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  3. MA in Economics, Data, and Policy 2 year program
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Overview

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):

  • Introduction to Quantitative Methods (or Advanced 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)
  • Current Economic Issues Seminar (or PhD Research Seminar)
  • Coding for Economists (or Scientific Python)
  • Academic Writing

 Sample Electives (can also be taken in the second year):

  • Competition Policy
  • Designing Markets that Work
  • Ecological Economics
  • Economics of the Public Sector
  • Energy Markets
  • Fintech in Depth
  • Future of Work
  • International Political Economy
  • Labor Economics
  • Monetary Policy
  • Python Programming, Visualization and Text Analysis

+ you may start taking some courses from the second year tracks below

Year 2: Choose Your Track

By the beginning of your second 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: SQL and the Different Shapes of Data
  • Date Engineering 2: Cloud Computing

+ take at least three courses from the following list:

  • Data Science: Machine Learning Tools
  • Machine Learning for Natural Language Processing 1
  • Machine Learning for Natural Language Processing 2: Deep Learning
  • Theory and Practice of Economic Forecasting
  • Statistics for Econometrics
  • Research Internship
  • Advanced Econometrics 1
  • Advanced Econometrics 2

 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:

  • Research 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
  • International Economic Policy
  • Economic Policy Seminar Series

+ take at least three courses from the following list:

  • Policy Internship
  • Economic Policy and Global Strategy
  • International Economic Integration
  • Fiscal Policy in Practice
  • Development Economics
  • Impact Evaluation: Policy Applications with R
  • Theory and Practice of Economic Forecasting

 Finance Track

  • Financial Management
  • Trading and Portfolio Theory
  • Corporate Finance and Risk Management

+ take at least three courses from the following list:

  • Asset Pricing
  • Banking and Financial Institutions
  • Fixed Income Analysis
  • Financial Reporting and Control
  • Games and Asymmetric Information

 

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.

Deadlines

There are different application deadlines depending on your circumstances:

  • October 15, 2024 – if you seek financial aid and are from a country with a lengthy visa processing time
  • February 4, 2025 – for all other countries and if you seek financial aid
  • April 15, 2025 – if you do not seek financial aid, but need a study visa
  • July 1, 2025 – if you do not seek financial aid and do not need a visa to study in Austria

Scholarships

Financial aid is granted on the basis of academic merit. The top candidates in the MA in Economics, Data, and Policy will receive a full tuition waiver and 10,000 EUR per year as a scholarship. Partial tuition waivers and smaller stipends will also be offered.