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Overview

M.A. in Economic Policy Analysis
University of Maryland Baltimore County

A Joint Program offered by The Department of Economics and The Public Policy Graduate Program.

The M.A. in Economic Policy Analysis will provide students with a broad perspective on policy formulation along with focused training in economic analysis. The program places special emphasis on the tools of data analysis commonly used by economists.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Students in the Economic Policy Analysis M.A. program take courses in the Department of Economics and other departments affiliated with the Public Policy Graduate Program. The course of study combines a multi-disciplinary approach to policy analysis with focused study on the use of economic tools to analyze policy issues. The core economics courses present the tools of data analysis commonly used by economists such as: economic modeling, econometrics, cost-benefit analysis, and forecasting.

The M.A. in Economic Policy Analysis is flexible enough to accommodate students with different backgrounds, interests and career objectives. The program is designed for students from a variety of undergraduate majors, including but not limited to: economics, political science, information systems, mathematics, computer science, sociology, history, and business. The program is designed for:

• Managers and policy analysts who are already employed and engaged in policy formulation who would like to deepen their understanding of policy issues and/or develop their quantitative skills.
• Students who would like to pursue graduate study to prepare for entry-level positions in the economic policy field with international organizations, federal, state or local governments, consulting firms, corporations, or non-profit organizations. The "accelerated pathway" is an attractive and cost-effective option for UMBC undergraduates. The accelerated pathway enables a student to take graduate courses as an undergraduate, reducing tuition charges and allowing students to complete both the bachelor's degree and the Economic Policy Analysis (ECPA) MA in as few as five years.
• Students who would like to prepare for further graduate study at the PhD level in Public Policy or Economics. Many ECPA graduates continue at UMBC for a Ph.D. in Public Policy. A student with an M.A. in Economic Policy Analysis has already completed a substantial amount of the course work required for a Ph.D.

Full- or part-time students, students with schedules which permit only evening courses, or students with schedules which combine evening and day courses can all be accommodated. All required courses, and many electives, will be offered in the evening or on the weekend to accommodate the needs of students employed full-time.

PROGRAM ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Students applying for admission to the program must take the general GREs, provide three letters of recommendation, preferably academic, and fulfill all of the other admissions requirements set forth by the University of Maryland Graduate School, Baltimore. Contact the Graduate School or the Economic Policy Analysis Graduate Program Director for admissions materials. Applicants may apply on line at the UMBC Graduate School Website .

To succeed in the program students will need some undergraduate economics, mathematics and statistics background. We require that students complete courses in intermediate micro-economic theory, intermediate statistics (which should include some study of regression analysis), calculus, mathematical economics, and undergraduate econometrics before registering for the core graduate theory and econometrics courses (ECON 601, 602, 611 and 612). The mathematical economics course, ECON 490, will provide students who have had at least one semester of undergraduate calculus with the mathematics background necessary to succeed in the M.A. program. For those who are unsure if they have sufficient background in mathematics, please read the description of ECON 490, or contact the Economic Policy Analysis Graduate Program Director. For those who are unsure if they have an adequate background in statistics, contact the Economic Policy Analysis Graduate Program Director.

If you are interested in applying, see our admission requirements.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Financial assistance is available to full-time and part-time students. Sources of financial aid include:

• Economic Policy Analysis Research and Teaching Assistantships
• The Hilltop Institute
• Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR)
• The Shriver Center
• other UMBC Graduate Assistantship positions

For details on these types of financial assistance, see our financial assistance page.

PROGRAM DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

A minimum of 36 credit-hours of course work are required. These 36 credits include: 15 credit-hours of required core Economics courses, 6 credit-hours of required Public Policy courses, and 15 credit-hours of elective courses.

Economics Core Courses - 5 or 6 courses (15 or 18 credit hours)

• ECON 601 Graduate Microeconomic Analysis
• ECON 602 Graduate Macroeconomic Analysis
• ECON 611 Graduate Econometrics I
• ECON 612 Graduate Econometrics II
• ECON 699 Seminar in Economic Policy Analysis

Public Policy Core Courses - 2 courses (6 credit hours).
In consultation with their faculty advisor, students choose two of the following courses:

• PUBL 601 Political and Social Context of the Policy Process
• PUBL 603 Theory and Practice of Policy Analysis
• PUBL 613 Managing Public Organizations
• POLI 623 Government Budgeting
• SOCY 606 Social Inequality and Social Policy

Electives. 5 courses (15 credit hours).
Students choose 5 elective courses related to their area of interest within economics. Possible areas of concentration include: the economics of health policy; international economic policy; the economics of human resources; environmental policy; public economics; and urban, regional, state and federal public finance. Suggestions for courses in these potential areas of concentration can be found on the concentrations page. In addition, students may propose to the Economic Policy Analysis Graduate Committee packages of courses of particular relevance to their professional interest.

Elective courses may include appropriate courses from Economics, Public Policy, Geography, Sociology, Mathematics, Statistics, or other programs at UMBC. Students may take courses from UMAB, College Park or other University of Maryland System campuses. A minimum of six credit-hours must be in economics courses. In the package of 5 elective courses, a miminum of 2 courses must be economics courses.

Capstone Project.
Students undertake the research for, write, and present a major policy paper in the capstone course, ECON 699. This capstone project policy paper must be approved by both the student's primary advisor for the project and the instructor of the ECON 699 capstone seminar. If the instructor of ECON 699 is the student's primary adviror, approval of a second faculty member is required. For more details, go to program degree requirements .