With the completion of the 2002-2003 academic year, the Boston College Department of Economics marks its fiftieth year of doctoral studies. The inaugural doctoral programs in economics, education and history were established in the academic year 1952—1953. As the July, 1993 BC•EC stated, 166 doctoral degrees in economics were granted in the 1953—1993 period: an average just over four per year. In the fifth decade of the doctoral program's existence, an additional 64 degrees were granted: an average of five per year during 1994—1998, and 7.8 per year over the most recent quinquennium. The smallest class was that of 1998, with three degree recipients, and the largest was that of 2001, when 11 doctoral degrees were awarded. The higher numbers reflect the expansion of the program as part of the University Academic Planning Council initiative (see BC•EC, August 1998) which increased the number of first-year Ph.D. students with full financial support by 50 per cent.
The 230 recipients of the Ph.D. in economics from Boston College have followed varied career paths, from academic positions in research universities and liberal arts colleges to international organizations, research institutes, and the business sector. Many academic alumni have played an important part in the graduate admissions process by identifying candidates for the program, and publicizing the program's success to prospective applicants. The Department's track record of placing graduates in prestigious research positions, such as the IMF and World Bank Young Economist programs, reflects earlier graduates' success in those institutions.
The 64 members of Boston College's company of scholars who earned the Ph.D. in the last decade are: Xiaoqiang Hu, Alison Kelly, Olin Liu, Sr. Beth Anne Tercek ('1994); John Barkoulas, Basma Bekdache, Michael Fenollosa, Alpay Filiztekin, José Hernandez-Garcia, James Monks, Van Newby, M. Serif Sayin, Gülcan Unal ('1995); Meral Karasulu, Kathleen Lang, David Richardson, Michael Salve, Kristian Uppenberg ('1996); Wenjie Fan, James Fetzer, Salih Gurcan Gülen, John Jordan ('1997); Mustafa Caglayan, Kelly Chaston, Steven Pizer ('1998); Minh Huynh, Carol Kallman Kane, David Mishol, Ayla Ogus, Neslihan Ozkan, Srikanth Seshadri, Gregory Swinand ('1999); Silvia Ardagna, Oriana Bandiera, Benoit Durand, Emanuela Galasso, Michael Hansen, Martin Konan, Gurkan Oguz ('2000); Kevin Cahill, Metin Celebi, Nikolay Gospodinov, Charles Ian Mead, Antonio Menezes, Maria Laura Parisi, Mark Sarro, Niloufer Sohrabji, Soner Tunay, An Yan, Yuichiro Yoshida ('2001); Helen Connolly, Can Erbil, Vasso Ioannidou, Ümit Özlale, Cesare Robotti, Andreas Waldkirch, Maurizio Zanardi ('2002); and Tiziana Brancaccio, Michael Giandrea, Kamer Karakurum Özdemir, Rachida Ouysse, Özlem Sayinta, Xiaomeng Yang, and Eçe Yolas ('2003). Congratulations to all for their participation in the success of Boston College Economics.
06 Nov 2003