Master's Degree Program

Focus

The economics master’s program is designed to provide students with the essential background and fundamental knowledge required to prepare for further graduate work or to embark on entry-level or mid-level positions conducting economic analysis and forecasting within industry or government. Courses are selected to allow students to be well prepared for these alternatives

Degree Requirements

Students may choose to pursue the Master’s degree by following one of two different tracks. Each track is designed with a different objective, though the choice of one over the other does not close any option the student may later want to pursue. The degree can be awarded either through the College of Commerce and Business Administration (generally for students with an undergraduate business background) or through the College of Arts and Sciences.

Track I: Ph.D. Preparation

Track I is a program designed to prepare the student for a doctoral program. It mirrors the first year of courses for the Ph.D. in economics at the University of Alabama, and a student has the ability to proceed into the Ph.D. program upon completion of the requirements for the Master’s degree. Alternatively, this track would be excellent preparation for study in doctoral programs at other universities. This degree program requires 30 hours of course work, as follows:

Required Courses:

EC 610; EC 611; EC 616; EC 660; EC 571; and EC 570.

Beyond the required courses, students would take 12 additional hours of graduate coursework. To maintain consistencey with the Ph.D. program, students should enroll in ST 554. The other three courses should be selected from the available graduate courses in economics or finance. In particular, courses from the following specialty areas would be recommended: Industrial Organization; International Trade and Finance; Public Sector Economics; Monetary Economics. Students in the Ph.D. program may apply for an M.A. degree after completion of the first year courses, passing the qualifying exam, and passing two additional courses.

Track II: Applied Economics

Track II is designed primarily for students who want to prepare for a career in which they apply the skills of economic analysis. These jobs are typically in industry, the financial sector or government agencies. This program requires 30 hours.

While Mathematical Economics, EC 570, is listed as a course in the program, it is actually a course that students should complete prior to their entry into the master’s program in the fall. Effectively, it should be regarded as a prerequisite. For students who have not completed this course, or its equivalent, this class is usually offered both during summer school (generally the first summer term) and also as an intensive (3 week) course in August. The intensive course is intended primarily for students entering the Ph.D. program in the fall, but it would serve the needs of many master’s students as well. Completing Mathematical Economics prior to the Fall semester will allow students to complete their degree program in a timely fashion; we strongly urge students to try to take this course prior to starting the program.

Required Courses (27 Hours)

  • EC 513 - Economic Forecast & Analysis (Fall)
  • EC 571 - Econometrics (Spring)
  • EC 508 - Microeconomic Theory (Fall)
  • EC 509 - Macroeconomic Theory and Policy (Spring)
  • EC 570 - Mathematical Economics (Summer prior to entry)
  • ST 521 - Statistical Data Management (Fall)
  • ST 522 - Advanced Data Management (Fall)
  • ST 531 - Data Mining I (Fall)
  • ST 532 - Data Mining II (Spring)

The set of required courses are designed to enhance a student’s understanding of the core concepts in microeconomics and macroeconomics, as well as developing a set of quantitative skills in econometrics and economic forecasting. These skills are complemented by the four courses in statistics, which are designed to develop and hone the student’s understanding of statistical methods, but also the use of the statistics software package, SAS. This package is widely used by organizations in both the public and private sector; the capabilities these courses provide should improve a graduate’s career prospects substantially. It is also noteworthy that upon successful completion of the set of statistics courses you will receive a Data Mining Certificate from SAS Institute.

Elective Courses (3 Hours)

Recommended Elective:

EC 597 - Special Topics

All MA in Economics candidates must pass a comprehensive examination. Track I students take the Ph.D. qualifying exam and Track II students have this option. A discussion of the Ph.D. comprehensive examination can be found below in the section describing the degree requirements for the Ph.D. in economics. Track II students may take EC 597 and successful completion of this course will substitute for the comprehensive examination.

Most students will enroll in EC 597 during the summer term following the student’s completion of the set of required courses. The primary requirement of the class is the completion of a research paper. The purpose of this paper is to provide an integrative experience for students—the paper would involve the use of the core topics in economic theory, the econometrics and forecasting skills gained in those courses in conjunction with the statistical skills gained in the statistics courses. In other words, this class provides a capstone experience to the student’s master’s degree program.

Other Elective Courses

  • EC 516 - Monetary Theory and Policy (Spring)
  • EC 530 - International Trade (Spring)
  • EC 531 - International Finance (Fall)
  • EC 550 - Survey of Development of Economic Thought (Summer)
  • EC 523 - Public Expenditure and Policy Analysis (Spring)
  • FI 510 - Financial Management (Fall)
  • FI 512 - Money & Capital Markets (Spring)
  • FI 514 - Investments (Fall or Spring)

Other courses may be substituted as electives with permission of the Graduate Program Committee.

Intermediate Micro and Macro Theory (EC 308-309), Statistics (ST 260) and Calculus (MATH 121 or 125) are prerequisites for core courses in both tracks. If these courses have not been taken, they should be taken by the time the student enters the program. These courses cannot be taken for graduate credit.

Course Loads and Time Required for Completion Of the Degree

A full load for graduate credit is 12 hours (4 courses) per semester. The Master's degree is a research-oriented degree, and students are expected to read in the original literature to develop an understanding of research design and theoretical issues.

Students attending school on a full-time basis can usually complete the Master's degree in one calendar year.