Certificate in Social and Economic Inequality

The study of social and economic inequality is one of the cornerstones of the Harris School of Public Policy. The goal of this certificate is to introduce students to modern theories of inequality and the empirical study of those theories. Topics include early childhood sources of income inequality, discrimination in the labor market and in other institutions, segregation in housing markets, the impact of migration on the measurement of inequality, and the roles of peer effects.

Application Process

The certificate is open to any University of Chicago graduate student. Harris students please indicate your intent to pursue this certificate using the Harris Certificate Application Form. If you are a non-Harris student and intend to complete the requirements for the Social and Economic Inequality certificate please submit the Harris Certificate Application for Non-Harris Students to indicate you are pursuing this certificate.

For certificate registration questions, please reach out to harrisregistration@uchicago.edu.

Planning for the Certificate

For information on which quarter(s) each course will be offered, see the Harris Courses page and filter by certificate. For courses offered by other divisions, the typical quarter(s) offered has been indicated.

Certificate Requirements

The certificate requires completion of at least two courses from the “Required courses” list, along with two additional courses that come from either the “Required courses” list or the “Elective courses” list (four courses total). No Required course substitutions are allowed.

Students must achieve at least a B- grade in each course.  No course may be taken on a pass/fail basis. The courses do not need to be taken in a particular order. Students should complete the formal signup process to indicate their intention to pursue the certificate.

Required Courses (at least two)

Elective Courses

Certificate Contact

Dan Black, Certificate Director