Economics, M.A.

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College of Arts and Sciences
Department: Economics

Major Contacts, Deadlines, and Delivery Information

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)

ECO 6115 Microeconomics I Credit Hours: 3
ECO 6206 Macroeconomics I Credit Hours: 3
ECO 6405 Mathematical Economics I Credit Hours: 3
ECO 6424 Econometrics I Credit Hours: 3

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.

ECO 6120 Economic Policy Analysis Credit Hours: 3
ECO 6425 Econometrics II Credit Hours: 3
ECO 6525 Public Sector Economics Credit Hours: 3
ECO 6936 Selected Topics in Economics Credit Hours: 1-4
Taken as:
- Behavioral Economics (3 credit hours)
- Forecasting and Time Series Analysis (3 credit hours)
ECO 7116 Microeconomics II Credit Hours: 3
ECO 7207 Macroeconomics II Credit Hours: 3
ECO 7406 Mathematical Economics II Credit Hours: 3
ECO 7426 Econometrics III Credit Hours: 3
ECP 6205 Labor Economics I Credit Hours: 3
ECP 6405 Industrial Organization I Credit Hours: 3
ECP 6415 Issues in Regulation and Antitrust Credit Hours: 3
ECP 6536 Economics of Health Care I Credit Hours: 3
ECP 7207 Labor Economics II Credit Hours: 3
ECP 7406 Industrial Organization II Credit Hours: 3
ECP 7537 Economics of Health Care II Credit Hours: 3
ECS 6015 Economic Development Credit Hours: 3

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.

University of South Florida