please i need you to explain to me how is it possible to do your phd immediately after your B.se i am a final year student in one of nigeria foremost university with a cgpa of 4.40 and still hoping to make a first class in physics and i will appreciate other additional information thanks a million times

readone1: please i need you to explain to me how is it possible to do your phd immediately after your B.se i am a final year student in one of nigeria foremost university with a cgpa of 4.40 and still hoping to make a first class in physics and i will appreciate other additional information thanks a million times

nice question..just joining the thread again after a little break.

doing a PhD directly after a B.Sc is a commendable leap! i'm not sure how readily you can get admitted for a post-graduate research degree in Nigeria after a first degree without going through MSc as I am not so familiar with the terrain of admission protocol back home. as a matter of fact, I'm an advocate for an international exposure. hence I will advice you spread your tentacles to a first world for a worthwhile academic experience.

while it's very feasible in the UK, I am sure you can achieve same feat in the US, Canada and Australia. however, there's a clause. the UK prefers you make a first class, pass your IELTS and submit a detailed research proposal. these are the most vital keys to what you seek. I must emphasize on your research proposal because a first class degree [even if you score 5.0/5.0] may not just be enough to guarantee you a space if you do not have a viable proposal. therefore a detailed and explicit research proposal with a thorough background, review of literatures, statement of problem, research questions, aims and objectives of research targeted at making original contribution to knowledge and most prolly stating tentatively a model to be explored will be given some considerable degree of attention. one thing you must endeavour not to miss out in your proposal is the particular research protocol you wish to adopt. state clearly your chosen methodology [ a positivist approach, post-positivist or interpretive/ qualitative] justify your methodology and critically debate on current literatures. state clearly why your work is different. what you hope to achieve, how you intend to sample participants/data, inclusion criteria, ethical protocols [very very important lest you land yourself or the school in an unethical research which may drag them down with litigation] how you intend to analyse your data, how you you wish to disseminate your findings.

these are issues they read in your proposals and when I say they 'read' them, they read between the lines. lots of ambiguous and unrealistic proposals get thrown out due to poor outlines of these factors even when such candidates have first class. again, outlining this factor isn't the end of it all. I am not trying to scare you. take it along your strides. it's very achievable. be ready for a one-on-one interview to clarify grey areas [if you are called upon for an interview] . for you to be called for an interview, you must have submitted a meaningful research proposal. at least one that makes 80% sense. I know of a Nigerian lady who read nursing last year in the UK. it was a BSC degree and she subsequently applied for PhD. she filled her forms, as a matter of fact, we filled it together - I just did some editing of the forms and she submitted. luckily, the examiners considered the research a viable one and she got a unique slot for an interview. not many people get to the interview stage. alas, she was not granted a space. reason you may ask? she was not confident enough to articulate her research methodology and protocol. please try as much as possible to familiarise yourself with research methodologies, it's principles, practice and ethics if you have any interview. they'll surely grill you silly with it before you are admitted in the UK and i'm sure the same goes for other countries because scientific/social research is a sensitive issue here. one text i will recommend is 'social research methods' by Alan Bryman. it's a page turner and it's so easy to understand. go through t first before designing a proposal for submission. it'll sure give you an insight into what to expect and open your intellect into the world of scientific or social research. if your proposal and research is nice & interesting , you'll not only get an admission, you can even grab grants when you solicit. again, be sure you are exploring an area of typical interest to you. the world of research is full of challenges. the only reason to forge ahead sometimes is your passion for what you are exploring. so beyond the quest for the degree, be absolutely sure it's something you are passionate about you are researching into lest a little frustration with funny results along the line bore you and turn you off.

Nigerian students abroad soar to academic excellence very well I must confess. it makes me wonder how much we can achieve if only education is taking as a top priority by the government.

wish you good luck in your endeavours.

tanimola22:




In my experience, I have found that Nigerian students who graduated tops in oil and gas engineering related programs in the US got more oil job offers than their fellow Nigerian counterparts in the UK.For example, one of the Cambridge guys I earlier spoke about came back to naija after his studies because he was unable to get a juicy job and never applied for any PhD position. Till now, it has not been easy for him to land the big oil job he envisaged.The other one successfully got a place at Shell UK. Many others I know, they had to accept PhD positions in Chemical/Petroleum Engineering because the juicy jobs just weren't forthcoming and they needed to get a steady source of income. A PhD offers that steady source of income for the duration of the PhD program and even beyond. That is why I am an advocate of using a PhD to hedge against one's inability to get a juicy job. Nonetheless, I am sure that you may also give many examples based on your experience in which many UK trained Nigerian graduates got juicy jobs after graduation. There is no one hard and fast rule; nothing is particularly straight.





Hope this story story story helps.

Truly yours,
T22

Your experience is quite different from mine. I have lots of friends who finished from the Uk and they'll landed in plum jobs with blue chip oil companies in Nigeria and even here in UK. as a matter of fact, more often than not they get jobs here in Uk as soon as their programs are over..meaning..before they think of boarding flights back to Nigeria, they are being wooed by the oil companies here and for those of them who insist to go back, they are never out of jobs.

secondly, the UK is a very sensitive zone. firstly, they emphasise so much on experience! they dont believe there is any substitute for hands on experience. for instance, if you match a Cambridge graduate against a product of Aberdeen or Robert Gordon University , it may surprise you to know that the products from Aberdeen or Robert Gordon will be chosen first before the Cambridge graduate. Reason: Univ. of Aberdeen is situated in the oil rich and central city of Aberdeen, Scotland where Uk has it's preponderance of Oil companies and Aberdeen students get slots for IT exposure. Same as Robert Gordon University which is also in Aberdeen. you may wonder why lots of Nigerian Students and other nationals who wish to come to the Uk to study oil/gas will drift readily towards Aberdeen. hence, Aberdeen is Usually school of first choice or Robert Gordon before even Cambridge. Employers are also aware of this. They gun for Aberdeen products and funny enough, their products have ALWAYS lived up to expectation so Aberdeen takes the cake on that issue. I may not be surprised your friend found it difficult. In as much as Cambridge is a nice school, it's got it's speciality areas. for chemical Engr, it's Cambridge but for Petroleum, I believe Aberdeen products will go first in terms of experience on learning.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2011/may/17/university-guide-engineering-chemical

Don1Dee:
Boss, you are best of a kind.
Can you elaborate on Education PG studies in U.S and Canada like the above? Not all of us will go the oil route! Tnx.

Indeed Don1Dee, not all of us will go the oil route. Very well said there, I must confess.

Ryerson University in Canada is not a bad idea. See http://www.ryerson.ca/graduate/admissions/index.html. They offer funding for Early Childhood Education, but you still have to prove that you have sufficient funds to cover your studies and living expenses in Canada. The requirement is a B average, which is equivalent to a 2:2 by the WES standards. See http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/index.asp. You will need about $6500 for school fees alone. This is one of the few programs that have continued to accept applications even though the deadlines had long passed. The application fee is $100. I particularly presented Ryerson University to you because it is a lot much cheaper. You may check it out.

For the top 10 Education Programs in the US, see http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/edu-rankings. A rough ranking of Early Childhood Education Colleges can be found here http://www.campusexplorer.com/colleges/major/61520316/Teacher-Training/4BBC102B/Early-Childhood-Education/.

The job market for educational analyst (especially positions in early childhood education) has always been favorable and will continue to be promising because not many people compete to fill up these positions. However, more often than not, one would have to take a state's Education Board Skills Test. In California, for example, it used to be possible to grant test waivers for some teachers, especially those interning as teachers. I hear that this is no more the case.

I must say that the route you are taking is not the conventional gbogbo ero route. I suspect that you will face less competition and have more opportunities. The field is still very far away from saturation. Before it will saturate, people like you will have gone very far. There is a field called behavioral economics/finance. Very few people are into it, and so there are still plenty of opportunities in the field. This is a hint for those interested to fully take advantage of it.

tanimola22:

Indeed Don1Dee, not all of us will go the oil route. Very well said there, I must confess.

Ryerson University in Canada is not a bad idea. See http://www.ryerson.ca/graduate/admissions/index.html. They offer funding for Early Childhood Education, but you still have to prove that you have sufficient funds to cover your studies and living expenses in Canada. The requirement is a B average, which is equivalent to a 2:2 by the WES standards. See http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/index.asp. You will need about $6500 for school fees alone. This is one of the few programs that have continued to accept applications even though the deadlines had long passed. The application fee is $100. I particularly presented Ryerson University to you because it is a lot much cheaper. You may check it out.

For the top 10 Education Programs in the US, see http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/edu-rankings. A rough ranking of Early Childhood Education Colleges can be found here http://www.campusexplorer.com/colleges/major/61520316/Teacher-Training/4BBC102B/Early-Childhood-Education/.

The job market for educational analyst (especially positions in early childhood education) has always been favorable and will continue to be promising because not many people compete to fill up these positions. However, more often than not, one would have to take a state's Education Board Skills Test. In California, for example, it used to be possible to grant test waivers for some teachers, especially those interning as teachers. I hear that this is no more the case.

I must say that the route you are taking is not the conventional gbogbo ero route. I suspect that you will face less competition and have more opportunities. The field is still very far away from saturation. Before it will saturate, people like you will have gone very far. There is a field called behavioral economics/finance. Very few people are into it, and so there are still plenty of opportunities in the field. This is a hint for those interested to fully take advantage of it.

Thanks T22, you're always on point!@bolded, presenting Ryerson to me on reason is cheap, how about its quality?

@tanimola22, nice work from u, ur really de bomb. Pls i graduated from a fed uni with a cgpa of 3.0 in economics and geography but my scores in my geo courses was generally poor due to poor maths skills. However my geo grades were above average. I intend to go for a masters in economics in nigeria before moving abroad for a phd in order to improve my chances. However i would really like u to educate me more on my possible career prospects with a phd in economics since u sound like an economist. Also do u think that geography is a dying field to pursue a postgraduate degree in? I'm asking this cos what i'm hearing on online forums about geography and gis is not too encouraging thanks a million in advance

readone1: please i need you to explain to me how is it possible to do your phd immediately after your B.se i am a final year student in one of nigeria foremost university with a cgpa of 4.40 and still hoping to make a first class in physics and i will appreciate other additional information thanks a million times

I will dwell on what has not been said so that you may have a wider view of what you are planning on getting yourself into.

To give you a straight answer, it is very possible. I know a guy who graduated(surprisingly with your CGPA, 4.40) and got a PhD position in physics at a very good university in the US. A PhD degree in the US mostly lasts for 5 years because everyone is expected to take courses in the first two years while the last 3 years is dedicated to research. You may get a Master's degree after the first two years or you may bone it, it is all your choice . Students who do not meet a certain minimum GPA are asked to excuse the program after the first two years.

Although the current state of things in Naija are not fully known to me, the BSc-PhD route was possible in Naija just a few years ago. I know my lecturer friend did it. He was seriously frustrated by the examination board while on it. In fact he had to defend his thesis more than once, and he really struggled throughout the whole process. But, at the end of the day, he made it! Also, a couple of my Oxford and Cambridge trained former professors did it. They completed a BSc degree at UI and went straight to the UK to pursue a PhD. I also know a chick colleague who completed her BSc degree(Astrophysics) at Harvard University and went straight to Cambridge to pursue a PhD in physics. I also know another guy, in fact from Abu-Zaria, who completed a PhD in physics at Cambridge. To even make matters worse, I know a BSc mathematics graduate who was admitted to study physics at PhD level in NY. Really, it depends on how enthusiastic you are about everything. Gragra and some ability are two ingredients that are very important.

One other thing I would like to stress is that some programs, in fact two that I am very familiar with, Oxford and Cambridge PhD programs in physics, have research projects from which students may select. So, in that case, you simply indicate the research projects that interest you and a supervisor will be assigned to you. You may want to visit their websites to confirm what I am saying.

It would not be a bad idea if you could state your institutions or countries of preference. US, UK, Canada, Aussy etc? Someone could have one or two things to say based on this. Would you also like to give a hint on the school in Naija where you are currently doing your BSc? This information would help us easily think of people who graduated from your school and program, and the schools they proceeded to for the pursuance of graduate studies. This would help you have a rough idea of the schools that are within your reach. However, don't stress yourself too much if you are not willing to divulge this information.

Try to aim for 5.00 so that you will at least conclude your studies with a 4.5ish CGPA (hopefully, the number of units you have taken so far is not huge). This is very important. The ball is in your court. Play it well.

Good luck omo oba.

T22

tanimola22:


This is very nice, and your preference of wanting to first gather some industry experience in the field of petroleum engineering is almost surely consistent with those of other engineering grads that I know. My friend who studied petroleum engineering had your view, and he luckily landed a job with Total few months after concluding NYSC. He is on 11 Million Naira per annum; so you may want to try your luck there too, when you graduate as a petroleum engineer.

I don't know how higher than 4.6 your GPA currently is, and I also don't know the level you are at the moment (whether 300L, 400L, or even 500L), but I believe, from experience, that it is possible to improve your GPA above what it is now. Try as much as possible to do that. A high GPA is always an advantage. In fact, it would be nice if you could target and achieve 5.00 from now on till you graduate. Trust me, this is very possible. And the good thing about this is that many schools in North America, especially schools in Canada and the US, specifically look at the grades you obtained in your last two years of studies as a way of evaluating your transcript(s). I have seen cases where boundary first guys (4.5-4.55) got very nice offers from top schools around the world because, even though they did not start very well, they had almost 5.00 in the last two years of their studies. Please take note of this, and take advantage of it. I would not have said this if you had already graduated, but I am saying this because you are still an undergrad and you can still make your situation better.

In case, upon graduation, you are not able to secure a very nice job that suits your taste, and you still desire to pursue a Master's in Petroleum Engineering, then I would advise that you take up the graduate research position, preferably work as a research assistant to a prof who is heavy in any research area that interests you, do it for one year and apply to all those top schools around the world. Of course, if you are gunning for the US, you first must have gotten very nice scores on the GRE and TOEFL tests. The reason I suggest working as a research assistant for one year is that the very top engineering schools around the world, such as MIT, Stanford and others, very much value research experience. Again, I have heard of cases where students were accepted into top research schools in the US and elsewhere just because they previously worked as research assistants in very relevant fields. So you may want to take very good advantage of this.

I earnestly believe that you have little to no problems at all. Try to up your already great GPA, take and ace the GRE and TOEFL. For the GRE, I suggest you concentrate more on the quantitative section because this is the area most programs are interested in. Don't kill yourself on the verbal part, although it would be nice if you could make a great score there. I guess someone with your IQ should score nothing less than >94th percentile on the quantitative section, >70th on the verbal section and perhaps >4.5/6 on the analytical writing section( I don't know how well you write, but you can always practice and score well). When you are armed with all these things, make sure you have some money to pay application fees. The application fee for each university in the US can be as high as 60$-100$. At times it can be more sef. However, if you know a prof who is ready to stick his neck out for you, then you escape paying the application fees at some universities. I for one did not have to pay any fees because I was familiar with some profs who aggressively supported my application .

The following schools should be your main focus:
Cambridge University: I am not sure if Petroleum Engineering is offered there, but I know they have Chemical Engineering. Also, the Gates Scholarship for very qualified students like you is not bad. You can get it, although the competition is fierce. Four people I know got it; 2 studied Mathematics, the other 2 studied Chemical Engineering. I particularly like Cambridge University because the academic work there is rigorous. You either shape in or shape out! I will not divulge more information than this, which is in fact what you need

Stanford University: A nairalander and one of our proud alumni did his PhD there. It is almost sure that you will land a top oil job in the US soon after your studies at Stanford University. For an instance, the said nairalander (username withheld) is a researcher at Mobil and, from what he has remarked, chances of getting top oil jobs are high after graduate studies at Stanford. The monthly stipend they give to graduate students is usually not bad. You can be a teaching assistant/research assistant, which means you have to teach undergraduates/do research with a prof before you earn the stipend, or you can get a fellowship, which means you don't have to teach nada. All you need to do is sit down and make a high GPA hahahaha. But getting a fellowship can be a pain in some US schools.

MIT: This one is among the best of the best engineering schools around the world, if not the best sef. Do your best to enter this one. This is the more reason why you have to make your GPA as high as possible, get great letters of recommendation from the best profs you can approach, score highly on the standardized tests and generally package your application very well. In my experience, a well packaged application will always not hurt you. I have had some academic opportunities, which other more able and qualified people could not have, simply because I have consistently packaged my applications very well. Use this trick.

Other very excellent schools you should try are Oxford University (UK), University of California at Berkley (US), Texas A&M (US), University of Houston, Caltech (US), Yale (US), Colorado School of Mines (US), TU Delft (Holland----a nairalander who graduated from your school FUTA did his MSc there and afterwards got 3 oil jobs and 6-11 PhD positions. He rejected all PhD positions. hahahaha. You too can surely achieve the same feat or even better), Manchester (UK), Toronto (Buhari ),Mc Gill(Canada). In fact, the list goes on. Another strong advice I would like to offer is that you certainly should not apply to only the very top schools. You have to diversify your applications. Endeavor to apply to schools that are not very high up there. You may still get a good offer after your studies. For instance, Louisiana may not be the best university to study your course. However, oil companies have consistently visited the university to recruit graduating students. In the same vein, I have two senior colleagues who completed their fully funded PhD programs at Heriot Watt University. One works for Schlumberger, the other works for Total. Don't look down on some schools.

In my experience, I have found that Nigerian students who graduated tops in oil and gas engineering related programs in the US got more oil job offers than their fellow Nigerian counterparts in the UK. For example, one of the Cambridge guys I earlier spoke about came back to naija after his studies because he was unable to get a juicy job and never applied for any PhD position. Till now, it has not been easy for him to land the big oil job he envisaged. The other one successfully got a place at Shell UK. Many others I know, they had to accept PhD positions in Chemical/Petroleum Engineering because the juicy jobs just weren't forthcoming and they needed to get a steady source of income. A PhD offers that steady source of income for the duration of the PhD program and even beyond. That is why I am an advocate of using a PhD to hedge against one's inability to get a juicy job. Nonetheless, I am sure that you may also give many examples based on your experience in which many UK trained Nigerian graduates got juicy jobs after graduation. There is no one hard and fast rule; nothing is particularly straight.

On a last note, if you desire to get very close to the major oil company in Saudi (Saudi Aramco), if you desire to get into a graduate program that funds your studies without your having to pay for accommodation, bills, taxes, transportation and other utilities, if you are strongly looking to earn about 20k$-30k$/year while studying, without having to spend a dime from this money other than feeding yourself, then look no further than KAUST (Saudi). In my view, and based on my research and information from friends there, KAUST offers the best funding package anyone can ask for. I am yet to see an institution that funds as much and still pays for bills and provides a very nice accommodation for all of its students, all at the same time. However, and very sadly so, the downside to KAUST is that it is relatively new university and has zero track record. You may want to strongly consider this very important shortcoming.

Hope this story story story helps.

Truly yours,
T22

thanks T22 for this wonderful piece.am rily greatful u replied my post.Am at present in 500 level with two more semester to go.d highest cgpa i can graduate wit if i have 5.0 for the remaining two semesters is 4.70 n it is very acheivable for me by his grace.i av also heard of the gre n toefl which i intend riting around august since i wil b graduating around sept dis year.i wil look into the schools u mentione,and would get in touch for any other info i nid. I rily appreciate u.my email add is eddycollins2003@yahoo.com pls send me urs thanks n God bless

abouzaid: @tanimola22, nice work from u, ur really de bomb. Pls i graduated from a fed uni with a cgpa of 3.0 in economics and geography but my scores in my geo courses was generally poor due to poor maths skills. However my geo grades were above average. I intend to go for a masters in economics in nigeria before moving abroad for a phd in order to improve my chances. However i would really like u to educate me more on my possible career prospects with a phd in economics since u sound like an economist. Also do u think that geography is a dying field to pursue a postgraduate degree in? I'm asking this cos what i'm hearing on online forums about geography and gis is not too encouraging thanks a million in advance

You guessed well. I am very biased. You must go for economics . However, the truth of the matter is that you still need goodish math skills, especially in calculus, multivariate calculus and some differential equations. You also need a good knowledge of statistics and a comfortable handling of a statistical software and maybe some programming languages. Without these skills, you will find graduate level work very difficult. This is the raw fact.

Yes, I really encourage you to pursue a Master's degree. But while on it, please try to upgrade your skills in the aforementioned math areas. You don't have to be as good as a math grad, but you need to know how to work with those math tools. You can take some courses with undergraduate math students to achieve this.

It is good that you have an above average knowledge of geography. There is a field called regional growth and convergence. It is the intersection of geography and macroeconomics. In that field, we try to study income disparity, convergence between nations, spatial income dynamics and some other very high level things. If you want to do geography, I suggest you look into this field. Your skills in geography will certainly be an advantage, and admissions committees will view you as someone who has a well-rounded knowledge of key research tools. The only thing that will remain is how to train you on the application of these tools. That training will be achieved during the PhD.

Make sure you do very well in your MSc, and try to impress your professors so that they will be very willing to write strong letters of recommendation for you. We normally say something in economics: LOR is everything. LOR means letter(s) of recommendation. Imagine what graduate admissions committees would think of you if you got one letter from Granger, one from Fama, another from French and yet another from Markowitz. . I know you don't have access to these guys, but the good ones that you can impress back home, please go ahead and impress them.

I earlier remarked in page one about having a publication. Try as much as possible to ensure that your Master's thesis is publishable, even if you can only publish it in a low level international journal. You have to start from somewhere.

Don1Dee:
Thanks T22, you're always on point!@bolded, presenting Ryerson to me on reason is cheap, how about its quality?

Good observation.

The school is a research university in Toronto. The quality is well above the average, and the master's program in education focuses on early child education, which is a field you are interested in.

collyno200:
thanks T22 for this wonderful piece.am rily greatful u replied my post.Am at present in 500 level with two more semester to go.d highest cgpa i can graduate wit if i have 5.0 for the remaining two semesters is 4.70 n it is very acheivable for me by his grace.i av also heard of the gre n toefl which i intend riting around august since i wil b graduating around sept dis year.i wil look into the schools u mentione,and would get in touch for any other info i nid. I rily appreciate u.my email add is eddycollins2003@yahoo.com pls send me urs thanks n God bless

No problems. I have long sent you a message. You may want to check your email to confirm.

@tanimola, thanks for the wonderfull answer, i have taken time off to work while i polish my maths skills. I am currently reading engineering maths by ka stroud and it seems quite understandable. It's the first in a long list of maths, econometrics, mathematical economics and econ theory list of books that i would read before applying. I also want to get my masters in economics development because that is an area i'm more likely to get a supervisor. I am already narrowing down my research thesis choice to poverty studies based on work i have seen on the IDEAS/REPEC repository. My question now is, would this area of concentration affect me negatively if i decide later to switch over to mathematical economics/finance for my phd? Also what do u think about american vs german schools? I do have an above average java programming skills though i haven't programmed for over a yr now, i am confident that i can easily learn other languages like R and c/c++ on my own. I am also quite familiar with Eviews and i believe i can easily learn other statistical softwares on my own. Also what is ur view career wise concerning an economic development vs quantitative finance finance phd. Thanks as i anticipate ur answer.

@ T22: i graduated with a 4.19 CGPA in sociology from UNN. I hope to go into lecturing and plan to enroll for my Msc. But after reading the posts on this thread, is it possible for me to skip the Msc and enroll for a Phd in Nigeria or abroad (possibly canada) with my grade?

@afro. Unn offers joint m.sc/phd. Check back at ur former dept

abouzaid: @tanimola, thanks for the wonderfull answer, i have taken time off to work while i polish my maths skills. I am currently reading engineering maths by ka stroud and it seems quite understandable. It's the first in a long list of maths, econometrics, mathematical economics and econ theory list of books that i would read before applying. I also want to get my masters in economics development because that is an area i'm more likely to get a supervisor. I am already narrowing down my research thesis choice to poverty studies based on work i have seen on the IDEAS/REPEC repository. My question now is, would this area of concentration affect me negatively if i decide later to switch over to mathematical economics/finance for my phd? Also what do u think about american vs german schools? I do have an above average java programming skills though i haven't programmed for over a yr now, i am confident that i can easily learn other languages like R and c/c++ on my own. I am also quite familiar with Eviews and i believe i can easily learn other statistical softwares on my own. Also what is ur view career wise concerning an economic development vs quantitative finance finance phd. Thanks as i anticipate ur answer.

Mhen, I am very ecstatic that you are seriously looking to pursue graduate level studies in economics. Just a few months ago I had an exchange of posts with one nairalander whose username is chamber2 (see the economics and economists thread). In those posts, I lamented that very few economics graduate in naija are ambitious enough to take on graduate studies in economics outside the shores of naija. But here you are today, signifying interest in some wonderful areas of economics and generally contradicting my previous submission. Well done.

Engineering math is not bad for a starter. Just make sure you cover almost everything on calculus, partial differential equations and ordinary differential equations. However, not every relevant topic in covered in engineering math. For example, multivariate calculus is not fully covered there, and this is an important math tool we use in both economics and finance. For this reason, I suggest you also take a look at further engineering math written by the same guy. That book sufficiently covers multivariate calculus. It will really be of immense value to you. There is another math tool which I did not mention. It is called optimization (static and dynamic optimization). This is a very important math tool because you will need it to understand macroeconomic models. Without this tool, you will find it difficult to understand the Bellman equation (BE), the Hamilton Jacobi Bellman equation (HJB), inter-temporal consumption theory and other very important macro concepts . A very good book to learn the basics of optimization is Simon and Blume's mathematics for economists. http://library.northsouth.edu/Upload/Mathematics%20for%20Economists%20SOLUTION.pdf. With your level of ambition, I guess understanding how to use these basic math tools is within your reach.

No, doing heavy research in development economics will not hurt you, provided you get a fine grasp of as many relevant math courses as you can get and also make good grades in the three most important foundational economics courses: macro, micro and econometrics. In reality, what admissions committees want to see in an applicant's profile is his/her ability to think conceptually and analytically, potential to do research as well as the ability to pass first year PhD coursework. Having nice grades in your math courses and the aforementioned economics courses is enough to signal your innate potential to adcoms. Moreover, to seal the deal, you will need strong letters of recommendation from people who are willing to sell your abilities. As an example, I know a chick who did her BSc in math, and whose MSc thesis concentrated on game theory. This chick got into Michigan (Top 13 PhD econ) and was treated as if she never concentrated on anything. She started PhD year 1 courses with those who never even completed an MSc thesis nor took MSc courses.

To do mathematical finance/mathematical economics, you have to be heavy on mathematics. These fields are not funny, I must confess to you. You can well achieve your aim, but you need to know that mathematical finance/mathematical economics both require more than the minimum level of mathematics. You have to be above averagely conversant and be trained in strong math courses like measure theory, stochastic processes, distribution theory, probability theory, functional analysis and some other very specialized math, statistics and programming courses. If you are really desirous of specializing in one of these fields, then you must go above the minimum math requirements. This is the truth!

Schools in both countries are great. You should apply to schools in both countries, as well as schools in other countries where the courses and research are done in the English language. Most German schools will fully fund your studies if they admit you, and so do most US schools. In fact Yale or/and Princeton, for example, do not admit students they cannot fund. Depending on what your MSc grade turns out to be, I would suggest that you apply to top 80 US schools and very few top 30 US schools. Then apply to all schools in Europe, don't restrict yourself to Germany. I am looking at about 150-200 applications in total. I am almost sure that you will get one, especially if you are able to get good grades in your coursework, demonstrate strong math skills, demonstrate strong research potentials and have your professors sing your praise. Don't forget to set aside some thousands of naira for payment of application fees; almost all US schools demand application fees from applicants.

Economic development and quantitative finance are both great career wise. However, in my experience, quantitative finance requires approximately 45% programming, 40% mathematics and 15% finance. It is mathematically heavy. Economic development, on the other hand, requires a balanced combination of economic theories, math, statistics plus the ability to use languages (Stata, R, Matlab, or what have you). Using your previous training as the main reference point, I think you will be better off going for economic development. All the people I know doing quantitative finance PhD previously obtained their BSc degrees in math, statistics, mathematics-economics, physics and engineering. This is not to discourage you O. Zeal is everything. This is just my assessment of the situation at hand. Meanwhile, many US universities successfully place their students in top public and private sector jobs. Depending on how good you turn out to be, how well you are able to impress your supervisor and how sound your PhD research seems, you could be placed in some of the best development organizations in the world. University of Pennsylvania, for example, successfully placed almost all of its PhD econs graduates last year. You may want to take placement record into cognizance when choosing a school.

Again, I am happy that you are considering a PhD in econs/finance. Just do your MSc well. I mean really, really well. Provided some universities are willing to judge your applications based more on your current academic standing(Msc), I can almost surely assure you that you will get a fully PhD position somewhere. The pay is enough to take care of you and two other persons. My very smart Ife guy who is doing his PhD in mathematical finance/ financial econometrics has his wife with him.

Good luck.

T22

** For US schools, your GRE scores must be nice. Economics departments focus on good quantitative scores. Quantitative scores of 89th-99th percentile are termed competitive. Some would need you to present a TOEFL score.

Economists' Thread:
www.nairaland.com/781025

afroxyz: @ T22: i graduated with a 4.19 CGPA in sociology from UNN. I hope to go into lecturing and plan to enroll for my Msc. But after reading the posts on this thread, is it possible for me to skip the Msc and enroll for a Phd in Nigeria or abroad (possibly canada) with my grade?

For the possibility of enrolling in naija, ask your professors (the established ones O. Not some struggling lecturer 2). They know much better.

@T22: what of canada, is it possible with my grade?
@abouzaid: really! Tot it was for 1st class graduates. I wld check. Do you know anyone who has done this in UNN? Possibly in social science department?

afroxyz: @T22: what of canada, is it possible with my grade?
@abouzaid: really! Tot it was for 1st class graduates. I wld check. Do you know anyone who has done this in UNN? Possibly in social science department?

It is generally frowned at in Canadian schools, but it is not impossible. In exceptional cases, Calgary, for example, admits students directly into its PhD program in sociology. But you would need to first consult with the director of graduate studies to discuss your motivation. Visit the official website of the University of Calgary and start taking action.

@T22: thanks. I have sent them a mail to that effect. What of Germany, is it possible over there?

I read all the posts in this thread and I'm so excited.
I'm a graduate of Biochemistry with a CGPA of 4.42. I'm presently a corp member, will be passing out by june. I wish 2 have my M.Sc & Phd in Biochemistry within the shortest time possible. I really do have a passion to impact knowledge. I've applied for several scholarships abroad as funding is a bit of a challenge and I'm still going to pick a PG form in UI but I do hope I get an offer abroad.
I'll appreciate more scholarship alerts as a foreign degree cannot be matched with a local one. My email is anuanuloveu2@yahoo.com. Thanks.

afroxyz: @T22: thanks. I have sent them a mail to that effect. What of Germany, is it possible over there?

Germany, nice country. Best economy in Europe. Many German schools require a diplom (what the hell does that mean). Check to ascertain the possibility.

@T22,

Diploma in Germany is equivalent to Masters degree.

Again, at T22, you seem very vast with schools all over, i'm shocked! I have read so much you have written on this thread but i really don't know much about you and i guess many more people are thinking the same, is there a place on the forum where something similar is mentioned? as i don't expect you to say everything you have done at this stage.

BTW

I can see economics has the lowest salary in US, oya economists make we talk: http://www.aacsb.edu/publications/datareports/salarysurvey/2011-12.pdf

@yemmy-ma. Are u an economist?

ha, i am not an economist oooo, i just saw it and could not help but to ask why?

tanimola22:

Which particular medical programme? Mhen, this your GPA is not bad O. Did you mean going for medicine and surgery?

Yes medicine and surgery

@tanimola, I studied industrial chemistry at UNIZIK and i want to do masters in petroleum chemistry abroad. Pls my email is chukonet@ymail.com Which school offers free education. Pls reply me.

please help me with your thorough analysis i am studying PHYSICS at the federal university of Agricultute Abeokuta UNAAB with a cgpa of 4.40 working hard towards graduating with a first class. I love to further my education in electronics and infomation technology preferrebly in a reputable & practical based institution outside the shores of this country please assist me on possible ways of gaining admission with or without scholarship for either Msc or Phd directly or sch in nigeria & their cost implica

readone1: please help me with your thorough analysis i am studying PHYSICS at the federal university of Agricultute Abeokuta UNAAB with a cgpa of 4.40 working hard towards graduating with a first class. I love to further my education in electronics and infomation technology preferrebly in a reputable & practical based institution outside the shores of this country please assist me on possible ways of gaining admission with or without scholarship for either Msc or Phd directly or sch in nigeria & their cost implica

Hi,

The first thing you will need is your full transcript. Without that, nothing can be done. Let us know when you have gotten it.

T22

please i want to get this information on time so that i can plan very well for it, i will be graduating by july trancript wont be ready until then thank you ...please my email address is gentlegenius2000@yahoo.com