etc.
  • Government/NGOs/non-faculty academic (27%): USDA, HUD, BLS, IFPRI, World Bank, Tufts, Missouri State, etc.

A pie chart displaying twenty five percent of masters students go on to PhD programs, thirty six percent enter the private sector, and twenty seven percent go into government, ngos, or non-faculty academic positions.

Initial Placement of PhD Students (with examples)

  • Faculty (31%): Michigan State, U. of Nebraska, U. of W. Virginia, Colby College, U. Saskatchewan, etc.
  • Postdoc (24%): Harvard, U. Minnesota, Tulane, etc.
  • Government/NGO (31%): USDA, IFPRI, World Bank, IADB, RFF, NOAA, NCAR, etc.
  • Private sector (13%): HSBC, JD Power & Assoc., McKinsey, Morgan-Stanley, etc.

A pie chart showing 31% of phd students go on to careers as faculty, 24% go on to postdoc positions, 31% work for the government or ngos, and 13% work in the private sector.

*Based on data for 2006-2014