Does the world need another feckin’ masters in economics?

UL’s economics department has had one Masters programme for more than a decade—the hugely successful Masters in Tourism. We haven’t had a dedicated MSc in Economics however. Instead we have taught post-graduate modules on other programmes like the MSc in Computational Finance, and the MSc in Financial Services.

In our department we felt that we could offer a high quality Masters degree in economics if we played to our strengths as a department, and didn’t try to do what everyone else has been doing for many years. There is a Masters programme in every economics department in the country. So why do we need another feckin’ masters in economics?

Last year we decided to create an MSc in Economic Analysis. The normal Masters course in economics runs over 2 semesters, with a thesis being written over the summer.

In the first semester students will do some theory courses to allow them to progress to PhD studies if they want to, and some ‘applied’ courses on statistics, econometrics, and research methods, to allow them to ‘produce’ research themselves. In the second semester students learn topics-based modules on areas like international economics, and other sub-disciplines. Then they write a thesis on a particular area of interest.

Our MSc takes a spin on that model. We began by thinking about what we’d like our graduates to be able to do after finishing the MSc. Then we worked backwards over many discussions to refine the modules we would offer to create in a sense, this graduate.

Our graduates should be able to take real world data, analyze it using the best tools available, and report their findings to a range of audiences. Our graduates should have the theoretical ‘tools’ to engage with the academic literature on a subject if they need to, and our graduates need to know a lot about the ‘applied’ side of economics, essentially the quantitative approach to public policy. This is exactly what UL’s economics department specializes in anyway as part of its research and teaching, so we know whereof we speak.

The spin we are putting on the traditional Masters format starts before the programme begins. We will make sure your mathematical ability is up to scratch by offering a refresher course, and then we’ll dive right into the first semester. You’ll take macroeconomic and microeconomic theory courses, get an introduction to the history and philosophy of economics (no other course has a module like this), and take a specialized data course delivered by the Central Statistics Office. This is also a first in Ireland. We offer optional modules in professional development to help you get your CV in order, help you market yourself in the job market, and more. In the second semester you’ll do a series of modules designed to help you make sense of challenging policy questions. Econometrics will give you the tools to ask a ‘how much’ type question in economics. Public Finance and Regulation will give you the ability to understand the type of problems Ireland has at the moment as will Industrial Policy: Theory, Practice and Evaluation and Labour and Education Economics. We will help you get a high quality Masters thesis together with a dissertation preparation module, and there is another optional Professional Development module to round out your Masters experience. We will have a range of guest lecturers on different topics, seminars to expose you to real world research, and a field trip to allow you to get a sense of what policy making really looks like at the coal face.

You’ll get bombarded with assignments, essays, problem sets, data sets, and presentations. You’ll probably sleep a lot less than you should. And you’ll come out of the experience with more practical skills, and an enhanced CV that will mean something in the marketplace.

We’re really excited to get the Masters up and running, and we’re going to out a massive amount of work in to make sure it is a success. Which probably means we’ll work the arses off the students. But that’s a good thing if you want to become properly trained economists.

My colleague Dr Eoin Reeves is the course Director, drop him an email if you want to know more about the course, email me, or take a look at the course website here. (Apologies for the shite website, we’re going to sort that out in 5 or 6 weeks’ time.)

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