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MSc Economics

Join a programme with a long-standing international reputation for excellence

Year of entry: 2024 (September)

Length

1 year full-time

Start date

September 2024 (semester dates)

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Develop your skills in economic analysis and quantitative techniques.

This course emphasises problem-solving and practice in economic theory, applied economics and econometrics. You'll have opportunities to study areas of application at the frontiers of economics such as experimental economics, regulatory policy, industrial organisation, intertemporal and international macroeconomics, financial markets, and labour economics.

Notable international alumni

including Professor Anibal Cavaco Silva, former President of Portugal, Han Seung-Soo, former Prime Minister of South Korea, and Professor Daron Acemoglu who was awarded the Erwin Plein Nemmers prize.

Course content

You'll gain graduate-level skills in economic analysis and relevant quantitative techniques.

This course provides a sound training in best practice methods of mainstream economics, combined with the opportunities of studying optional areas in depth, will allow you to reach your full potential.

Taught by leading experts, you will complete a combination of taught modules - some core and some optional - and a dissertation.

Dissertation

You'll complete a piece of independent research carried out over three months of the summer, guided by a supervisor. The dissertation, of up to 10,000 words, offers you the chance to examine a topic in depth and to develop your academic research skills.

The York approach

Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.

Students who complete this course will be able to:

  • Read and understand important contemporary contributions in learned journals and be able to interpret them in a critical way, and not only grasp economics headlines but also explain them to a layperson. Be capable of skilfully identifying relevant literature through digital technology such as Internet and academic research databases.
  • Effectively communicate with professional economists and policymakers about the major economic methods and principles of logical reasoning used by professional economists and academic researchers to analyse economic problems faced by households, firms, governments, and organisations, and to assess the effect of economic decision or policy
  • Apply and adapt the techniques, methods and principles widely used in the field to real life economic problems and analyse them in a quantitative and critical manner. Develop a capacity for critical appraisal of those techniques, methods, and principles with a good understanding of the complexity of the reality
  • Identify economic problems and their key factors in real world contexts and come up with sensible practical solutions, with a solid understanding of how crucial economic factors such as incentive, information, risk, uncertainty, environment, institutions, and policies influence economic performance
  • Provide critical appraisals of the economic performance of a firm or an organisation, drawing on a good command of economic tools and measurements, and offer policy recommendation for performance improvement
  • Independently plan, manage and carry out research projects by adapting and integrating relevant learned principles, methods and techniques to the contexts, and complete with written reports within a required time
  • Locate and compile economic and financial data, and apply appropriate econometric, statistical and computer-based methods and techniques to analyse the data and present the results effectively with sound judgement.

Fees and funding

Annual tuition fees for 2024/25

Study modeUK (home)International and EU
Full-time (1 year) £10,590£23,900

Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.

Fees information

UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.

Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.

Funding information

Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs.

We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2024/25 throughout the year.

If you've successfully completed an undergraduate degree at York you could be eligible for a 10% Masters fee discount.

Funding opportunities

Living costs

You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.

Teaching and assessment

You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.

Teaching format

This Masters combines a variety of different teaching methods, including:

  • lectures
  • seminars
  • problem-solving classes
  • practical computer-based sessions.

A member of the teaching staff will act as your supervisor throughout the degree, to help guide your studies and monitor progress.

The department also has a vibrant research community. You’ll be able to attend seminars and research workshops in which staff and invited speakers discuss their research.

Teaching location

You'll be based in the Department of Economics and Related Studies on Campus West. Most of your teaching will take place in Alcuin College and elsewhere on Campus West.

About our campus

Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.

Assessment and feedback

Formal types of assessment in this course include:

  • Dissertation
  • Exams
  • Group project
  • Seminar presentation
  • Essays

As you study modules you’ll take part in assessments that do not contribute to your final mark, instead giving useful feedback on your progress and understanding.

The Economics Masters degree programme is diverse, stimulating and challenging. The academic teaching staff were quick to give help and support when needed and all the teaching was thorough and rigorous. Open discussion was encouraged throughout the Department in seminars, lectures and one-to-one supervision meetings.
Richard, MSc in Economics, now studying Economics PhD

Careers and skills

This course will act as a springboard to a wide variety of careers, as employers will highly value your analytical problem-solving abilities, as well as your research and communication skills. The Masters is also an ideal basis for progression to a PhD.

Career opportunities

  • Financial manager
  • Economist
  • Analyst at a credit rating company
  • Financial consultant within the four leading banks
  • Financial analyst
  • Case pricing analyst

Transferable skills

  • Independent working
  • Time management and people skills
  • Communicating research
  • Performing statistical analysis
  • Analytical and technical research skills

Entry requirements

Typical offer
Undergraduate degree 2:1 or equivalent in Economics. You may also be offered a place if you have a strong degree in Mathematics, Statistics, Computing, Engineering or the sciences and are very keen to study Economics.
Other international qualifications Equivalent qualifications from your country

Additional requirements

If you have been out of study for a while, or do not have a strong background in economics or mathematics and statistics but have other relevant qualifications or experience, you may be required to take the Summer Session in Economics and Quantitative Methods as a condition of your offer. Alternatively, the Session can also be taken as a stand-alone course.

English language

If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:

Minimum requirement
IELTS (Academic and Indicator) 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each component
Cambridge CEFR B2 First: 176, with 169 in each component
Oxford ELLT 7, minimum of 6 in each component
Duolingo 120, minimum 105 in all other components
LanguageCert SELT B2 with 33/50 in each component
LanguageCert Academic 70 with a minimum of 65 in each component
KITE 459-494, with 426-458 in all other components
Skills for English B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component
PTE Academic 61, minimum 55 in each component
TOEFL 87, minimum 21 in each component
Trinity ISE III Merit in all requirements

For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.

If you haven't met our English language requirements

You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.

The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.

After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.

Applying

You can apply and send all your documentation online. You don’t need to complete your application all at once: you can start it, save it and finish it later.

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Department of Economics and Related Studies

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