MSc Economics - Where should I go?

Hi everyone,

I am graduating this summer from a Russell Group university with an Economics/politics degree and I'm considering doing an MSc in economics for professional purposes; after taking a year out to save up and prepare myself mathematically.

I wouldn't say I'm bad at maths and I really do enjoy learning it (which is why I'm considering a masters), albeit I'm not naturally brilliant at it and I have to work hard. I also didn't take a mathematical methods course in my last 2 years of uni. However, I did advanced micro and macroeconomics modules as well as Econometrics and Applied econometrics - both of which I've enjoyed a lot and have done well in. Besides getting a job as an analyst, I would like to pursue an MSc to further develop my mathematical skills and learn more applied stuff.

Anyway, I'm considering applying to KU Leuven, Amsterdam Uni, Manchester, Bristol, QMUL and Nottingham. I've also looked at SSE but two years in Sweden would be a bit tough financially and personally (I like the sun).

Where should I go and which courses would you guys recommend for someone who doesn't want to do a PhD but would like to land a more outward-oriented, international job? Will the absence of mathematical methods on my transcript hold me back despite the other advanced modules and self-study?

Thanks!

If you're graduation from a Russel Group, ideally you'd want your postgrad uni to be better than your undergrad. Instead of QMUL, why not LSE or UCL or Imperial or even King's which are all based in London with good connections. If not out of the UK uni's you stated, probably Nottingham or Bristol.

Hi everyone,

I am graduating this summer from a Russell Group university with an Economics/politics degree and I'm considering doing an MSc in economics for professional purposes; after taking a year out to save up and prepare myself mathematically.

I wouldn't say I'm bad at maths and I really do enjoy learning it (which is why I'm considering a masters), albeit I'm not naturally brilliant at it and I have to work hard. I also didn't take a mathematical methods course in my last 2 years of uni. However, I did advanced micro and macroeconomics modules as well as Econometrics and Applied econometrics - both of which I've enjoyed a lot and have done well in. Besides getting a job as an analyst, I would like to pursue an MSc to further develop my mathematical skills and learn more applied stuff.

Anyway, I'm considering applying to KU Leuven, Amsterdam Uni, Manchester, Bristol, QMUL and Nottingham. I've also looked at SSE but two years in Sweden would be a bit tough financially and personally (I like the sun).

Where should I go and which courses would you guys recommend for someone who doesn't want to do a PhD but would like to land a more outward-oriented, international job? Will the absence of mathematical methods on my transcript hold me back despite the other advanced modules and self-study?

Thanks!

I've been applying for MSc Economics courses this year so can sympathize with the struggle of figuring out where would be best to go. I think a really important thing is to figure out what sort of job you want afterwards because different unis have different economics specialities so this may help guide your decision. For example if you wanted to work in with econometrics a lot, there are specific economics departments that are much stronger at this than others and these don't tend to correlate with league tables. You said to get a job as an analyst, what did you mean by this? An analyst is just someone who analyses things, it's not a job, do you mean an economic or financial analyst?

I guess another suggestion would be Warwick, it's outside of London so the living costs are cheaper, the course is still pretty expensive but they offer some scholarships often if you've got a decent first at undergrad. Beyond that, overall, Nottingham would be the next best after the top5, then after that there's great economics departments at Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester.

It's also might be worth trying some of the lower unis to get scholarships, I know QMUL give 20 scholarships a year for their MSc Economics course. This year in applying I've had scholarship offers from Exeter, Durham, Nottingham and Warwick, I'm not even smart or have an outrageously high grade average so it's definitely possible.

You mentioned some continental European master's degrees so it sounds like you'd be open to that if possible? If so, the better economics departments are generally Bocconi, BGSE, SSE, Toulouse school of economics, Paris school of economics, Mannheim, HEC Paris, Science Po, CEMFI, Pompeu Fabra, Carlos III, KU Leuven and Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Thanks for the reply! I'm strongly considering Carlos III, KU Leuven, Sorbonne I and a couple in the UK - Bristol, Bath, Nottingham and Manchester.
I have a strong 2:1 but with mostly B+ in my econ modules. I know most UK courses only care about having a 2:1, but do you know how competitive the EU unis I mentioned are in terms of admissions?