Economics, Master of Arts
The Department of Economics invites applicants for the M.A. in Economics, a full-time, two-year program for students who may be interested in pursuing doctoral studies later but want to begin with a full-time, in-person, intensive master’s program with mathematics as a core focus. Graduates of this program will earn a rigorous, math-intensive master’s degree to either advance in graduate study at a top doctoral program or advance in career with essential skills.
Admission
The admission of each applicant is decided by the Department as a whole and rests upon their academic record (especially economics and mathematics courses), GRE test scores, and recommendations of scholars and instructors.
To apply for admission, applicants are required to do the following by the application deadline:
- Upload unofficial transcripts of all previous college and university study to their online application. Failure to upload unofficial transcripts will result in an inability to complete and submit the online application.
- Submit at least two letters of recommendation. These recommendation letters should come from individuals who can comment on your scholarly skills.
- Submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination. Admitted students nearly always have high quantitative GRE scores.
- Provide Curriculum Vitae.
- Provide a Statement of Purpose.
- Foreign applicants must take the TOEFL with a minimum score of 100 (internet based), 600 (paper based) or 250 (computer based), or IELTS with a bandscore of 7. Applicants with degrees from universities in the United States or the countries listed on the KSAS Graduate Admissions website are exempt from this language proficiency requirement. It is the country in which the university is located that determines whether the requirement applies, not the language of instruction at the university. For the exemption to apply, applicants must have completed at least two years of full-time study at a university in the United States and/or a TOEFL exempt foreign country.
Students should have a knowledge of economic theory and statistics and a strong background in mathematics including differential and integral calculus and linear algebra. In admissions decisions, we like applicants to have taken other mathematics courses as well, including more advanced calculus, differential equations, probability, and real analysis. We especially welcome applications from under-represented populations, as diversity is important in our graduate program. All applicants will be notified by email.
Requirements
This master’s program is a fully in-person program. The M.A. in Economics requires two years of intense study at the Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus in Baltimore, Maryland. There is no option for online study.
International students in F-1 status who complete this program and obtain post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) may be eligible for the STEM OPT Extension. Students should consult the Office of International Services if they have questions about this benefit.
Students will take a combination of required core classes (25 credits of required core classes) and required elective classes (21 credits of electives) that will be chosen by the student from an approved list. In total, students must earn 46 academic credits of core and elective coursework. There is no requirement for a master’s thesis.
The first year of study comprises two semesters each of microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, and statistics/econometrics. Students also take a fall semester course in mathematical methods. In the second year, students take 7 electives.
Courses
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Courses | ||
| AS.180.601 | Microeconomic Theory I | 4 |
| AS.180.602 | Microeconomic Theory II | 3 |
| AS.180.603 | Macroeconomic Theory I | 4 |
| AS.180.604 | Macroeconomic Theory II | 4 |
| AS.180.609 | Mathematical Thinking and Reasoning in Economics | 4 |
| AS.180.633 | Econometrics | 3 |
| AS.180.636 | Statistical Inference | 3 |
| Electives | 21 | |
| Total Credits | 46 | |