BACHELOR'S/MASTER'S PROGRAM

FAQ's
Financial Support
Suggested Plan of Study

An accelerated pathway combining a B.A. in Economics, a B.S. in Financial Economics, or another undergraduate major at UMBC with the Master's Degree in Economic Policy Analysis makes it possible to complete both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in as few as five years.

FAQ's

What are the advantages?

• Career opportunities beyond those available to someone with only a B.A. or B.S.
• Less expensive and less time than a traditional M.A.
• Good foundation for further graduate study

Who is eligible? UMBC undergraduates who have:

• at least a 3.4 GPA within economics, and at least a 3.0 average overall.
• ECON 311 and 312 (Intermediate Microeconomics and Macroeconomics, Intermediate Statistics, ECON421 (Econometrics), and ECON490 (Analytical Methods in Economics)

How does it work?

• Students accepted into the accelerated Bachelors/Masters pathway receive undergraduate credit for graduate-level courses required in the M.A. program. These courses count towards the 21 upper-level credits required for the B.A. in Economics or towards the 9 upper-level elective credits required for the B.S. in Financial Economics. Students pay undergraduate tuition for graduate-level courses taken as undergraduates. In addition, 9 credit-hours of graduate-level courses double-count towards both the Bachelor's and the Master's degrees. Therefore, a UMBC Economics major will need fewer than the 150 credits normally required for both a Bachelor's and a Master's (a student may need as few as 141 credits).

How long does the program take to complete?

• Full-time students can complete a Bachelor's and Master's in as few as five years (see suggested plan of study below). Part-time students may take longer to complete the program.

How to apply?

• Before the beginning of their senior year, students apply for admission to the accelerated program. Application forms are available on the Graduate School website. In their senior year, students apply to the graduate school for formal admission into the M.A. program. Any student who successfully completes the four core M.A. Economics courses (ECON 601, 602, 611, and 612) with grades of "B" or better will be recommended for admission into the M.A. program (provided thatthey also meet the Graduate School requirement of an over-all GPA of 3.0 or higher). To be admitted to the Graduate School students must have completed all of the University and Department requirements for a Bachelor's degree. The Graduate School requirement that applicants take the GREs will be waived for accelerated pathway students.

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Financial Support

Students will be eligible to apply for research and teachingassistantships for the fifth year of study. These assistantships provide tuition remission and a stipend of more than $11,000. UMBC undergraduates continuing into the fifth year will be eligible for special $2000 scholarships.

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Suggested Plan of Study

Presented below is a plan of study necessary to complete a Bachelor's and Master's in five years. However, it is not mandatory for accelerated pathway students to will complete the program in five years. For example, a student may take from 1 to 4 of the ECON core courses in their senior year (to take advantage of the tuition break), and then complete the rest of the M.A. as a part-time student. It is possible to combine undergraduate majors other than Economics or Financial Economics with the M.A. in Economics Policy Analysis in an accelerated pathway. 

1. Prerequisites

Before the beginning fo the senior year, at a minimum, students must have completed ECON 311, 312, 421 and 490, as well as STAT 351. ECON 490 (Analytical Methods in Economics) provides students with the necessary background in mathematics to enter the M.A. program, and will be offered in both the Spring semester and Summer session.

2. Senior Year
 

First Semester	Second Semester
ECON 601 - Graduate Microeconomics   ECON 611 - Econometrics I   other undergraduate courses	ECON 602 - Graduate Macroeconomics  ECON 612 - Econometrics II  other undergraduate courses

3. Fifth Year
 

First Semester	Second Semester
POSI core course   POSI core course   Economics elective   Other elective	Economics elective   Economics elective   Other elective   ECON 699

 

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