Program History
In 2006, Joni Hersch and W. Kip Viscusi launched the Ph.D. Program in Law and Economics focused on integrating the study of economics with the study of law.
Launching the program
In 2006 Joni Hersch and W. Kip Viscusi moved from Harvard Law School to Vanderbilt to launch a new Ph.D. program that would focus on integrating the study of economics with the study of law. Designed by Professors Hersch and Viscusi, together with economics professor Kathryn H. Anderson, the program offers 11 new and innovative courses specifically developed fully integrate law and economics in specialized areas of interest.
Growth and graduates
Professor Paige Marta Skiba joined the law and economics faculty in fall 2007. The program's first graduate, Jennifer Bennett Shinall, joined the law faculty in fall 2014 and is now the Associate Dean for Research and holds the Sara J. Finley Chair in Women, Law & Policy.
The first cohort of students entered in fall 2007, and the program has graduated 20 dual-degree students: Jennifer Bennett Shinall (2012), Jinghui Lim (2013), Caroline Cecot (2014), Blair Druhan Bullock (2015), Jacob P. Byl (2015), Benjamin J. McMichael (2015), Samuel M. Miller (2015), Elissa Philip Gentry (2016), Henri Rautonen (2016), Jean Y. Xiao (2017), Scott DeAngelis (2018), Danielle Drago Drory (2018), Hannah J. Frank (2019), Clayton J. Masterman (2019), Nicholas Marquiss (2021), Erin E. Meyers (2021), Rachel Dalafave (2022), Caroline Malone (2022), Scott Jeffrey (2023), and Zachary Sturman (2023), Zachary Sturman (2023), Fernando Mendoza Lopez (2024), John C. Roberts (2024), Robert J. Cramer (2025), and Anthony Chen (2025).
We currently have 9 students in residence in the dual-degree program, ranging from year two to year six.
Highlights of Student Achievement (2007-2025)
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18
graduates secured academic positions or postdoctoral research fellowships
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68
students have authored or co-authored publications while in the program
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17
Judicial clerkships secured in the U.S. Court of Appeals