Best preparation for Graduate School (Economics)

Graduate School
1

<p>A friend of mine is interested in 3 possible choices of (3-year) bachelor's degrees at the [url=<a href="http://www.lse.ac.uk"&gt;http://www.lse.ac.uk&lt;/a&gt;] London School of Economics <a href="LSE">/url</a> in the UK. A sample curriculum for each of the degrees is reproduced below (sorry for the long post !). Which one do you think would be more competitive in a future application to a graduate program in economics at a top US university ?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your help !</p>

<p>** Explanatory Notes **</p>

<p>1) All courses below last two semesters/ three quarters (i.e one academic year in the US), unless otherwise noted.</p>

<p>2) Entry requirements at LSE include A-level mathematics (compulsory), with A-level further mathematics strongly recommended. That corresponds roughly to AP Calculus BC (or the equivalent to a first-semester Calculus course at a US college/university) plus vectors and analytic geometry in two and three dimensions.</p>

<p>3) Listed elective courses are only indicative; other choices are obviously available within the same department/field.</p>

<p>** B.Sc Economics **</p>

<p>Year 1: </p>

<p>Economics B (university-level introduction to economics for students with A-level economics or equivalent)</p>

<p>Elementary Statistical Theory</p>

<p>Mathematical Methods ( Linear Algebra, Multivariable Differential Calculus, Vector-Valued Functions, Difference and Differential Equations)</p>

<p>The Internationalization of Economic Growth, 1870 to the present (outside option in Economic History)</p>

<p>plus</p>

<p>LSE 100 (one quarter only) (general introduction to the philosophy and methodology of the social sciences)</p>

<p>Year 2:</p>

<p>Microeconomic Principles</p>

<p>Macroeconomic Principles</p>

<p>Principles of Econometrics</p>

<p>Key Concepts in Sociology: An Introduction to Sociological Theory (outside option in Social Sciences)</p>

<p>plus</p>

<p>LSE 100 (one quarter only) </p>

<p>Year 3: </p>

<p>Economic Theory and its applications (Mathematical Economics elective)</p>

<p>Monetary Economics (Economics Elective)</p>

<p>International Economics (Economics Elective)</p>

<p>Further Mathematical Methods ( Multiple Integrals, Laplace Transforms and applications, Further Linear Algebra, Least Squares, Fourier Series)</p>

<hr>

<p>** BSc Mathematics and Economics ** </p>

<p>Year 1: </p>

<p>Economics B (as above)</p>

<p>Elementary Statistical Theory</p>

<p>Mathematical Methods ( as above)</p>

<p>Introduction to Abstract Mathematics (rigorous proof-based introduction to elementary set theory, number theory, linear algebra, abstract algebra and real analysis)</p>

<p>plus</p>

<p>LSE 100 (one quarter only).</p>

<p>Year 2:</p>

<p>Microeconomic Principles</p>

<p>Macroeconomic Principles</p>

<p>Further Mathematical Methods (as above)</p>

<p>Real Analysis (one semester) (analysis in R^{N}; introduction to metric spaces)</p>

<p>Differential Equations (one semester) (Mathematics Elective)</p>

<p>plus</p>

<p>LSE 100 (one quarter only) </p>

<p>Year 3: </p>

<p>Economic Theory and its applications (Mathematical Economics elective)</p>

<p>Principles of Econometrics </p>

<p>Algebra and Number Theory (one semester) (Mathematics Elective)</p>

<p>Optimization Theory (one semester) (Mathematics Elective)</p>

<p>plus</p>

<p>Monetary Economics (Economics Elective)</p>

<p>or</p>

<p>Discrete Mathematics (one semester) (Mathematics Elective)</p>

<p>Complex Analysis (one semester) (Mathematics Elective) </p>

<p>or</p>

<p>Outside elective in Social Sciences, Humanities, or Law. </p>

<hr>

<p>** BSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics ** </p>

<p>Year 1: </p>

<p>Economics B</p>

<p>Elementary Statistical Theory</p>

<p>Mathematical Methods (as above)</p>

<p>The Internationalization of Economic Growth, 1870 to the present (outside option in Economic History)</p>

<p>plus</p>

<p>LSE 100 (one quarter only).</p>

<p>Year 2:</p>

<p>Microeconomic Principles</p>

<p>Macroeconomic Principles</p>

<p>Principles of Econometrics</p>

<p>Probability, Distribution Theory and Inference</p>

<p>plus</p>

<p>LSE 100 (one quarter only) </p>

<p>Year 3: </p>

<p>Econometric Theory </p>

<p>Monetary Economics (Economics Elective)</p>

<p>International Economics (Economics Elective)</p>

<p>Quantitative Economics Project</p>

2

<p>One of the last two. LSE’s M.Sc in EME is one of, if not the strongest masters program in the world so the undergrad track should be pretty strong as well (I’m not really familiar with non-US systems). Grad Econ programs look for research, and strong grades in math and economics. The more math you take, the better.</p>