Course Information

All MSPE (Master of Science: Policy Economics) courses are restricted to students in this program. No overrides will be provided.

MSPE courses are typically ECON 500-529 (some ECON 590's are also restricted to MSPE).

Students must complete two or more elective courses listed under a particular specialization; at least one of the courses must be at the 500 level.

Core (mandatory)

Advanced Econometrics

  • Time Series Analysis in Econ (Econ 504)* Syllabus
  • Causal Inference & Policy Eval* (Econ 590) Syllabus Video
  • Applied Machine Learning (Econ 590) Syllabus
  • Or Econometric Ph.D. courses subject to having the prerequisite with the approval of academic advisor.

*Prerequisite courses are Economic Statistics (Econ 502) and Econometrics (Econ 503) unless student has strong statistical/econometrics background.

Development Economics

  • Development and Growth Policy (Econ 519) Syllabus
  • Development Economics (Econ 590) Syllabus
  • Economic Growth (Econ 590)

Environment & Natural Resources

  • Environmental Economics (Econ 549)
  • Environmental Economics (Econ 415) Syllabus

Financial Economics

  • Introduction to Finance (Fin 500, MSPE Section) Syllabus
  • Financial Economics (Econ 590) Syllabus

Industrial Organization

  • Introduction to Game Theory (Econ 505) Syllabus
  • Industrial Competition & Monopoly (Econ 480) Syllabus
  • Economics of the Digital Economy (Econ 482) Syllabus
  • Economics of Innovation and Technology (Econ 483) Syllabus

International Economics

Labor Economics

  • Labor Econ: Theory & Practice (Econ 590)
  • Labor Market Regulations Around the World (Econ 590) Syllabus
  • Economics of Labor Markets (Econ 440) Syllabus
  • Economics of the Workplace (Econ 447) Syllabus
  • Employee Compensation and Incentives (Econ 448) Syllabus

Monetary Economics

Public & Urban Economics

In addition to above fields, it is possible to construct new fields. You need the approval of your academic advisor.

Independent Study

The MSPE degree does not require a thesis. Nevertheless, for students inclined toward research, the option is available. Engaging in an "independent study" can earn up to four credit hours. However, to apply it toward your degree, it must fulfill the four-credit hour requirement. For further details, please refer to this link: Independent Study Process

Other Recommended Electives

  • Public Sector Economics (Econ 411) Syllabus
  • Health Economics (Econ 418) Syllabus
  • Economics of Poverty Alleviation in Developing Countries (455) Syllabus
  • Economic Development and Migration (456) Syllabus
  • Economics of Risk (469) Syllabus
  • Financial Econometrics (Econ 472) Syllabus
  • Econometrics of Policy Evaluation (Econ 474) Syllabus
  • Economic Forecasting (Econ 475) Syllabus
  • Economic Growth (Econ 490) Syllabus
  • International Environmental Policy (Econ 490) Syllabus
  • International Labor Market (Econ 490) Syllabus
  • International Macroeconomic Forecasting (Econ 490) Syllabus
  • Macroeconometric Policy Analysis (Econ 490) Syllabus
  • Political Economy (Econ 490) Syllabus
  • Applied Machine Learning (Econ 491) Syllabus
  • Data Analysis for Problem Solving (Econ 491) Syllabus
  • Decision Making (Econ 491) Syllabus
  • Market Failures and Remedies (Econ 491)
  • Nonlinear Econometric Models (Econ 491) Syllabus
  • Predictive Analytics (Econ 491) Syllabus
  • Investments (Fin 511) Syllabus
  • Financial Derivatives (Fin 512) Syllabus
  • Methods in Surveys and Experiments for Business and Economics (Fin 580) Syllabus
  • Linear Algebra related courses (Math 410/415/416/417--any of these)
  • Real Analysis related courses (Math 444/447--either of these)
  • Applied Regression and Design (Stat 425)
  • Statistical Data Management (Stat 440)
  • Advanced Data Analysis (Stat 448)