<p>I am very interested in pursuing an MA in Economics. I was recently admitted to Johns Hopkins' Applied Economics program and am considering matriculating there, but I'm now interested in applying to several additional MA programs, as I'd like to pursue a more 'academic' MA experience and less of a 'part-time' one.</p>
<p>I'm considering applying to the following schools: USC, Brown, Rice, Michigan, UCSB, UC Santa Cruz, and UNC-Chapel Hill. Does anybody have any experience either attending or applying to any of the following programs? Specifically, I'm interested in each program's selectivity and criteria for admission (any info on whether certain portions of one's application -- i.e., GRE score, GPA, etc. -- are more important than others would be great).</p>
<p>Also, if anyone can comment on the student bodies of any of these programs, that would be excellent as well. Are most MA in Econ students former PhD candidates who've decided against finishing their PhD? Or is there a significant amount of folks like myself who are primarily interested in getting their MA and then evaluating their career/academic path?</p>
<p>I applied during the last admissions circle and looe dinto many US MA Econ programmes and as far as I know Brown, Michigan and Chapel Hill do not have TERMINAL Masters programmes but only award the degree after prelims in the PhD programmes. Might be wrong though.</p>
<p>Yes, I’m only interested in an MA at this point. I fell in love with economics during my senior year of undergrad while taking my third econ class, but by then it was too late to switch majors (I majored in Business Administration). So that’s one of my main motivations for pursuing an MA in Econ: I’d like to receive a broad yet thorough education in economics. </p>
<p>Eventually, my goal is to work in real estate development consulting and/or real estate investment (ideally with a real estate private equity shop), which is why I’m looking to get a very solid background in econ. Also, I’d really like to teach some econ or real estate classes (as an adjunct professor or at a high school) when I’m over the hill and approaching retirement, so an MA degree would probably help my cause here.</p>
<p>Anyway, Michigan has a terminal Master’s in Applied Economics. I’ve checked UNC-Chapel Hill and Brown and while they don’t explicitly prohibit students who are solely interested in the MA degree from applying, most of the MA students are PhD dropouts or those on the PhD waitlist. So that speaks volumes about the level of competition for those few MA spots.</p>
<p>I think I’m going to go after USC and Michigan at this point.</p>
<p>USC, Brown, Rice, Michigan, UCSB, UC Santa Cruz, and UNC-Chapel Hill</p>
<p>easy, either Johns Hopkins or USC.</p>
<p>the rest of your list is ah, odd. Brown is way to hippie for intellectual econ studies. UCSC is just weird it’s even on the list. Michigan, UNC, and UCSB are all public and will not wire you in to government or business econ opportunities like Johns or SC will, or even the next step toward a phd if your track is research/teaching</p>
<p>Ah. Well, I agree that USC and Johns Hopkins are good options, but let me elucidate why the other schools are on my list. I’m looking at UCSB and UCSC because both schools offer a terminal MA in Economics and because as the son of a disabled veteran, I get free tuition at any UC or CSU school. I threw Rice in because it’s a prestigious institution. </p>
<p>And Michigan is an excellent institution as well. As desemejante pointed out in an earlier post, UNC-Chapel Hill and Brown, while both great universities, really don’t offer a true terminal MA in Econ, as it appears that the MA is a safety net for those seeking their PhD. I wish UCLA and/or UC Berkeley had a terminal MA in Economics, but I’m going to shoot for USC now.</p>