Course summary

Why choose this course Policy-makers, such as central banks, businesses and finance companies, increasingly use large and complex datasets to further their aims and discover trends and extract value. There is now a need for professionals with the right theoretical and practical knowledge who can handle the data using the right machine learning and econometric estimation techniques. This masters will give you the training to work in this expert field. Our MSc in Economics (Econometrics and Big Data) will help you build on your undergraduate studies to develop advanced capabilities in this discipline with an emphasis on quantitative techniques and their applications using big data. The programme is designed to prepare you for a range of careers in which econometrics and machine learning skills are required to analyse complex economic problems and provide innovative solutions. Graduates of the programme are also well placed for further study in economics or econometrics. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, Economics was ranked in the top 10 in the UK for world-leading research and achieved an overall ranking of 6th for real-world impact and 8th for research environment. What you will study Our MSc Economics (Econometrics and Big Data) covers the core areas of microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics in which you will develop a systematic understanding to position yourself at the forefront of the discipline. As well as acquiring outstanding theoretical knowledge, you will also learn how to use machine-learning methods for data reduction and prediction, and apply econometric techniques suited to large datasets. Choice is built into the second semester where you can further shape your programme of study by selecting two modules to suit your strengths, preferences and/or career aspirations. You will be able to choose from modules such as Financial Econometrics and Mathematics of Data Science among others. Alternatively, you can switch to the MSc Economics programme. As is the case with all our masters programmes, the MSc in Economics (Econometrics and Big Data) features a series of lectures and workshops in research methods that will allow you to build the skills you need to carry out independent research in economics and complete your dissertation in the summer.