Design your own curriculum to match your ambitions
Year 1: Build Your Foundations
Mandatory courses (qualified students may choose an advanced PhD-level course as a substitute, indicated in parenthesis):
- Pre-session in Mathematics
- Data Analysis 1, 2 & 4 (or Statistics for Econometrics and Advanced Econometrics 1 & 2)
- Microeconomics (or Advanced Microeconomics)
- Macroeconomics (or Advanced Macroeconomics)
- Coding for Economists (or Scientific Python)
- Current Economic Issues Seminar
- Academic Writing
Sample Electives (can also be taken in the second year):
- Designing Markets that Work
- Economics of the Public Sector
- Energy Markets
- Fintech in Depth
- International Political Economy
- Labor Economics
- International Finance
- Statistics for Econometrics
- Data Science
+ you may start taking some courses from the second year tracks below
Year 2: Choose Your Track
At the end of the first year, you choose one of four tracks that best suit your career plans and interests. You must take the courses required in your track, but this still leaves you with substantial flexibility to choose courses from other tracks or electives that you are interested in.
Data Science Track
- Data Analysis 3: Prediction and Introduction to Machine Learning
- Data Engineering 1: Cloud Computing and Managed AI Solutions
- Date Engineering 2: Modern Data Platforms
- Data Science 1: Setting up Data Science Projects
- Data Science 2
+ take at least three courses from the following list:
- Theory and Practice of Economic Forecasting
- Statistics for Econometrics
- Advanced Econometrics 1
- Advanced Econometrics 2
- Data Engineering 3: Orchestration and Real-time Data Processing
- Data Science 3: Machine Learning Concepts and Tools
- Data Analysis with AI: Research support
- Data Analysis with AI: Concepts and Tools
- Data Engineering 4: AI Engineering - Integrating LLMs
- Data Science 4: Deep Learning and Topics in Applied AI
Research (pre-PhD) Track
- Game Theory and Asymmetric Information
- Statistics for Econometrics
+ take least two of the following:
- Advanced Econometrics 1 & 2
- Advanced Microeconomics
- Advanced Macroeconomics
+ take at least three courses from the following list:
- Internship
- PhD-level research electives (offer changes by year). If you took Advanced level core courses in your first year, you may take more research electives in your second year.
Global Economic Policy Track
- Global Economy: Emergence and Current Issues
- Economic Policy Seminar Series
+ take at least three courses from the following list:
- Internship
- Advanced Impact Evaluation
- Economics of the Public Sector
- Fiscal Policy in Practice
- Development Economics
- Impact Evaluation: Policy Applications with R
- Theory and Practice of Economic Forecasting
Finance Track
- Financial Management
- Financial Reporting and Control (non-degree)
- Trading and Portfolio Theory
- Corporate Finance and Risk Management
+ take at least four courses from the following list:
- Asset Pricing
- Banking and Financial Institutions
- Fixed Income Analysis
- Company Valuation
- International Finance
In the Spring term of the second year, students on all tracks will participate in a Thesis Seminar and write a masters’ thesis.
Build critical, in-demand skills for a successful career
The MA in Economics, Data, and Policy will equip you with a solid foundation in economics and quantitative methodology and the ability to interpret data and link them to economic and social processes. The skills you gain will enable you to pursue a variety of exciting careers. In recent years, graduating students have:
- Continued their studies in highly ranked PhD programs: Boston University, Duke University, CEU, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Switzerland), University of California at San Diego, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Michigan.
- Engaged in policy and research work in the public sector, at international organizations or think-tanks: European Commission, European Investment Bank, ECB, International Monetary Fund (IMF), RAND Corporation, United Nations (UN), World Bank.
- Embarked on careers in banking, finance, or consulting: BlackRock, Boston Consulting Group, Citi, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Morgan Stanley, McKinsey, PWC, Raiffeisen.
Applications and scholarships
Can I apply?
You must possess a BA degree (or higher) or be enrolled in the last year of your university studies. Successful applicants come from a variety of vocational and educational backgrounds; given the flexibility of the program, a previous degree in Economics is not required.
Since the program is flexible, you can choose the mathematical rigor of courses according to your background. Therefore, there is no mandatory mathematics test required for admission. Nevertheless, especially if you are considering the “Research (pre-PhD)” track, you are encouraged to take a math test. A good math score may increase the chance of getting a scholarship.
For more details, see the Admissions Requirements webpage.