Political Economy

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The University of Essex is one of the UK's leading academic institutions, ranked ninth nationally for research excellence following the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

Over the last three decades, political economy has been one of the fastest growing approaches in the social sciences. It is broadly understood as the analysis of policies and institutions based on a solid understanding of the motives of governments, voters, lobbies, corporations and so on.

Our MSc Political Economy covers all aspects of modern political economy, including market failure, the political logic of policy choices, and the trade-off between different political goals. If you are interested in how institutions shape the behaviour of political actors and how political decisions influence markets and vice versa, then you will profit from our course. It is also a good choice if you wish to maintain the flexibility of pursuing a career at an international organisation, a government organisation, a private enterprise or as a political consultant.

A Masters course is an academically rigorous programme during which you explore your subject in depth, reaching a high level of specialist knowledge. You draw on knowledge and skills from your undergraduate study or your professional life to produce work of a high academic standard, informed by current thinking and debate.
This course lasts twelve months (full-time), starting in October, and consists of taught modules during your autumn and spring terms and a research-based dissertation to be submitted in September. Your research-based dissertation counts for 60 credits and you will take 120 credits of modules, 90 credits of compulsory modules and a further 30 credits made up from a selection of 30 and 15 credit modules. (If you are from the EU, then our Masters courses are regarded as second-cycle qualifications under the Bologna Declaration and consist of 90 ECTS credits).

Modules
Core modules
* Advanced Research Methods
* Ma Dissertation
* Political Economy

Optional modules
* Advanced Research Methods
* Applications Of Data Analysis
* Behavioural Economics I: Individual Decision Making
* Behavioural Economics Ii: Games And Markets
* Comparative European Politics
* Conflict Resolution
* Contemporary Theories Of Justice
* Democracy Beyond The Nation State? The Case Of Europe
* Econometric Methods And Applications
* Economic Development Theory
* Economics Of Financial Markets
* Economics Of Incentives, Contracts And The Firm
* Economics Of The European Union
* Economics Of Transition
* Environmental Economics
* Estimation And Inference In Econometrics
* Game Theory And Applications
* Ideology And Political Discourse
* International Environmental Politics
* International Finance
* International Security Studies
* International Trade Theory
* Macroeconomics
* Market Structure And Strategic Behaviour
* Mathematical Methods
* Microeconomics
* Panel Data Methods
* Political Economy
* Political Economy
* Political Explanation
* Political Parties In Britain And Europe
* Political Theory
* Public Opinion And Political Behaviour
* Research Design
* Research Seminar In Political Theory And Methods
* Survey Measurement And Question Design
* Theories Of International Relations
* Theory And Explanation In Political Science
* Theory Of Industrial Organisation
* Time Series Econometrics
* Topics In Financial Economics
* Topics In Labour Economics

Core modules must be taken and passed.
Core with options modules selected from limited lists must be taken and passed.
Compulsory modules must be taken.
Compulsory with options modules selected from limited lists must be taken.
Optional modules are selected from course specific lists.

Upper second class honours degree, or equivalent, in relevant subject area. IELTS 6.5. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.

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