Program Overview

Graduate Programs in Public Policy and Political Economy

The University of Texas at Dallas offers a range of graduate programs in Public Policy and Political Economy, including the Master of Science in International Political Economy Dual Degree.

Master of Science in International Political Economy Dual Degree

This program is an international and interdisciplinary two-year Master's program designed to combine the analytical strength of economics with global insights from political science. Students acquire the knowledge and skills expected of an economist and, at the same time, gain expertise in international relations, issues of development, security, and international policy.

Faculty

The faculty for this program includes:

• Professors:
  • Brian J. L. Berry
  • Patrick T. Brandt
  • Paul Diehl
  • Lloyd J. Dumas
  • Euel W. Elliott
  • Donald A. Hicks
  • Jennifer S. Holmes
  • Murray J. Leaf
  • Richard K. Scotch
• Associate Professors:
  • Simon M. Fass
  • Dohyeong Kim
  • Clint W. Peinhardt
• Clinical Associate Professor:
  • Karl K. Ho
• Assistant Professors:
  • Jonas Bunte
  • Vito D'Orazio

Mission

The MSc in International Political Economy (MSc IPE) provides training in quantitative as well as qualitative research methods. The program is jointly offered by the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Marburg, and successful students will receive a degree from both universities (double or dual degree program). Students are required to spend one year of study at each university. The program is taught entirely in English.

Objectives

The objectives of the program are:

• Students will demonstrate the ability to apply social science and international political economy theories and concepts.
• Students will develop competency in analysis, evaluation, and research design relevant to social science and international political economy research and analysis.
• Students will develop basic skills in professional communication appropriate to international political economy research and analysis in a new cultural environment.

Facilities

At UT Dallas, students have access to the computing facilities in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences and the University's computer labs. The school has four computing laboratories which house between 24-30 computers that are network linked and equipped with major social science software packages, including EViews, R, RATS, SPSS, and Stata.

Admissions Requirement

The master's program in International Political Economy seeks applications from students with a baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education. Although applications will be reviewed holistically, in general, entering students have earned at least a 3.0 undergraduate grade point average (GPA) (on a 4.0 point scale), and a verbal score of 156 and a quantitative score of 146 on the Graduate Records Examination (GRE).

Degree Requirements

The program requires a minimum of 36 semester credit hours. There are two options for completing the degree:

Option I: Students Starting at UT Dallas

First year at UT Dallas:

• Research Methods and Economics: 9 semester credit hours
  • EPPS 6313 Introduction to Quantitative Methods
  • PPPE 6321 Economics for Public Policy
  • ECON 5322 Macroeconomic Theory for Applications
• International Politics/IPE: 6 semester credit hours
  • PSCI 6300 Proseminar in Comparative Politics and International Relations
  • PSCI 6316 International Organizations
• Electives: 3 semester credit hours
  • Choose one course from the following:
    • PPPE 6335 Institutions and Development
    • PPPE 6362 Political Development
    • PPPE 6301 Political-Economic Theories
    • PSCI 7372 Game Theory for Political Scientists
    • PPPE 6368 Political Economy of Finance
    • PPPE 6370 Political Economy of Natural Resources Second year at Philipps-Universität Marburg:
• Research Methods: 6 ECTS
• International Economics: 12 ECTS
• Seminar: 12 ECTS
• Thesis: 18 ECTS
• Electives: 12 ECTS

Option II: Students starting at Philipps-Universität Marburg

First year at Philipps-Universität Marburg:

• Research Methods: 12 ECTS
• International Economics: 12 ECTS
• Electives: 30 ECTS
• Seminar: 6 ECTS Second year at UT Dallas:
• Research Methods: 3 semester credit hours
• International Politics/IPE: 6 semester credit hours
• Electives: 3 semester credit hours
• Thesis: 6 semester credit hours