Economics

The stereotype economist is a business man in a black suit, but an MSC in Economics offers you a wide variety of other possibilities as well. The recent financial crisis has made it clear that society is in need of good economists who can find solutions to contemporary problems associated with national debt, unemployment, social benefits and much more.

Lose yourself in the fields of mathematics, statistics, microeconomics and macroeconomics and help solve some of the problems that society faces today and in the future. Study economics if you want to deeply understand society and take part in decision making on the macro- and microeconomic levels.

Profile and Career

The MSc in Economics is deeply theoretically founded. Studying for an MSc in Economics requires knowledge of mathematical theory and calculus, hard-core statistical devices such as SAS, and an intuitive feel of macroeconomics and microeconomics.

Students have the option of choosing a general approach to Economics or a more specialised approach focusing on subjects like finance, development economics, public spending policy and much more. No matter what you chose as your focus, you will attain the title of MSc in Economics upon graduation. The only field of specialisation that will secure you an additional title is the specialisation in Finance awarding you the title of MSc in Economics (Finance).

The intention of this flexibility in course choice is to offer an MSc degree programme full of diversity, reflection and knowledge-sharing.

Career Opportunities

The recent economic crisis has increased the demand for skilled economists enormously. There are infinite career opportunities for an MSc in Economics, such as:

• Consultant - Work in a private company and find solutions to problems like: “Should we invest in public transport or in highways?” or “How do we get consumers to buy more iPhones?”
• Government Official - Work within a ministry and work with problems like: “How do we increase trade with China?” or “What can we do to increase the level of investment in green technology?”
• Politician - Many politicians are economists. The role of a politician is to decide which laws should be implemented to accommodate the proposals from government officials, the public or others.
• Financial sector - Work in insurance or banking with problems like: “Which asset should we invest in?” or “How do we measure the risk?”
• Teaching and research - Become a teacher and/or a researcher - teach young prospective economists and contribute to modern Economic Theory.

Competence Description

• You will be equipped with a strong foundation in Economics.
• You wil be able to understand, describe and use economic theory on a high academic level.
• You will be able to make cost-benefit-analysis to aid decision-makers solve problems on both the microeconomic and macroeconomic level.

• You will be able to use calculus and statistics to describe the society we live in and create models that can give a qualified estimate of what the future will hold.

The MSc in Economics is a two-year degree programme. All course elements on the degree programme are elective courses. However, you must complete 2 or 3 seminars and either 10 or 9 courses.

You can select from a wide range of courses such as: Advanced Microeconometrics, Advanced Macroeconometrics, Behavioral Economics, Development Economics, Monetary Policy, Health Economics and Environmental Economics – and many others.

Programme Structure

As an MSc student at the Department of Economics, you can choose freely from a wide selection of courses offered in English. This gives you the possibility of narrowing down your focus to one specialized area of study.

In cases where you have transferred courses with a different ECTS-value (e.g. courses transferred from another Danish or foreign university), the MSc degree programme will contain either fewer or more courses.

Teaching

There are two types of teachings: courses and seminars. Courses are offered as classes of 50 students with a professor presenting the curriculum. The seminars offer a more practical approach with assignments, class presentations and discussions. Finally, you have to write a master's thesis.

Economic seminars

Economic seminars are courses that involve composing a paper in a predefined field and presenting this paper to the other participants and the instructor on the seminar.

In the seminars you must be able to:

• identify a problem and analyse it using theories and analytical skills learned in other courses;
• select, discuss and apply relevant MSc-level theoretical and econometric approaches to the analysis of your problem;
• document and explain the analysis and discuss its strengths and weaknesses;
• give a logical, clear and well-written presentation of the selected problem and its associated analysis;
• make a clear and correct oral presentation of the problem;
• take part in a constructive oral debate on others' presentations and participate actively in the seminar.

Specialisations

On the MSc degree programme in Economics, it is possible to specialise in the field of Finance and attain the title of MSc in Economics (Finance).

In this case, you must choose courses corresponding to 45 ECTS points among the courses marked with an “F” in the course catalogue. In addition to this, you must choose at least 1 seminar marked with an “F and compose your thesis within the field of Finance.

This specialisation in Finance must be approved by the Head of Studies upon entering the master’s thesis contract.

Master's thesis

The thesis marks the end of the MSc degree programme.

Below is an eclectic list of previous thesis topics to help acquaint you with an idea of what is possible:

• An Empirical Study of Preferential Trade Agreements
• Getting the Story Right. A Growth Diagnostic for Tanzania
• Unconventional Monetary Policies
• Damages from Abuse of Market Power in Electricity Markets
• Does the Threat of Participation in Active Labour Market Programs Affect Wage?
• Predicting Sovereign Debt Crises - Designing and Evaluating Early Warning Systems

Study Abroad

It is also possible to study abroad during your degree. You can choose to study abroad one or two semesters or for a shorter period of time; e.g. take a summer school course.

The Department of Economcis offers excellent opportunities for studying abroad, as we have numerous exchange agreements with universities worldwide. You can study up to 60 ects of your MSc degree programme abroad.

To be admitted to the Master's programme, you must hold a Bachelor's degree in Economics, that is, a Bachelor's degree in accounting, business and human resources etc. is not considered qualifying.As a minimum requirement, your Bachelor's degree in economics must include the following courses. In order to view the academic content of the requirements below, please follow the links:Microeconomics (at least 22.5 ECTS)Macroeconomics (at least 22.5 ECTS)Econometrics/statistics (at least 22.5 ECTS)Mathematics (at least 10 ECTS)Basic economic theory courses (at least 10 ECTS)Business Economics (at least 5 ECTS)Important! Courses in Business Economics, Administration, Management and the like cannot, in any way, be included in the first 5 requirements above.For any questions regarding the requirements please contact the Student Advisory Office.Language requirementsSuccess in the program requires outstanding skills in speaking and writing English. Foreign applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the IELTS test or the TOEFL test.To be admitted your IELTS score has to be 6.5 score points. An internet based TOEFL-score has to be 83 points and a paper based TOEFL has to be 560 points.However, we do offer short courses on academic writing for international students.Computer skillsThe exam administration is entirely computerized. Thus, all written exams are PC-exams, and all students must be experienced PC-users in order to be able to sit the exams.Application DeadlineFor non-EU/EEA citizens:1 February for the autumn semester1 June for the spring semesterFor EU/EEA citizens:1 April for the autumn semester1 November for the spring semesterApplicationThe application must include the following documents:Application formDocumentation of your relevant academic recordEnglish proficiency test. Please notice that the results of the test should be sent to the adress below directly from the exam facilities.An essay describing theoretical and empirical aspects of an economic phenomenon of your own choosing. The essay must be written in English and be a maximum of four pages.If you are applying for a scholarship, please make sure it is stated on the application form.The above documents must be sent to:The Faculty of Social Sciences Øster Farimagsgade 5, opg. B 1353 Copenhagen DK-Denmark English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 TOEFL paper-based test score : 560 TOEFL iBT® test: 83

Scholarship

The Department of Economics and the Faculty at Social Sciences are unfortunately unable to offer the Danish Government Scholarships to new prospective Master students from non-EU/EEA countries in 2013 and 2014.