Prospective PhD Students
Thank you for your interest. This page collects the information I most often share with prospective applicants — reading it carefully will save us both some time.
My research examines how institutional environments shape high-growth, engineering-driven entrepreneurship. Active projects include U.S. export controls and venture capital reallocation in China's semiconductor sector, the Inflation Reduction Act and cleantech investment flows (using LLM-based policy exposure measurement), NEV battery subsidies in China, and accelerator cohort composition effects. The work is quantitative — causal inference, large-scale text and policy data, longitudinal panels.
I look for students with genuine research curiosity, strong quantitative training (statistics, econometrics, programming in R or Python), and clear reasons for being interested in this particular set of questions rather than entrepreneurship research broadly. Prior research experience — a senior thesis, a pre-doc, an RA position, a publication — matters more than coursework alone.
I take students through Stanford's MS&E PhD program, primarily in the Organizations, Technology, and Entrepreneurship area. Per department policy, faculty do not pre-screen applicants or influence admissions outside the committee process — the application itself is the right channel. I sometimes also serve on Stanford GSB committees in adjacent areas.
In your statement, please name me and one or two specific papers of mine that connect to your interests. Generic statements that could fit any faculty member are easy to spot and do not help your case.
If you would like to email me before applying, please keep it brief: one paragraph on your research interest tied to one of my papers, your CV, and a clear ask. I read these but cannot reply to most.
The guides below are what I send to undergraduates and pre-docs who ask. Treat them as overlapping perspectives, not gospel.
- Susan Athey — Professional advice for graduate students
- Chris Blattman — Grad school FAQ and Statement of Purpose guide
- Jesse Shapiro — Notes on Applying for a PhD in Economics
- Philip Guo — The PhD Grind (memoir, not advice — read before applying)
- Turban and Gorges — The Complete Guide to Business School PhD Applications
- R3ciprocity — PhD Application Tips for Business Administration
- Economics Mentoring Program — PhD Application Resources (clearinghouse with advice from Athey, Blattman, Shapiro, Startz, Davies, and others)
- AEA preparation and timeline
- Matt Salganik — Bit by Bit: Social Research in the Digital Age (free online; defines the field)
- GESIS awesome-computational-social-science (programs and resources)
Pre-docs — one to two years working full-time as a research assistant for a faculty member — are now close to a default step into top PhD programs in economics, business, and quantitative social science. If your application is borderline, or if you want more research experience before committing to five-plus years, this is the path I would recommend.
- PREDOC.org — opportunities and consortium resources
- Stanford GSB Research Fellow Program
- Brad Chattergoon — The Economics Pre-Doctoral Fellowship