Which is more prestigious for economics: UC San Diego or NYU?

For overall prestige in economics, NYU has a modest edge, particularly because its economics department is paired with the visibility of Stern and a deep connection to New York’s finance, policy, and research institutions.

UC San Diego is nevertheless a highly respected economics program. Its department is particularly well regarded for rigorous quantitative training, econometrics, international economics, and applied research, and UCSD’s broader strengths in mathematics, data-oriented fields, and the social sciences can make it an excellent setting for an analytically focused economics student.

The distinction is also affected by what “economics” means in practice. At NYU, students can benefit from proximity to Stern’s business ecosystem, although the College of Arts and Science economics major and Stern are separate undergraduate programs. At UCSD, economics is more clearly embedded in a large public research university environment, with substantial opportunities to combine it with data science, mathematics, political science, or related quantitative work.

For an academic economist or graduate-school-minded student, UCSD’s economics training can be every bit as credible as NYU’s, especially with strong coursework and research experience.