Program Overview

Economics

The Economics program at McMaster University focuses on explaining and analyzing economic phenomena at the individual and economy-wide levels, affecting the allocation of resources and the distribution of well-being using economic theory and quantitative methods.

Degree Options

• Economics (MA)
  • A one-year course-based program providing a thorough grounding in modern economics and preparing students for doctoral studies in economics and careers in the public and private sector.
  • Areas of Research: In addition to required courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics, students can take elective courses in a variety of fields, including health economics, international finance, international trade, industrial organization, labour economics, monetary economics, population economics, and public economics.
  • Length: 1 year
  • Required Credentials: Honour's bachelor in Economics
  • Type: Course-based
  • Options: Full-Time, Part-Time
  • Typical Entry: September
  • Typical Deadline: January 14
• Economics (PhD)
  • The PhD program in economics prepares students to become professional, independent economic researchers applying state-of-the-art methods in the analysis of economic phenomena. Students are prepared for both academic and non-academic jobs.
  • Areas of Research: The department offers expertise in most areas of economics, including microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, and health economics, students can take elective courses in a variety of fields, including health economics, international finance, international trade, labour economics, monetary economics, population economics, and public economics.
  • Length: 4 years
  • Required Credentials: Master's degree
  • Type: Thesis
  • Options: Full-Time
  • Typical Entry: September
  • Typical Deadline: January 14

Related Scholarships

• Alvin Irwin Ogilvie Graduate Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $6,000
  • Description: Established in 1984, available to students registered in Ph.D. programs in the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences.
• Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS)
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: Varied values
  • Description: Established in 1982 to advance knowledge and understanding of Canada’s North.
• Bertram Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: May 26, 2025
  • Amount: $20,000
  • Description: Supports PhD students conducting research into organizational governance.
• Canada Graduate Scholarships – Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplements
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: September 18, 2025
  • Amount: Varies
  • Description: Supports high-calibre Canadian graduate students in building global linkages and international networks.
• Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: Varies
  • Description: An educational exchange with a mandate to enhance mutual understanding between the people of Canada and the people of the United States of America.
• Canadian Japanese Mennonite Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: April 1, 2023
  • Amount: Varies
  • Description: For students engaged in research that assists the protection of minority or human rights in Canada.
• CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC Canada Graduate Research Scholarships – Master’s (CGRS-M)
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: December 1, 2025
  • Amount: Varies
  • Description: Supports up to 3,298 students annually in all disciplines.
• CSA Group Graduate Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: March 31, 2024
  • Amount: Varies
  • Description: Supports graduate students in the pursuit of knowledge generation related to standards.
• Dr. J. A. Campbell Young Investigator Award
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: April 30, 2023
  • Amount: $5,000
  • Description: For any kind of research into celiac disease and/or gluten sensitivity.
• Fulbright Canada Student Awards
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: November 15, 2023
  • Amount: $ – $$$
  • Description: Intended for Canadian citizens who are graduate students, prospective graduate students, or promising young professionals.
• GSA Travel Award
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Funds graduate students to travel to undertake research or present at conferences relevant to their field of study.
• H.G. Hilton Master’s Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Supports a Master’s scholarship, priority given to students intending research in Canadian industry or industrial problems.
• Harry Lyman Hooker Sr. Fellowships
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $$$-$$$$
  • Description: Made possible through a bequest from the estate of Harry Lyman Hooker, given to Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents entering their first year of a master’s or doctoral program.
• Harvey E. Longboat Graduate Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: March 10, 2025
  • Amount: $$-$$$
  • Description: For First Nation, Inuit, and Métis students who have demonstrated high academic achievement and exceptional promise.
• Health Research Postdoctoral Opportunities
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: Varies
  • Description: A comprehensive list of funding sources and agencies for postdoctoral fellows in the Faculty of Health Sciences.
• Hugh C. Morris Experiential Learning Fellowship
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $$$$$
  • Description: Valued at $40,000, open to any graduate student studying in Canada who is working in a field related to earth, geosciences, environment, alternative energy, water, climate change, or sustainability.
• Iranian Student Memorial Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in honour of McMaster Faculty of Engineering PhD students Iman Aghabali and Mehdi Eshaghian, and a former Faculty of Health Science Post-Doctoral Fellow.
• John Charles Polanyi Prize
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: December 2, 2024
  • Amount: $$$
  • Description: In honour of the achievement of John Charles Polanyi, recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• Lyle Makosky Values and Ethics in Sport Fund
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: April 30, 2024
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Open to applicants who are high-performance athletes enrolled at a Canadian university, community college, or other post-secondary educational institution.
• Mackenzie King Memorial Scholarships
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: February 2, 2026
  • Amount: $$-$$$
  • Description: Established as an independent charitable trust under the will of the late Rt. Hon. William Mackenzie King.
• Manulife Life Lessons Scholarship Program
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: March 31, 2023
  • Amount: $$
  • Description: For students who’ve experienced the death of a parent or guardian with little to no life insurance.
• Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: February 23, 2024
  • Amount: $$$
  • Description: Four scholarships open to master’s and PhD students who are conducting research on determinants, impacts, and policy or program interventions into food insecurity in Canada.
• Mary Buzzell Graduate Scholarship for Resilient Aging
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: December 1, 2024
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Awarded to an outstanding student enrolled in any Master’s Degree program at McMaster University who is preparing for a career in the multidisciplinary field of Aging.
• McMaster Graduate General Bursary
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: A bursary based solely on financial need, available to graduate students who demonstrate financial need.
• McMaster Institute for Research on Aging (MIRA) Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $$$$$
  • Description: Prospective postdoctoral fellows are invited to submit a research plan that focuses on interdisciplinary, impact-driven approaches in the study of optimal aging.
• MIRA Graduate Scholarship Program
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: November 25, 2024
  • Amount: $$$
  • Description: Open to applicants entering year one of a master’s program and year one or two of a doctoral program, focusing on interdisciplinary, impact-driving approaches in the study of aging.
• MIRA Graduate Student Travel Awards
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: March 15, 2020
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Funds up to 10 graduate student travel awards per year for students working with MIRA researchers.
• Mitacs-JSPS Summer Program
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: November 13, 2024
  • Amount: Varies
  • Description: Provides opportunities for full-time graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in Canada to pursue collaborative research in Japan.
• Norm Bromberger Research Bursary
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Provides $2,000 each year to encourage research in the area of co-operatives and credit unions.
• OGS for Indigenous Graduate Students
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: March 10, 2025
  • Amount: $$$
  • Description: Two OGS-I scholarships are awarded to Indigenous graduate students at McMaster University who face significant financial hardship.
• Ontario Graduate Fellowships
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $$$
  • Description: Provides funding to full-time students in graduate studies at the masters and doctoral level, merit-based scholarship for students with an A- or above.
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarships in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST)
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $$$
  • Description: Provides funding to full-time students at the master’s and doctoral levels, merit-based scholarships for students with an A- or above average.
• Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: December 1, 2023
  • Amount: $$$$$
  • Description: A three-year program designed to train Engaged Leaders, equipping outstanding doctoral candidates with the skills to translate their ideas into action.
• Rainbow Fund
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Granted to graduate students enrolled in any program who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ students and demonstrate financial need.
• Ronald Bayne Gerontology Award
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Awarded to any graduate student in the Faculties of Humanities or Social Sciences conducting research in the field of aging.
• Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada Graduate Student Award of Merit
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $$
  • Description: At least three awards, each in the amount of $4000, will be awarded annually to the women graduate students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the university or general community.
• SSHRC Canada Graduate Research Scholarships – Doctoral
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: September 28, 2025
  • Amount: $$$-$$$$
  • Description: Recognizes and supports the next generation of outstanding innovators, knowledge workers, creative thinkers, and researchers.
• SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: September 12, 2024
  • Amount: $$$$$
  • Description: Supports the most promising Canadian new scholars in the social sciences and humanities, and assists them in establishing a research base at an important time in their research careers.
• The Barkleys of Avonmore Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 1977 to assist a student from a developing country to pursue advanced studies at McMaster University.
• The Brooke and Irene Townsend Scholarship (Social Sciences)
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $$
  • Description: Established in 2022 to be awarded by the School of Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the Deans in consultation with the Associate Deans Graduate Studies of the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Social Sciences.
• The CHEPA Doctoral Research Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 2022 by David Feeny and George Torrance, founding members of the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA).
• The David S. Daly Academic Grant
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 2005 by David Daly, to be granted to a student pursuing graduate work in the department of Economics who attains an ‘A’ average and demonstrates financial need.
• The Dr. Colin Webber Graduate Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $$
  • Description: Established in 2013 to honour the memory of Dr. Colin Webber, McMaster University professor, physicist, radiation safety expert, teacher, mentor, and leader in the field of bone research.
• The E.B. Ryan Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 1997 using funds raised by a performance of the play Letter from Wingfield Farm, this scholarship is to be awarded to in-course graduate students from the faculties of Social Sciences and Health Sciences conducting research on aging.
• The Edna Howard Bursary
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 2022 by the family of Edna Howard, to be granted by the School of Graduate Studies to full-time students in any program who demonstrate financial need.
• The Graduate Students Association Bursary
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 1999 by the Graduate Students Association at McMaster University under the McMaster Student Opportunity Fund initiative.
• The Gwen George Graduate Bursaries
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 1997 in loving memory of Gwen George by her family and friends under the McMaster Student Opportunity Fund initiative.
• The H. Vincent Elliott Memorial Travel Bursary
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 2010 by Dr. Susan J.Elliott, to be granted by the School of Graduate Studies on the recommendation on the program director of ‘Water Without Borders’ to students registered in a Master’s or PhD program.
• The Howard P. Whidden Graduate Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $$
  • Description: Established in 1987, open to non-Canadian students from countries of the British Commonwealth.
• The James F. Harvey and Helen S. Harvey Travel Scholarships
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 1995 with funds from the estate of Helen S. Harvey, to enable students to engage in research requiring travel.
• The John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport Bursary
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 1997 by The John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, to be granted to graduate students in the faculties of Business, Engineering, Science or Social Science who demonstrate financial need.
• The Kim and Tim Nolan SAS Graduate Student Award
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 2022 by Kim and Tim Nolan, to be awarded by the School of Graduate Studies to graduate students who demonstrate academic excellence, are enrolled in a Social Sciences program, and who are registered with Student Accessibility Services.
• The Lambda Scholarship Foundation Canada Graduate Award
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: Varies
  • Description: Established in 2022 by the Lambda Scholarship Foundation Canada, to be awarded by the School of Graduate Studies to a graduate student who is currently enrolled in their first year of any program who identifies as a member of the queer, trans community and is Black, racialized, or Indigenous.
• The Myra Baillie Academic Grant
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 2005 by the Surgical Associates in memory of Myra Baillie, to be granted to a graduate student in any degree program who attains and “A” average and demonstrates financial need.
• The Robert John Morris Graduate Studies Bursary
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: Established in 1996 by family, friends and colleagues of Robert John Morris, to be granted to graduate students in good academic standing who demonstrate financial need.
• The School of Graduate Studies Grant in Aid for Research Travel
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: March 7, 2025
  • Amount: $-$$
  • Description: Intended to be a grant in aid of research, students should not expect the grants to cover the full cost of travel or field work.
• Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship-Doctoral
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $$$$$
  • Description: The current Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships was the final competition cycle for this program.
• Wilson Leadership Scholar Award
  • Category: Internal
  • Deadline Date: March 28, 2022
  • Amount: $$-$$$
  • Description: Valued at $12,000 in direct funding and up to $2,000 for experiential funding, it’s a leadership development and career launcher program that builds on your studies.
• Yates Scholarship
  • Category: Internal
  • Amount: $
  • Description: The Yates Scholarship Fund was established in 1963 by the bequest of William Henry Yates, supports upper-level doctoral students with research activities and conference travel when a paper is being delivered.