Darshak Patel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies - Economics, Full-Time MBA Academic Director
Education
- Ph.D., University of Kentucky, 2011
- M.S., University of Kentucky, 2008
- M.A., University of Texas at Arlington, 2007
- B.S., University of Texas at Arlington, 2004
Darshak Patel is an associate professor and director of undergraduate studies at the University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics. His goal as an educator is to increase student engagement by developing lectures and assignments that generate energy, interest and motivation toward economics with teaching and research centered on innovative methods that make the subject more accessible to today's students. His research has been published in outlets such as the Journal of Economic Education, Southern Economic Journal, AEA Papers and Proceedings, and The American Economist.
He is best known for building experiential learning opportunities that take economics outside the classroom: founding and organizing the Econ Games, a data analytics competition connecting students with companies such as 84.51, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Fischer Homes, MiddleGround Capital, Kentucky Realtors, 3CDC, Equibase and Bank of America. Patel enjoys leading study abroad programs and directing consulting projects that pair students with local businesses.
Darshak's teaching has been recognized with a 2026 University of Kentucky Outstanding Teaching Award, the Southern Economic Association's Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award (2022), a prior UK Outstanding Teaching Award (2021), the UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award (2020), Gatton College's Faculty of the Year and Excellence in Teaching Award (2019), a three-time recipient of A Teacher Who Made a Difference (2016; 2017; 2020) and the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award from the College of Business and Global Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Martin (2014).
Though Darshak's passion lies in economics, he enjoys many other pursuits. He claims to be a good soccer player, loves getting lost on hikes, frequents local breweries and has the best dog in the world.
Teaching Expertise:
- Micro Principles and Intermediate
- Sports Economics
- Business Economics
- Managerial Economics (MBA)
- Study Abroad
Research Expertise:
- Economics Education
- Pedagogy
- Economics Instruction
Selected Publications:
- Hoyt, Gail, Emily Marshall, Roisin O’Sullivan, Darshak Patel and Anthony Underwood (2025). How should we think about the Intermediate Microeconomics course in light of recent trends in the Economics Major? The American Economist. 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/05694345251353199
- Patel, Darshak, Abdullah Al-Bahrani, & Hoyt, Gail (2024). Facilitating Authentic Practice and Content Acquisition through Competition: The Econ Games. The American Economist. Vol 69(2), 288-300. https://doi.org/10.1177/05694345241261554 .
- Patel, Darshak & Justin Roush (2023). Emoticons as Performance Feedback for College Students: A Large-Classroom Field Experiment. AEA Papers And Proceedings. Vol. 113, pp. 503-07. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231046
- Patel, Darshak (2019). “Assignments to Engage Students in Economics Study Abroad Programs” Perspectives on Economic Education and Teaching. Ed. 1, pp. 53-62. Springer, Cham
- Al-bahrani, Abdullah & Darshak Patel (2015). “Incorporating Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook in Economics Classrooms,” Journal of Economic Education. 46 (1), 56-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220485.2014.978922
