The literature research students need to rely on throughout all of their thesis writing is diverse. Broadly categorized there are three types of literature useful for PhD students: research/topic literature, methods literature, and ‘how to do your PhD’ literature. A somewhat similar classification of PhD materials can, for example, be found in Chris Hart’s Doing a Literature Search: A Comprehensive Guide for the Social Sciences (2010, Sage, p.2), which I recommend immensely.

Less than a decade ago student relied on word of mouth and the information available in their universities when choosing a Masters Program. Today, internet-based searching is the foremost source of advice when it comes to exploring opportunities for postgraduate education. Students who are interested in studying abroad in particular turn to search engines and course-listing platforms in their search, and often make their decisions based on the information presented online. Using our own and published data about online behavior, it is possible to identify the key trends in how people search for study programs. Understanding these trends is vital for universities to stay competitive in the global educational market.

The application deadline for the winter semester in many Latin American universities is approaching. To help those considering further education or work in this region we are sharing a list of top Economics Departments in Latin America. If you are interested in universities in other regions, check out our previous posts on the Top 10 Economics Departments in Europe and Top 10 Economics Institutions in Asia. The following list is based on the QS Latin American University Rankings for Economics and Econometrics.

According to our study last year, 35% of economists are working outside their home countries.  The majority of economists go to work to the US, Germany and France (11% of the respondents respectively), followed by Switzerland (8%), Italy, Netherlands and the UK (6% respectively).

Source: Estadística de Variaciones Residenciales y Estimaciones de la Población Actual, INE.

With the application deadlines for PhD and Master’s courses in Europe approaching, we decided to post a list of Top 10 European Economics Departments to support your decision when choosing the right institution. As all university rankings have their flaws and there is an obvious shortage of rankings for specific disciplines, we combined two ranking systems in one table: RePEc, Top 25% Economics Departments (February 2013) and QS World University Rankings by Subject (2012).

Data Source: RePEc, Top 12.5% Asia, as of January 2013

After our post last summer about the trend for conferences and prizes aimed at young economists, several further events are coming up this year, which could be of interest to PhD students and young researchers. Some of these are specifically for students or junior academics whilst others offer financial support or prizes to those attending or presenting papers at the meeting.

Source: National Science Foundation, NSF/NIH/USED/USDA/NEH/NASA, Survey of Earned Doctorates

With ice on the ground and a chill in the air (at least for those living in northern climes), it is nice to think about the summer and all of the welcome things it brings: warmth, flowers, and, of course, new career and training opportunities.

Source: Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (China), The Survey of Earned Doctorates, National Science Foundation (US)

Following the entry on this blog last month about countries with the most top 100 economics departments according to REPEC data, I thought it a worthwhile pursuit to look a little more into these rankings, and to seek out some alternatives to that offered by REPEC.

Following our earlier post from November about Economics Conferences in 2013, we have now published a (chronological) list of Conferences in Economics and Statistics taking place in the Asia-Pacific Region. If you know of other interesting, economics-related events in the region, please share these with us in the comments at the end of this post.

Data Source: RePEc

Considering the remarkable technological progress and the spread of social media in the last few years, it can be challenging to teach and involve students when using an old-fashioned lecture style. Shelving overhead projectors and boring PowerPoint slides, some professors have converted to “education 2.0”, integrating new tools and applications into their class format.

When I was about to receive my Bachelor diploma, I was confused. I knew where I wanted to work, but I didn’t know how to get there with a Degree in Law. I also knew that I needed to steer my professional training towards economics, but I didn’t know how. The problem was that I just didn’t have enough credits in any economics-related disciplines to meet the requirements of the majority of study programs available. After having weighed all the options, I made up my mind to apply for an MA in Public Policy and to try to focus on economics-related disciplines.

Source: Survey on Research Funding for the Social Sciences in Europe, Ramon Marimon, Igor Guardiancich, Mike Mariathasan, Eva Rossi, European University Institute, 2011

The China Economic Review from last month ran an interesting piece by John van Fleet about the 150,000+ Haigui (海归) currently studying in the USA (Haigui, literally “Sea Turtles” is the name given to Chinese students studying abroad). Van Fleet discusses not only the challenges of interaction between international and domestic students, but also the economic impact for both host and origin country.

What happens to economics students once they complete their first degree? Here is a snapshot of economics graduates’ activities detailing their occupation six months after graduation.

A few weeks ago I came across an interview on TechCrunch with Brian Kibby, the president of McGraw-Hill Higher Education, discussing his positive outlook on the future of e-books, e-content and generally the future of what he calls ‘super adaptive learning.’ Contrary to what one might expect from a textbook publisher, Kibby explains in the interview that he expects to see a significant increase in the adoption of e-materials within the next year and full adoption within three years. Optimistic?