Updated on: Monday, August 30, 2010
If economics is what you’ve set your heart on and you wish to add to your armoury by enhancing your studies in India with a course overseas, here are a few factors to keep in mind...
Admission requirements
Most economic departments in top ranked universities require a first class undergraduate degree in economics. Standard courses in intermediate micro and macroeconomics, together with advanced courses in certain areas of maths also help while applying for a grad course. In several universities offering M.Sc courses, students without an economics background but with solid experience in maths subjects, can do two-year graduate programmes.
Skill-sets you will acquire
All programmes in economics concentrate on the study of applied economics, econometrics and economic statistics, economic development and planning, economic theory, industrial organisation and control, international economics, labour economics, monetary and macro economics, and public finance. The graduate degree is based on a thorough training in the core areas of economics with an optional specialisation. The extensive use of maths, in the programme is essentially done to facilitate analysis.
Post qualification careers
Ph.D. and graduate courses in this subject will allow you to pursue a productive and stimulating career. You could opt for a career in universities, government, public and private research and consulting organisations, financial institutions and other private businesses. Graduates wanting to enter the non-academic sector can work with the government, international agencies such as the International Monetary Fund, or even professional economics positions available in the private sector. Take a look at the top varsities offering economics (above) and what they have to offer you. Pick a good university as this will make a great difference to your job profile.
The author is with topgraduate.com
Source: topgraduate.com
* Harvard University: The graduate department sponsors over 15 different seminars on issues such as environmental economics, international economics, etc.
* Yale: Offers only a Ph.D. programme in economics.
* Princeton: There are approximately 50 full-time faculty members in the Department of Economics and many of them have received public recognition for their work.
* UCL: The Economics department at University College London is one of the only two economics departments in UK to achieve the ‘double 5*’ rating. It offers scholarships to its graduate students.
* LSE: The London School of Economics has a pulsating doctoral programme with graduates from the programme being in high demand.
* Oxford University: Offers an M.Phil in economics, suitable for those who do not have an excellent graduate coursework degree in
economics from a top university. This grad course is designed to provide training in economics at the postgraduate level, comparable to the first two years of the Ph.D programme in the best US universities.
* University of Sydney: Offers a graduate diploma.
* National University of Singapore: NUS has an interesting grad courses in managerial, macro and international economics.