PROGRAM DESCRIPTION.
The Masters in Economics program at Miami University is designed to prepare students to be economic analysts in the private or public sector, or to pursue a Ph.D. at another institution.
The Masters program can be completed in one calendar year. In the first
semester the student takes four courses for a total of 12 credit hours: Advanced
Microeconomics, Advanced Macroeconomics, Econometrics, and Quantitative Methods. These
courses lay the foundations of theory and testing that will be used in the second semester
courses.
In the second semester, the student takes five courses for a total of 13 credit hours.
Advanced Topics in Microeconomics and Advanced Topics in Macroeconomics apply and
extend the tools developed in the first semester courses to specific topics of current
interest. Recent topics courses have focused on international economics, urban and
regional issues, and the effect of money on the economy. In these courses, students are
exposed to current debates and controversies in a specific area of economics, and
shown the role of theory and testing in the evolution of the issues. There are two
two-hour courses in econometrics. In the first course, the econometric techniques
discussed in the fall are extended to include simultaneous equations, specification bias,
qualitative dependent variable models, survival data, and the analysis of panel data. In
the other econometrics course, the student is introduced to modern time series techniques.
ARMA models, Dickey-Fuller tests, and co-integration are among the topics discussed. The
student also takes a course in research methods. In this course the student selects an
area of interest and then learns how to explore it. They write a literature review,
identify unresolved issues, and develop a strategy that would shed light on the disputed
matters.
During the summer the student writes an exit paper. Frequently, students carry
right on the topic they develop in the research methods class. While writing the exit paper,
the student works closely with a professor who guides the project. In this process the
student gains in depth knowledge about a particular subject and experience in carrying out
a research project using the tools of modern economic theory and modern econometrics. From
time to time, these exit papers develop into published articles. Some recent titles
of exit papers can be found on our website.