May 03, 2024  
2023-2024 Graduate Catalog 
    
2023-2024 Graduate Catalog

Economics, M.A.


College of Arts and Sciences  
Department: Economics 

 


The M.A. in Economics prepares students for careers as professional economists in business and government. It is also excellent preparation for continued graduate study in economics.

Major Research Areas:
Health economics, public economics, urban and regional economics, international trade, economic development, industrial organization, advanced theory, and advanced econometrics

Admission Information

Must meet University requirements (see Graduate Admissions), as well as requirements for admission to the major, listed below.

  • GRE with target scores of 152 (490) on the verbal portion and 152 (670) on the quantitative portion.
  • Minimum of 1 course in calculus.*
  • Minimum of 1 course in statistics.*
  • Undergraduate Intermediate-level microeconomics and undergraduate intermediate-level macroeconomics*

*Applicants must earn a grade of B or better in each of these courses.

Curriculum Requirements


Total Minimum hours - 30 hours

  • Core - 12 credit hours
  • Electives - 18 credit hours

All students are required to take courses in advanced economic theory and econometrics. Students preparing for doctoral studies select from these and additional courses in economic theory, mathematics, and quantitative methods. Where appropriate students may select courses in other departments in the University. At least 24 hours must be in Economics not including ECO 6906 Independent Study  and ECO 6917 Directed Research .

Core Requirements (12 Credit Hours)


Electives (18 Credit Hours)


Economics electives must be drawn from the following set of graduate-level courses offered in the Department of Economics.  With the approval of the Graduate Director, at most two unrestricted elective courses may be satisfied by graduate-level courses offered by any department within the University.

Comprehensive Exam


Students must pass an oral examination conducted by a panel of three faculty members who have taught courses in the student’s major. At least one faculty member must be drawn from those who teach the core courses. The oral examination provides a forum for the student to provide evidence that s/he has sufficient knowledge and breadth of fundamental economic concepts so as to be able to undertake rigorous economic analysis, both theoretical and empirical in nature.

Non-Thesis


There is no thesis required for this major.