How my experiences and M.S. studies at AREC helped prepare me for my Ph.D. program
Dec. 12, 2018
Xiangrui Wang (known as Alex when he studied here) graduated from AREC’s M.S. program in 2014. Afterwards, he attended the School of Economic Sciences (SES) at Washington State University (WSU) to continue his studies. He graduated from WSU with a Ph.D. in economics in May, 2018. Currently he is an assistant professor at the School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (SARD) at Renmin University of China (RUC). In addition, he, Gary Thompson, and their coauthors published a journal article based in part on Xiangrui's M.S thesis : Wang, Xiangrui, Jukwan Lee, Jia Yan, and Gary Thompson. “Testing the Behavior of Rationally Inattentive Consumers in a Residential Water Market,” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, (92) November 2018: 344–359, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2018.09.004.
Xiangrui (Alex) tells us about his time at AREC:
“My short and pleasant academic journey (so far!) started at AREC. The two-year experience prepared me well for my Ph.D. program later. AREC provides high-quality courses to train students for their future careers. Of the classes I took while working on my master’s, I personally appreciated the most the Introduction to Mathematical Statistics for Economists course (AREC 517) that was offered by Prof. Tauhidur Rahman in the very first semester. Prof. Rahman provided rigorous lectures, which facilitated my later understanding of econometrics courses. My lack of proper statistical training made my first semester in AREC very challenging, but Prof. Rahman was always patient and encouraging during his office hours to help me solve the puzzles. I also learned from him the importance of helping others and how it may change people’s future career paths—which is one of the main reasons that I decide to pursue an academic career!
“AREC also provided a supportive research atmosphere. Most students in the M.S. program worked as research assistants (RA) for our faculty members during my time. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with Prof. Gary Thompson on a residential water project. Thanks to this project, I was able to apply the econometrics tools I had just studied to a real-world problem. Prof. Thompson became my thesis advisor later and today we’re still working together on various research projects. From my RA project, I also branched into some additional research areas, which became part of my master’s thesis and Ph.D. dissertation.
“During my two-year experience in AREC, I particularly appreciated a group of fellow students who all nurtured each other. My officemates Avralt-Od Purevjav, Colin A. Moore, Sidra Haye, and our teaching assistant Anubhab Gupta always helped and supported me. Many of us either are pursuing or have just completed our Ph.D. programs. Working together to solve homework problems, brainstorm research ideas, and help each other prepare applications to Ph.D. programs are memories I treasure.
“After graduating from AREC, I went on to Washington State University to pursue my Ph.D. in economics. Thanks to the preparation I had at AREC and another friendly and supportive environment I found at WSU, I enjoyed another four years of studying and research in Pullman, WA. I graduated from WSU in May, 2018, and am now working as an assistant professor at the School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development (SARD) at Renmin University of China (RUC).”