MA in Applied Economics

Admission Requirements

Applicants are considered on an individual basis. Transcripts from all colleges and universities attended in the last eight years must be submitted. In addition to the Graduate College minimum requirements, applicants must meet the following program requirements:

  • Baccalaureate Field An undergraduate degree in economics is not required. Prior academic work must include one semester of calculus and statistics. Applicants are encouraged to take at least one more semester of calculus and intermediate microeconomic theory.
  • Grade Point Average At least 3.00/4.00 for the final 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of undergraduate study.
  • Minimum English Competency Test Score
    • TOEFL iBT 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21, OR,
    • IELTS Academic 6.5, with 6.0 in each of the four subscores, OR,
    • PTE-Academic 54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.
  • Letters of Recommendation Three letters are required.
  • Personal Statement and Resume/CV A personal statement and resume/CV are required.
  • Writing Sample A writing sample is optional.
  • Tests Required GRE is optional.
  • Deadlines Application deadlines for this program are listed on the Graduate College website. Further details about current admission deadlines and requirements can be found on the Department of Economics website.

Degree Requirements

In addition to Graduate College minimum requirements, students must meet the following program requirements:

  • Minimum Semester Hours Required 40.
  • Coursework At least 32 hours must be in economics. ECON 520 and ECON 599 cannot be used to satisfy any MA in Applied Economics requirement.
Required Courses
ECON 481
Mathematical Methods for Economics a
ECON 482
Probability and Statistics for Econometrics a
ECON 501
Applied Microeconomics I
ECON 502
Applied Microeconomics II
ECON 503
Applied Macroeconomics
ECON 505
Applied Econometrics
ECON 506
Research Design
ECON 507
Reading, Writing and Speaking Economics
Select one of the following:
ECON 598
Master's Thesis Research (8 hours)
Two graduate-level courses in economics or a related field, approved by the program director.
a

Highly qualified students may be offered an exemption from ECON 481 and ECON 482 at the time of admission. These students would instead take two additional graduate-level courses in economics or a related field, approved by the program director.

  • Comprehensive Examination None.
  • Thesis, Project, or Coursework-Only Options Thesis or coursework only. No other options are available.
    • Thesis: No more than 8 hours of ECON 598 can be applied to the degree.
    • Coursework Only: Students who do not write a thesis must take two courses at the 400 or 500 level that are approved by the program director.