Economic Policy, M.A.

M.A. Degree in Economic Policy

Required Courses

Candidates for the M.A. in Economic Policy must complete eight half-courses. The following five half-courses are required for all candidates:

Additional Information

The department will recommend which of ECON 761 or ECON 6G03 must be taken by students. Students who have previously taken ECON 4G03 or equivalent must take ECON 761. Students who have not taken ECON 4G03 or equivalent will take a pass/fail exam prior to entering ECON 761. If they do not pass the exam, they must take ECON 6G03. ECON 761 may be waived if equivalent work has already been completed by the student in undergraduate course work. A student’s claim to have completed equivalent work will be tested by examination at the beginning of the academic year.

Electives

Subject to the approval of the Department, students must choose three elective courses (in addition to the five courses mentioned above) from those listed on the departmental web page. Up to two half courses may be taken outside of the Department, in each case to be approved by the Department.

Work Integrated Learning Stream

The Work integrated learning (WIL) stream in either the M.A. in Economics, the M.A. in Economic Policy or the PhD in Economics Degree

Students in any graduate program of the Economics Department who have obtained a GPA of B or higher at the time of application and a grade of B+ or higher in ECON 761 OR ECON 6G03 may apply to be moved from the regular stream of their program to the work integrated learning (WIL) stream associated with their degree program. The number of students who will be accepted into the WIL stream of the relevant program will be small and may change over time. Admission to the stream does not guarantee a placement. Working with information available to the department and through their own efforts and contacts, a WIL stream student will compete for and apply for positions on their own. These positions can be held anywhere in the world. To complete the WIL stream, students must work in either one or two placements and successfully complete both ECON 796 and ECON 797. A student who fails to complete both courses will be switched back to the regular stream of the program that they are enrolled in. Both of these courses are for credit and are Pass/Fail. Registration in these courses will be restricted to students who have a placement that has been approved by the Econ 796 or Econ 797 course instructor as appropriate. In addition, PhD students must get permission from their supervisor. PhD students will normally enter the WIL stream having passed all comprehensive examinations as well as the research paper. A placement must include a significant research opportunity. At the completion of four months of a placement, the student must write an academic report discussing the work undertaken in light of their academic studies and must request a letter of evaluation from the mentor(s). These documents must be judged satisfactory by the course instructor to successfully complete either ECON 796 or ECON 797 as appropriate. Successful completion of these courses will be indicated on the student’s transcript. In the event that the student does not complete the full term of a placement, the student will drop the course and join the regular stream of their program.

Interested Masters students should normally register for the WIL stream associated with their Masters program (MA or MAEP) at the beginning of term 2 of the first year of their program. Because of the nature of hiring, it is sometimes not known which students will be doing each placement until the month before that placement commences. Students who do not find a position can switch back into the regular stream of their program. Students taking Econ 796 or Econ 797 by working at a placement while still enrolled in other courses are expected to fulfill requirements of these othercourses outside their placement work hours. While registered in either ECON 796 or ECON 797, a student will be considered a full-time student and will pay term tuition.