About
Alfred Marshall defined the discipline of economics as the “study of mankind in the ordinary business of life.” In consonance with the College of Arts & Letters' slogan — Study everything. Do anything. — our faculty study a wide range of economic phenomena using modern and sophisticated techniques, and our students go on to do almost anything.
As a community, we strive to foster and sustain an environment of mutual respect, welcoming, and inclusion — all in support of Notre Dame's distinct Catholic mission.
World-class faculty
Our department is home to more than 50 full-time faculty with wide-ranging research and teaching interests. Our faculty have Ph.D.s from some of the top national and international universities, and they have expertise in all core fields of economics.
Many of our faculty hold affiliations with prestigious research organizations, such as the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the IZA Institute for Labor Economics, and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). Several faculty members sit on editorial boards for top journals in economics, and others have been involved in policymaking, including with the President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).
Cutting-edge research
Our faculty and graduate students conduct, disseminate, and publish cutting-edge research in all fields of economics. We study everything from domestic poverty to economic development in low-income countries, from family dynamics to urban housing, from international taxation to sovereign debt, and from charitable giving to monetary policy, to name a few areas of focus.
Faculty regularly publish in the top general-interest and field-specific journals in economics. Their work is also frequently funded by prestigious government organizations, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, as well as private organizations, like the Russell Sage Foundation.
Our department is home to two world-class research institutes. The Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) is a research center focused on studying the causes of, and solutions to, domestic poverty. The Building Inclusive Growth Lab (BIG Lab) is a research center focused on poverty in the developing world.
Unsurpassed undergraduate experience
We offer a rigorous and comprehensive experience to undergraduate students. Our programs include:
- Majors in Economics and International Economics
- A Concentration in Financial Economics and Econometrics (CFEE) is available to students in either major.
- A minor in Business Economics which is open to any student in a non-economics major in the College of Arts and Letters.
Between 200 and 250 undergraduate students leave Notre Dame each spring with a major from our department, accounting for more than 10% of graduating seniors.
Our core classes teach students how to think like an economist and equip them with the tools needed to study more specialized topics. We offer a variety of elective classes, ranging from broad areas like Economic Growth, Health Economics, and International Macroeconomics to more specialized classes such as Economics of the Family, Sports Economics, and Economics and the Seven Deadly Sins.
Students also get involved with research, with many serving as research assistants. Annually, between 20 and 40 students complete their own research projects through a senior thesis.
Beyond Notre Dame, our students advance to a range of jobs and post-graduate studies. 96% of recent Notre Dame Economics majors found full-time employment, enrolled in graduate school, or entered service programs upon graduation.
High-quality graduate training
We offer a comprehensive and high-quality Ph.D. program to prepare students for careers in academia, government, and the private sector. At present, we have more than 40 fully-funded doctoral students. All Ph.D. students have office space in our department and are full members of our intellectual community.
After taking core classes in their first year and field classes in their second and third years, students complete and defend dissertations in all the major areas of economics.
Recent placements include tenure-track positions at academic institutions such as Virginia Tech University, Wellesley College, and Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich; research positions with international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund; positions in government agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and private-sector jobs with companies such as Bank of America and Amazon.
Seminars and events
The Department hosts regular seminars in the following areas: Applied Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, International Economics, Development, Theory, and Econometrics. These seminars bring world-class faculty to campus to discuss cutting-edge research with our faculty and students. We also regularly host mini-conferences. Our Combs Lecture Series brings leading academics, practitioners, and policymakers to campus for presentations. Explore our upcoming events.
Community
We intentionally foster a welcoming and inclusive environment where individuals from all backgrounds can flourish. Most of our faculty and graduate students regularly work in the office and welcome students and visitors during their office hours.
The department regularly hosts social events for faculty and students, including fall and spring picnics for undergraduate students and faculty; tailgates prior to each home football game for faculty, staff, graduate students, and their families; and other events throughout the academic year.