Course summary

Why choose this course Economics helps us decipher and shape our complex world. It offers unparalleled insights into how decisions by individuals, businesses, and the government affect important aspects of everyone’s life, including employment opportunities, the prices of products and services, and the overall standards of living. Our MSc in Economics (Policy Evaluation and Data Analysis) will help you build on your undergraduate studies to develop advanced capabilities in the discipline with an emphasis on learning how to conduct evidence-based policy analysis. Our specific focus on policy evaluation means you will be trained in methods to measure causal effects in microeconomics including programme evaluation methods and decomposition techniques, models for survival analysis and panel data models. The programme is designed to prepare you for a range of careers in which advanced economics analysis and independent thought are required, such as in government and business, think tanks and consulting. Graduates of the programme are also well placed for further study in economics. The School of Economics has a reputation as a leading research-intensive department in the UK. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, our School was ranked in the top 10 schools in the UK for world-leading research. The School achieved an overall ranking of 6th for real-world impact and 8th for research environment in REF 2021. What you will study Our MSc Economics (Policy Evaluation and Data Analysis) covers the core areas of microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics in which you will develop a systematic understanding at the forefront of the discipline. As well as acquiring outstanding theoretical knowledge, you will also learn how to solve problems and bring your analytical strengths to bear on policy applications with an emphasis on evaluation methods using data. Choice is built into the second semester where you can further shape your programme of study by selecting 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 or to one of three ‘pathways’: 1. Econometrics and Big Data 2. International Economics 3. Macroeconomics and Financial Analysis. As is the case with all our MA/MSc programmes, the MSc in Economics (Policy Evaluation and Data Analysis) 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.