The Masters in Economics program at Miami University is designed to prepare students to be economic analysts in the private or public sector, or to pursue a Ph.D. at another institution.
The Masters program can be completed in one calendar year. In the first semester the student takes four courses for a total of 12 credit hours: Advanced Microeconomics, Advanced Macroeconomics, Econometrics, and Quantitative Methods. These courses lay the foundations of theory and testing that will be used in the second semester courses.
In the second semester, the student takes five courses for a total of 13 credit hours. Advanced Topics in Microeconomics and Advanced Topics in Macroeconomics apply and extend the tools developed in the first semester courses to specific topics of current interest. Recent topics courses have focused on international economics, urban and regional issues, and the effect of money on the economy. In these courses, students are exposed to current debates and controversies in a specific area of economics, and are shown the role of theory and testing in the evolution of the issues.
The second semester also includes two two-hour courses in econometrics. In the first course, the econometric techniques discussed in the fall are extended to include simultaneous equations, specification bias, qualitative dependent variable models, survival data, and the analysis of panel data. The second course introduces the student to modern time series techniques. ARMA models, Dickey-Fuller tests, and cointegration are among the topics discussed.
The student also takes a course in research methods, selecting an area of interest and then learning how to explore it. In this course the student writes a literature review, identifies unresolved issues, and develops a strategy that would shed light on the disputed matters.
During the summer the student writes an exit paper. Frequently, students choose the topic they developed in the research methods class. While writing the exit paper, the student works closely with a professor who guides the project, helping the student gain in-depth knowledge about the chosen subject and experience in carrying out a research project using the tools of modern economic theory and modern econometrics. From time to time, these exit papers develop into published articles. Some recent titles of exit papers can be found on our website.
Our department has many strengths, several worth emphasizing. We are a relatively large faculty with approximately 20 full-time economists. Our faculty have recently published in leading economic journals such as the American Economic Review, Economic Theory, Southern Economic Journal, and the International Journal of Money and Finance.
The size and productivity of our faculty allow us to offer courses that are timely and to accommodate a wide variety of choices of exit paper topics.
Our faculty is dedicated to excellent classroom teaching. Class sizes in the Master’s degree program are typically small—between eight and twelve students—enabling the instructor to get to know each student, facilitating questions and class discussion, and promoting the extensive use of out- of-class assignments, which provide students with needed experience in working problems and writing papers.
In addition to giving students easy access to our experienced and active faculty, the program helps students develop the tools of modern economics and apply these tools to current problems.
The Farmer School of Business, in which the Department of Economics is based, has won accolades for its hands-on learning opportunities, its focus on entrepreneurship, and its growing emphasis on international study. In Business Week’s second annual survey of the nation’s best undergraduate business programs, the Farmer School was ranked 35th, the best showing of any Ohio university. It ranked 13th nationally among public universities and colleges.
Miami University is renowned and respected for its commitment to teaching. The 2007 U.S.News & World Report college rankings lists Miami University 21st among the nation’s public universities, recognizing the university for providing "outstanding examples of academic programs that are believed to lead to student success."
Kiplinger's 2007 list of the “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” ranks Miami as the top bargain in Ohio and 38th nationally. The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2007 praises Miami as “one of the rising stars among state universities” for its “strong emphasis on liberal arts and its opportunities for research, travel abroad, and leadership.”
Our Master’s in Economics program has produced many successful graduates, who go on to careers in the public sector as well as the private sector, or further study in prestigious Ph.D. programs all over the country. See recent student placements for more information.
