MSc Applied Economics

Closely related to our MSc Economics course, MSc Applied Economics takes a more practical approach to the subject to prepare you for a range of professional roles in the field of economics.

You'll receive rigorous training in all the main aspects of economics – such as microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics – with a focus on their application to contemporary economic challenges and issues.

Alongside the study of economic theory, you can select from a range of supplementary topics to tailor the course to your personal interests and career aspirations. These may include:

• behavioural economics and finance
• environmental and natural resource economics
• economics of politics
• macroeconomic policy and institutions
• applied financial economics
• economics of banking and financial institutions
• financial markets and investment banking
• machine learning applications in economics and finance

If you want to specialise in finance or banking, you may be more suited to our MSc Applied Economics with Banking and Financial Markets course.

MSc project
The course culminates with a project, in the form of two policy briefs or a traditional dissertation. Both options give you the opportunity to apply your newly acquired knowledge to a specific economic area or debate that interests you or is relevant to your career aspirations.

Policy briefs
The policy briefs allow you to communicate the practical implications of a real-world piece of policy, or your own research into a challenge or issue, to an audience of private and public sector practitioners. You will conduct appropriate research and data analysis (if necessary), before presenting your findings as a written report.

Dissertation
You can choose to do a traditional dissertation. This enables you to use sophisticated economic theories in a piece of applied research work.

Use specialist facilities
You’ll have access to some of the latest industry-standard statistical, mathematical and econometric software in our computer labs, including EViews, Stata, Matlab and Python.

Access to top-tier international databases will allow you to access up-to-the-minute data on real-world trends to enhance your learning experience.

Gain important career skills
On successful completion of the course, you will be able to:

• understand and apply microeconomic and macroeconomic theories to a wide range of economic scenarios
• apply theories and statistical tools to analyse, visualise and conceptualise economic data
• use mathematical, statistical and econometric methods to carry out quantitative analyses of applied economics problems
• conduct applied research in both private and public contexts.

We limit student numbers on this course to ensure a collegiate atmosphere and a high degree of interaction between students and lecturers.

Graduate prospects
This course is designed to equip you with the knowledge and practical abilities required to work in various careers within economics. These include banking, consulting, governmental organisations and research institutions. It also provides suitable preparation for doctoral study and future roles in academia.

Common graduate roles in applied economics include:

• applied economist
• civil servant
• consultant
• financial analyst
• investment banker
• risk analyst

Recent graduates have gone on to work in a number of different roles across the world in organisations such as:

• World Bank
• Royal Bank of Scotland
• HSBC
• JP Morgan Chase &Co.
• Deloitte
• HMRC and other government institutions both in the UK and overseas

Others have chosen to continue their careers in academia.

Compare all our economics master’s courses