MSc Economics
Join a programme with a long-standing international reputation for excellence
Year of entry: 2025 (September)
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 regulatory policy, industrial organisation, intertemporal and international macroeconomics, financial markets, and labour economics.
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.
Modules
For the Masters, you will take core modules which may include:
You will also study three option modules. Examples from previous years have included:
- Public Policy Analysis
- Principles of Emerging Market and Development Economics
- Evaluation of Health Care
- Information and Strategy
- Topics in Development Economics
- Public Economics
- Applied Microeconometrics
- Time Series Econometrics
- Money, Banking and Corporate Finance
- Macro Finance
- Design and Analysis of Mechanisms and Institutions
- Evaluation of Health Policy
- Economics of Health and Health Care
Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.
Learning outcomes
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.
Learning outcomes for this course
- 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 2025/26
| Study mode | UK (home) | International and EU |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time (1 year) | £11,200 | £25,900 |
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 2025/26 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
Chevening Scholarships
We are pleased to work with Chevening Scholars to offer funding for our Masters programmes. Chevening Scholarships provide one year of fully-funded postgraduate study in the UK for international (including EU) students. The scholarships are open to early and mid-career professionals who have the potential to become future leaders.
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.
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
| Qualification | Typical offer |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate degree | 2:2 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:
| Qualification | 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 |
| Oxford Test of English Advanced | 136, minimum 126 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 |
| Kaplan Test of English Language | 478-509, with 444-477 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.
Next steps
Contact us
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