Program Overview

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What will a post COVID-19 world look like? Can you predict when the economy will recover? How will we adapt to overcome the challenges posed by pandemic uncertainty? Economics isn’t optional to study right now: it’s vital to our future well-being in a post COVID-19 world. The skills you learn at Essex will be in high demand from employers in the coming years. At Essex we have a unique strength in public policy measures to stimulate and manage the economy, including the behavioural techniques to get messages across. You could combine study of health economics with public economics and development economics to get a broad view of how one can respond to a threat such as COVID-19, balancing home and global needs. Economic recovery is probably one of the most pressing and urgent challenges right now and studying an economics degree gives you the unique tools to take on this challenge, find a solution, and improve well-being. At Essex we push the frontiers of accepted wisdom, critically examining the decisions of individuals, the strategies of firms, and the policies of governments to understand and challenge the standard paradigms of economics. In our popular flagship masters course you will develop the expert research mind-set required for a high-profile job in finance or business. You gain a rigorous training in the key areas of economics through studying the following topics:

• Strategic behaviour, public choice and general equilibrium
• Modern theory and methods with application to policy
• Optimisation theory, formal economic arguments, and the role of equilibrium
• Econometric methods

We are 4th in UK for research power in economics and econometrics (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021). Much of this world-class research is related to policy, and we have particular strengths in the areas of:

• Game theory and strategic interactions
• Theoretical and applied econometrics
• Labour economics

The quality of our work is reflected in our stream of publications in high-profile academic journals, including American Economic Review, Econometrica, and Review of Economic Studies. With this course you also have the opportunity to study abroad at one of our partner institutions and achieve a dual award, which means you’ll receive two Masters degrees in two years. Find out more on our dual award webpage. Why we're great.

• We are one of Europe's leading economics departments – learn with other research stars to break new ground
• Ranked 18th in the UK for Economics in the QS World University Rankings by Subject (2023)
• Access extensive quantitative analysis software and a large number of economics databases

Our expert staff

Study and work alongside some of the most prominent economists of our time. Our researchers are at the forefront of their field and have even received MBEs, with students coming from across the globe to study, research or work with us. Many of our researchers also provide consultancy services to businesses in London and other major financial centres, helping us to develop research for today's society as well as informing our teaching for the future. For a full list of research interests, see our Department’s staff pages .

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Specialist facilities

Take advantage of our wide range of learning resources to assist you in your studies:

• Extensive software for quantitative analysis is available in all computer labs across the university
• Access a variety of economics databases and multiple copies of textbooks and e-books in the Albert Sloman Library

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Your future

After completing your masters, you may wish to extend your knowledge with a research degree – many Essex graduates decide to stay here for further study. Alternatively, our course also prepares you for employment; recent surveys have shown that higher degree graduates are more likely to obtain jobs at professional or managerial level. Our recent MSc Economics graduates have gone on to work for a range of high-profile organisations:

• The Ministry of Finance
• HM Treasury
• The Work Foundation
• Fitch Ratings
• Schroders Investment Management

More generally, our graduates find employment in roles such as business and financial analysts, management consultants, government officials, and economists for banks and other financial organisations. We work with the University’s Careers Services to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.

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One Masters not enough for you?

We offer a number of postgraduate taught dual awards with our international partners. You work for two Masters degrees, one at Essex and another at a prestigious university across the globe, gaining them both in a shorter time than studying them separately. This unique opportunity gives you a competitive edge when applying for jobs or prepares you for PhD study.