<p>Right now I am a college senior, obtaining a Bsc in International Economics and Finance at Tilburg University in The Netherlands. I would like to pursue a Master's in economics (no PhD!). I also like poli science / international relations..so if I could take some courses in those areas...would be great. Here are the schools I am considering:</p>
<ul>
<li>Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden. (Msc)</li>
<li>University College London, UK (MSc)</li>
<li>Boston University, USA (M.A.)</li>
<li>New York University, USA (M.A.)</li>
<li>University of Toronto, Canada (M.A.)</li>
<li>Tilburg University (my own school) (MSc)</li>
</ul>
<p>If you look at the rankings, these schools seem to perform very well. Of course I would like to go to LSE, but my grades are simply not sufficient. However, I do have many EC's, speak 5 languages, have significant international experience, etc. So I hope to have a shot with these schools. </p>
<p>Am I missing good schools in i.e. the USA where I can obtain a Master's degree without doing a PhD (I just don't see myself doing research for a couple of years). I think I would like to work in the private sector, which schools would be best for my carreer? </p>
<p>All help / advice will be appreciated!!</p>
<p>Your list looks good! </p>
<p>I’ve just been through the entire application process for Masters in Economics. After talking to my tutors, I decided not to apply to any US programmes as they seem to be regarded as consolation prizes for people who did not pass prelims in the PhD programme. I don’t want to imply that this is generally true, but whether you intended to go for a PhD and just didn’t pass prelims or whether you went for the MA right away doesn’t show in your CV. Admittetly, this might be less of a concern if you don’t want an academic career!</p>
<p>You say that your grades aren’t sufficient for LSE - are you sure they’re good enough for UCL then? While the conditional offer differs, I don’t think they have considerable lower standards when it comes to your transcript. (Might be wrong here)
Are you sure UCL lets you take options outside the Econ Department?</p>
<p>Oxford wouldn’t be a good palce since the MPhil is very research oreinted but what about Cambridge? It’s called MPhil as well but there are two strands, one for people intending to progress to the PhD programme and one for people that don’t. Also, it’s only one year (Oxford MPhil is two). </p>
<p>On a more general note, experience unrelated to your subject doesn’t play a huge role in graduate admission. Languages are probably important for IR, but not for Economics as long as your English is good. ECs and international experience are also not a big factor in Econ (probably more so in IR).</p>
<p>The University of Chicao has a “Master of Arts in the Social Sciences” (MAPSS) - that might be agood way to combine Econ and IR etc.</p>