Since the university's founding in 1746, many courses in the social sciences, including history and politics, were taught in the department of Jurisprudence and Political Economy. Coursework specifically in political economy became available in 1819. When Woodrow Wilson became a professor in 1890, additional courses were added to the curriculum, including the History of Political Economy. By 1913, the department became independent from history and politics, forming the Department of Economics and Social Institutions.4
The undergraduate program is one of the most prestigious programs for the study of economics in the country and in the world. Economics is the most popular concentration (Princeton's version of an academic major) at the undergraduate level.5 Because the university does not have a business school, the economics concentration attracts many students who are interested in careers in investment banking, management consulting, finance, technology, and more.6 The curriculum itself is theoretical in nature, requiring students complete quantitative courses up to multivariate calculus.7 In partnership with the Bendheim Center for Finance, the department also offers an Undergraduate Finance Certificate.8
The graduate program in economics trains Ph.D. students for careers in academia, government, and industry. It receives approximately 800 applications for a class of 20 to 25 students who come from over 30 different countries around the world.9 The program has numerous fields of specialization and has been particularly strong in the areas of Macroeconomics, Industrial Relations, and International Finance.1011 Graduate students who pursue academic careers have historically had placement records at some of the world's leading universities including Harvard, Yale, MIT, and Cornell.12
The department also oversees a number of centers and initiatives, including:13
The 2023-2024 U.S. News & World Report places its graduate department as No. 4 nationwide in the field of Economics, tied there with the University of Chicago, Yale University, and the University of California, Berkeley.14 The National Research Council's rankings place the university at No. 2 in the S-Rank (Scholars Rank) and No. 2 in the Research Rank.15
In the 2018 Q.S. World University Rankings, the department places as No. 3 in the world in the fields of Economics and Econometrics.16 The 2018 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranks the department as No. 7 globally.17 It has been ranked by RePEc among the top ten economics Departments in the world.18
Among the department's past and current faculty members are several recipients of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences:19
Other notably past and present faculty members include:
40°20′54″N 74°39′17″W / 40.34835°N 74.65467°W / 40.34835; -74.65467
Roessler, Christian. "Applying for Admission to Economics PhD Programs in the United States". University of Rochester. https://www.scribd.com/document/68515089/Guide-to-PhD-s-in-Economics ↩
"Economics". U.S. News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/economics-rankings ↩
"Facilities". Princeton University. https://facilities.princeton.edu/projects/julis-romo-rabinowitz-building-louis-simpson-international-building ↩
Leitch, Alexander. "The Department of Economics". A Princeton Companion. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2018-08-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305080505/http://etcweb.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/economics_department.html ↩
"The 3 most popular majors at every Ivy League school". Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/most-popular-ivy-league-major-2017-4 ↩
"Undergraduate Program". Princeton University Department of Economics. https://economics.princeton.edu/undergraduate-program/ ↩
"Requirements". Princeton University Department of Economics. https://economics.princeton.edu/undergraduate-program/requirements/#mathematicsprerequisites ↩
"Finance Certificate". Princeton University Department of Economics. https://economics.princeton.edu/undergraduate-program/finance-certificate/ ↩
"The Ph.D. Program". Princeton University Department of Economics. https://economics.princeton.edu/graduate-program/ ↩
Leitch, Alexander. "Industrial Relations". A Princeton Companion. http://etcweb.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/industrial_relations_section.html ↩
Leitch, Alexander. "International Finance". A Princeton Companion. http://etcweb.princeton.edu/CampusWWW/Companion/international_finance_section.html ↩
"Placement". Princeton University Department of Economics. https://economics.princeton.edu/graduate-program/placement-record/ ↩
"Centers and Programs". Princeton University Department of Economics. https://economics.princeton.edu/centers-programs/ ↩
"Doctoral Programs by the Numbers". The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-/124724 ↩
"QS world university rankings 2018: economics and econometrics". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2018/feb/28/qs-world-university-rankings-2018-economics-and-econometrics ↩
"World University Rankings 2018". Times Higher Education. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2018/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/subjects/3087/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats ↩
"Top 10% Economic Institutions, as of July 2019". RePEc. https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.inst.all.html ↩
"Nobel Prize, Economics". Princeton University. https://www.princeton.edu/meet-princeton/honors-awards#nobel-prize-economics ↩
"The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2022". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2022-10-11. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2022/summary/ ↩
"The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2015". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2022-10-11. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2015/summary/ ↩
"The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2011". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2022-10-11. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2011/summary/ ↩
"The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2008". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2022-10-11. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2008/summary/ ↩
"The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2007". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2022-10-11. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2007/summary/ ↩
"The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1994". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2022-10-11. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1994/summary/ ↩
"The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1979". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2022-10-11. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1979/summary/ ↩