Master's in Economics
Degree Requirements
-
Depending on the track chosen, students must complete 30 to 36 hours of approved graduate course work, including 9 credit hours of core courses in economic theory, 6 credit hours to fulfill the research requirement, and 15-21 credit hours of other required courses or electives. Prerequisite credit (including ECON-603) does not count toward the degree. All courses must be taken for grades (the pass/fail option is not permitted). No more than 3 credit hours of ECON-691 Internship may be taken. All courses must be approved by the student's advisor and fit into a coherent educational program developed by the student in consultation with the advisor.
- Research requirement can be completed by a thesis or non-thesis option. The non-thesis option is completed by taking ECON-523 Econometrics I and ECON-524 Econometrics II with grades of B or better. The thesis option requires: ECON-797 Master’s Thesis Seminar (6) with grades of B or better and submission of approved thesis. Most MA students in economics rarely choose the thesis option. The student would need to recruit a supervising committee of professors, submit a formal proposal, and defend the thesis before the thesis committee. For more information, visit the Provost's website.
-
After completing ECON-500 and ECON-501, students in all tracks take a comprehensive examination in economic theory. Two retakes are permitted.
Course Requirements
Prerequisite Courses
- ECON-300 Intermediate Microeconomics (3) and ECON-301 Intermediate Macroeconomics (3) or ECON-603 Introduction to Economic Theory (3)
- MATH-211 Applied Calculus (4) or MATH-221 Calculus I (4)
- STAT-202 Basic Statistics (4)
- Waiver of these prerequisites may be granted for qualified persons with comparable prior education or experience.
Core (15 credit hours)
- ECON-500 Microeconomic Theory (3)
- ECON-501 Macroeconomic Theory (3)
- ECON-505 Introduction to Mathematical Economics (3)
- ECON-523 Econometrics I (3)
- ECON-524 Econometrics II (3)
- ECON-505 and ECON-501 must be completed within the first 9 credit hours of the program. It is strongly advised to take ECON 523 within the first year of graduate work.
