So great are UChicago’s contributions in economics that an entire school of thought is associated with the University’s name. Since the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was first awarded in 1969, 34 recipients have been affiliated with Chicago as faculty, researchers, or students. Today, undergraduates learn from economists whose research includes game theory, economic models of crime, the economics of sports, and the Great Depression. The faculty’s reputation, according to the National Research Council, is first among 107 economics programs in the nation. Most recently, Professor Kevin Murphy received a MacArthur “Genius” grant for “revealing economic forces shaping vital social phenomena.”
The curriculum covers price theory and macroeconomics, economic history, econometrics, mathematics, and calculus, as well as a wide range of other topics: environmental economics, health economics and public policy, and public choice, for example. Internships and research positions in the Department of Economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and NORC (formerly the National Opinion Research Center) are encouraged.