MSc Economic Policy
DURATION
1 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Aug 2024
TUITION FEES
GBP 25,320 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for overseas student fees | home student fees: GBP 12,220 per year
Introduction
The MSc Economic Policy offers solid training in the fundamental principles of economic policy, grounding them in the evolution of economic theory and policy practice. It provides a platform for critical analysis and discussion of policy design and evaluation methods linked to real-world problems, without requiring a first degree in Economics for enrolment.
You will explore government actions and strategies designed to achieve policy objectives under specific political and socio-economic conditions. The programme addresses key policy challenges, including climate change and green finance, industrial competitiveness and structural transformation, poverty and inequality, corruption and ineffective states, and labour market and social protection policies, among other concerns.
Optional regional modules offer students an opportunity to delve into regional policy challenges, aligning with the established tradition of SOAS Economics. Moreover, participants can specialise in one of three areas: 1) Economic Policy and International Finance, 2) Economic Policy and the Environment, and 3) Economic Policy and Institutions.
Why study MSc Economic Policy at SOAS?
- We are ranked 27th in the UK for economics (QS World University Rankings 2023)
- We are top 20 in the UK for student satisfaction with teaching (Complete University Guide 2023)
- We are top 40 in the UK for economics (Complete University Guide 2023)
- SOAS is ranked 6th in the UK for employment outcomes (QS World University Rankings 2023)
Admissions
Curriculum
The MSc Economic Policy is a taught Master’s degree. It consists of 180 credits, made up of eight taught modules, four compulsory modules and four optional (Guided Options) modules, each worth 15 credits taught over 10 or 20 weeks. In addition, a 10,000-word research project accounts for 60 credits. The modules are delivered through lectures, classes, seminars and tutorials. The programme structure shows which modules are compulsory and which are optional.
As a rough guide, 1 credit equals approximately 10 hours of work. Most of this will be independent study such as reading and research, preparing coursework, revising for examinations and so on. Also included is class time, for example, lectures, seminars and other classes. Some subjects may have more class time than others – a typical example of this is language acquisition modules.
At SOAS, most postgraduate modules have a one-hour lecture and a one-hour seminar every week, but this may vary.
Core
- Research Project in Economic Policy
Compulsory
- Research Methods
- Global Economic Policy Analysis
- Essay Writing Workshop - Postgraduate Economics
- Principles of Statistics and Econometrics with R Coding
- Perspectives in Economic Theory and Policy
Guided Options
- Growth and Development
- International Finance
- Political Economy of Institutions
- Economic Development in the Asia Pacific Region
- Financial Systems and Economic Development
- Evaluation Methods for Economic Policy
- Advanced Econometrics with R Coding
- Economics of Environment and Development
- Advanced Microeconomics
- Advanced Macroeconomics
- China and World Development
- Green Finance
- Economic Development of Africa (PG)
- Data Analytics with Python
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Economics graduates leave SOAS with a solid grounding in statistical skills and an ability to think laterally, take a global perspective, and employ critical reasoning.
Recent graduates from the Department of Economics have been hired by:
- Bain & Co
- Bank of America
- Cabinet Office
- Deloitte
- Ernst & Young
- KPMG
- NHS England
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- HSBC
- National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi
- UK Civil Service
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- University of Bayreuth
- HM Treasury
- Department for International Development
- PwC
Program Leaders
Program delivery
The modules are taught in seminar groups and lectures. The degree is awarded on the basis of assessed coursework, examinations and the dissertation. The MSc is taught over a period of 12-months of full-time study within a structured programme. In case of part-time study, the degree will be taught over two or three years.
For a two year study, four modules are studied each year, with the dissertation normally being completed in the second year, while the number of modules taken is decided in consultation with the programme convenor for a three year study.