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Cambridge, MA · Economics

Economics at Harvard

Harvard graduates about 258 economics majors a year, 15% of its graduating class. That puts it 1st of 683 schools we score for economics, a standout program at 99 out of 100. Graduates in the major earn a median $156,000 four years out, 1.88× what the same major pays nationally. Research spending in the field runs about $46 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

99/100Standout#1 of 683 for economics →
Graduates a year25815% of the class
Median pay 4 years out$156,0001.88× the same major nationally
Research in the field$46Ma year, NSF
Admit rate4%whole school
SAT middle 50%1490–1580whole school

Around Harvard

Happened to catch the glow of the evening sun reflecting on Memorial Hall today.
Memorial Hall, Perfect Evening Light (6670591133)Photo: Tim Sackton from Somerville, MA · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
A rack for locking electric scooters outside Cabot Science Library at Harvard Un
Electric scooter rack outside Cabot Science Library Harvard Feb 2025Photo: 4300streetcar · CC BY 4.0 · source
Camera location42° 22′ 35.43″ N, 71° 06′ 57.87″ W View this and other nearby ima
Gregorian telescope circa 1735 in Putnam Gallery, 2009-11-24Photo: Sage Ross · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Person in a wheelchair entering an inbound Red Line train at Harvard Square
Wheelchair user on the Red Line at Harvard station, June 2012jpgPhoto: ArnoldReinhold · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Where economics happens

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 130 · Dorm 62 · Student housing 22 · Arts 6 · Library 6 · Chapel 4.

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Nearby in the economics ranking

  1. University of Chicago 99
  2. Duke University 98
  3. Yale University 97
  4. Brown University 97
  5. Princeton University 97

Other strong majors at Harvard

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares Harvard with every school we score in economics. It weighs the school's overall strength; how many students graduate in the major and what share of the class they are; research spending in the field (NSF); early pay against the same major nationally; how many courses the catalog lists; and test scores. 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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