The department has a long and distinguished tradition dating back to the pioneering work of John Bates Clark, Wesley Clair Mitchell, Harold Hotelling, and William Vickrey. This tradition is kept alive by a strong, research-oriented faculty whose interests range from pure theory to a variety of applied subjects. The department is closely associated with Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, whose seven Regional Institutes give intensive training focusing on the major world areas. Graduate education in economics at Columbia provides rigorous training and encourages students to do original and innovative work.
All students learn to use the basic economic tools and master two specialized fields.
Faculty-student weekly workshops play a key role, providing a forum for new ideas and a free exchange and an opportunity for keeping abreast of the most current issues and research in the field. There is no M.A. only program in Economics. The department participates in the new, interdisciplinary M.A. Program in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences. This M.A. program trains students in how to apply quantitative methods to problems in the social sciences as they arise in business, government, and non-profit organizations. The program draws on the diverse strengths of the statistics and social sciences faculties at Columbia and other institutions in the New York metropolitan area.