Master of Arts in Applied Economics (AECM)

Advisor: Christine Moser
Room 5453, Friedmann Hall

The Master of Arts in Applied Economics is designed to give students the tools and experience needed to work in government and industry or to continue on to a Ph.D. program. The program emphasizes empirical methods and applications of economics to a wide variety of data and topics. The degree is awarded on the basis of the satisfactory completion of thirty hours in a planned program prepared in consultation with the graduate advisor.

Admission Requirements
The following courses are required prior to admission. Students not meeting all the requirements will need to take the equivalent courses prior to beginning the program.

Intermediate Microeconomics (ECON 4030) or Macroeconomics (ECON 4060), with a grade of “B” or better
At least one course in calculus (MATH 1220) ), with a grade of “C” or better
At least one course in statistics (STAT 2160) ), with a grade of “C” or better

Financial Assistance
A small number of assistantships are awarded each year. Recipients are selected by the Department’s Graduate Programs Committee on a competitive basis. Financial assistance is limited to three semesters.

Program Requirements

1. Complete a minimum of 30 hours of graduate course work with at least 15 hours at the 6000-level or above. Students must maintain a “B” average in these courses

2. A total of 24 hours in Economics are required from the list of courses provided below, including the six required core courses

Required courses:

ECON 5290 - Research Methods Credits: 3 hours
ECON 5040 - Mathematics for Economists Credits: 3 hours
ECON 6030 - Microeconomic Analysis Credits: 3 hours
ECON 6190 - Econometric Analysis I Credits: 3 hours
ECON 6220 - Econometric Analysis II Credits: 3 hours
ECON 6620 - Macroeconomic Analysis Credits: 3 hours

Elective courses:

Elective courses in the Economics Department include the following or others subject to approval.

ECON 5880 - Economic Development Credits: 3 hours
ECON 6860 - Monetary Economics Credits: 3 hours
ECON 6070 - Health Economics Credits: 3 hours
ECON 6800 - International Economics I Credits: 3 hours
ECON 6810 - International Economics II Credits: 3 hours

3.(a) Non-thesis students

Non-thesis students take four (4) elective courses approved by the Department’s Director of Graduate Programs, and two of these electives must be in the Department of Economics. M.A. students who select the non-thesis option will be required to submit an exit portfolio consisting of an empirical research paper and to present the results of the paper.

3.(b) Thesis students

Thesis students take six hours of Econ 7000 for the thesis in addition to the 18 hours of required courses. Of the six remaining hours, at least three must be from the Economics Department.

Applied Economics: Economic Development Concentration (AEDM)

Students who select the Economic Development concentration must take two or more courses related to economic development. These courses must be approved by the Department’s Director of Graduate Programs. Acceptable courses include ECON 5880: Economic Development, ECON 6880: Economic Development I, PSCI 5320: Administration in Developing Countries, PSCI 6300: Seminar: Public Administration, PSCI 6330: The Political Environment of Public Administration, and PSCI 6440: Seminar: Comparative Strategies of Development.

Applied Economics: Statistics and Econometrics Concentration (AESM)

Students who select the Econometrics/Statistics concentration take two or more courses in Econometrics/Statistics. These courses must be approved by the Department’s Director of Graduate Programs. Acceptable courses include ECON 6700: Advanced Econometrics I, ECON 6710: Advanced Econometrics II, STAT 5630: Survey Sample Methods, STAT 5650: Design of Experiments of Quality Improvement, STAT 5660: Nonparametric Statistical Methods, and STAT 6800: SAS Programming. At least one of the courses used for the concentration must be taken in the Department of Statistics.