The Master of Economics (MEcon or MEc) is a

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

comprising training in economic theory,

econometrics Econometrics is the application of statistical methods to economic data in order to give empirical content to economic relationships. M. Hashem Pesaran (1987). "Econometrics," '' The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', v. 2, p. 8 p. 8 ...

, and/or

applied economics Applied economics is the study as regards the application of economic theory and econometrics in specific settings. As one of the two sets of fields of economics (the other set being the ''core''), it is typically characterized by the application ...

. The degree is also offered as an MS or MSc, MA or MCom in economics; variants are the Master in Economic Sciences (MEconSc), and the Master of Applied Economics.

Structure

The degree may be offered as a

terminal degree A terminal degree is a college degree that is the highest level college degree that can be achieved and awarded in a specific academic or professional field. In other cases, it is a degree that is awarded when a candidate completes a certain amou ...

or as additional preparation for doctoral study, and is sometimes offered as a

professional degree A professional degree, formerly known in the US as a first professional degree, is a degree that prepares someone to work in a particular profession, practice, or industry sector often meeting the academic requirements for licensure or accreditatio ...

, such as the emerging ''MPS in Applied Economics''. The program emphases and curricula will differ correspondingly. The course of study for the master's degree lasts from one to two years. A

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

is often required, particularly for terminal degrees. Many universities (in the United States) do not offer the master's degree directly; rather, the degree is routinely awarded as a master's degree "en route", after completion of a designated phase of the PhD program in economics. Typically, the

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

is structured around core topics, with any optional

coursework Coursework (also course work, especially British English) is work performed by students or trainees for the purpose of learning. Coursework may be specified and assigned by teachers, or by learning guides in self-taught courses. Coursework can e ...

complementary to the program focus. The core modules are usually in

microeconomic theory Microeconomics is a branch of mainstream economics that studies the behavior of individuals and firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. Microeconomics foc ...

macroeconomic theory Macroeconomics (from the Greek prefix ''makro-'' meaning "large" + ''economics'') is a branch of economics dealing with performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole. For example, using interest rates, taxes, and ...

and

. At this level, the topics covered are

microfoundations Microfoundations are an effort to understand macroeconomic phenomena in terms of economic agents' behaviors and their interactions.Maarten Janssen (2008),Microfoundations, in ''The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics'', 2nd ed. Research in microf ...

and

dynamic stochastic general equilibrium Dynamic stochastic general equilibrium modeling (abbreviated as DSGE, or DGE, or sometimes SDGE) is a macroeconomic method which is often employed by monetary and fiscal authorities for policy analysis, explaining historical time-series data, as we ...

, and allow for

heterogeneity Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...

, relaxing the idea of a

representative agent Economists use the term representative agent to refer to the typical decision-maker of a certain type (for example, the typical consumer, or the typical firm). More technically, an economic model is said to have a representative agent if all agen ...

. Sometimes, topics from heterodox economics are introduced. Econometrics extends the undergraduate domain to

multiple linear regression In statistics, linear regression is a linear approach for modelling the relationship between a scalar response and one or more explanatory variables (also known as dependent and independent variables). The case of one explanatory variable is cal ...

and multivariate time series, and introduces simultaneous equation methods and generalized linear models. Game theory and

computational economics Computational Economics is an interdisciplinary research discipline that involves computer science, economics, and management science.''Computational Economics''."About This Journal"an"Aims and Scope" This subject encompasses computational model ...

are often included. Some (doctoral) programs include core work in

economic history Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and i ...

. See . Theory-focused degrees will tend to cover these core topics more mathematically, and emphasize econometric theory as opposed to econometric techniques and

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

; these will also require a separate course in mathematical economics. Note though that regardless of focus, most programs "now place a marked emphasis on the primacy of mathematics", and many universities thus also require "quantitative techniques", especially where mathematical economics is not a core course. The optional or additional coursework will depend on the program's emphasis. In theory-focused degrees, and those preparing students for doctoral work, this coursework is often in these same core topics, but in greater depth. In terminal or applied or career-focused degrees, options may include

public finance Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics that assesses the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities and the adjustment of one or the other to achiev ...

, labour-, financial-, development-, industrial-, health- or agricultural economics. These degrees may also allow for a specialization in one of these areas, and may be named correspondingly (for example Master's in Financial Economics, Masters in International Economics, Masters in Development Economics, Master's in Sustainable Economic Development and Masters in Agricultural Economics.) Recently, the more general Master of Applied Economics, See e.g. a
UCLAGeorgetownBathBoston College
/ref> combines economic theory with selections from finance and

data analytics Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. It is used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data. It also entails applying data patterns toward effective decision-making. It ...

, including

machine learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that 'learn', that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence. Machine ...

and data science. Entry requirements are undergraduate work in (calculus-based) economics, at least at the "intermediate" level, and often as a major, and a sufficient level of mathematical training (including courses in

probability Probability is the branch of mathematics concerning numerical descriptions of how likely an event is to occur, or how likely it is that a proposition is true. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1, where, roughly speakin ...

and statistics; often ( multivariable)

calculus Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithm ...

and

linear algebra Linear algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning linear equations such as: :a_1x_1+\cdots +a_nx_n=b, linear maps such as: :(x_1, \ldots, x_n) \mapsto a_1x_1+\cdots +a_nx_n, and their representations in vector spaces and through matrices ...

; and sometimes

mathematical analysis Analysis is the branch of mathematics dealing with continuous functions, limit (mathematics), limits, and related theories, such as Derivative, differentiation, Integral, integration, measure (mathematics), measure, infinite sequences, series (m ...

References

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External links and references

Discussion
Graduate Degrees in Economics
The American Economic Association
Masters degrees in economics: How to be a leader of the future
''The Independent''
Is an M.A. in Economics a Waste of Time?
economics.about.com (archived)
Getting an MBA vs. a Master's in Finance or Economics
mbapodcaster.com

davidson.edu

economics.about.com Lists of programs

Master's degrees, Economics Economics education Business qualifications

Structure

See also

References

External links and references