Economics M.S. and Ph.D. : IU Indianapolis Bulletin

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Economics M.S. and Ph.D.

The Master of Science (M.S.) in Economics program has a twofold objective: (1) to provide students with analytical capabilities and research skills for careers in business, government, and the nonprofit sector; and (2) to prepare those who wish to pursue a Ph.D. in economics or a related field. The program has four different specialties: General Econometrics, Health Economics, PhD Preparation, and Monetary and Financial Economics. There is substantial overlap in the courses required for graduation under the four curricula. Nevertheless, the incoming student should have selected his or her area of specialization prior to entering the program.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students completing the Economics M.S. curriculum will:

Know a wide variety of economic issues.
Understand the current state of economic thought with regard to these issues
Be able to use mathematical and/or statistical models based on economic theory-including models that are computable-to help understand and address important economic issues.
Be able to understand the limitations of statistical data analysis, particularly in regard to detecting causal relationships between economic variables and be familiar with techniques for addressing these limitations.
Be familiar with computer programs for manipulating large data sets and for conducting statistical analysis using these data sets.

(See also general University Graduate School Indianapolis requirements.)

Admission Requirements

The verbal, quantitative, and analytical portions of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are required, and applicants are urged to complete the examination by December of the year before admission. Requests to substitute GMAT scores for GRE scores will be considered.

Three letters of recommendation are required, preferably from those familiar with the applicant’s academic career. Foreign applicants are required to take either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Testing System (IELTS). The minimum requirements for admission are 79 on the TOEFL or 6.5 on the IELTS. Students with scores of less than 100 on the TOEFL or 7.5 on the IELTS are required to take an on-campus exam for English proficiency prior to their first semester of course work and may be required to take additional classes in English as a second language. We also accept successful completion of ELS 112 in lieu of a TOEFL or IELTS score for admission.

Course Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate work. Of the 30 credit hours, 24 come from courses offered within the economics department and the remaining 6 hours are generally outside electives taken in other departments depending on the student's interest and long-term plans upon completion of the M.A.

Grades

The student must receive at least a C (2.0) in each course and must average at least a B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) for all courses taken.

5-year Dual B.A./M.S. Degree

Students entering their senior year as undergraduate economics majors may apply for the 5-year B.A./M.S. degree. The M.S. component also requires 30 credit hours of coursework (10 courses). But since there is a 12-credit-hour (four-course) overlap between the courses required for the M.S. degree and courses that satisfy the B.A. degree requirements, the additional credit-hour requirement is only 6 courses. Requirements for admission are the same as those for the standard M.S. program, except that GRE scores are not required. The course requirements and overlaps are described elsewhere.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree

The Ph.D. program in Economics specializes in the study of health economics and applied econometrics. It is is designed to (i) advance knowledge concerning applied health economics; (ii) develop the skills essential for our graduates to conduct independent research in this areas.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students completing the Economics Ph.D. curriculum will:

Demonstrate a high level of understanding of economic theory, and of statistical theory especially relevant for health economics.
Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the state of knowledge in applied health economics, including theoretical models, research methodologies, and empirical results.
Demonstrate the ability to critically assess economic issues, and to integrate economic theory and statistical/econometric analysis in order to evaluate these issues.
Demonstrate the ability to assemble, organize and analyze economic data, in order to conduct advanced econometric analysis ability to conduct independent, original research in economics.

Ph.D. Admission Requirements

Applicants should have completed a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. Ordinarily, applicants should have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in their undergraduate course work and in the major. Before undertaking Ph.D. graduate study in economics, a student is required to have completed coursework covering undergraduate univariate and multivariate calculus (equivalent to MATH-I 165, MATH-I 166, and MATH-I 261 at IU Indianapolis), a calculus-based statistics course or a course in Statistics and one in Econometrics (equivalent to ECON-E 270 and ECON-E 470 at IU Indianapolis), Intermediate Microeconomic Theory (equivalent to ECON-E 321 at IU Indianapolis) and Linear Algebra (equivalent to MATH-I 351 at IU Indianapolis). The verbal, quantitative, and analytical portions of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are required, and applicants are urged to complete the examination by December of the year before admission is desired. Requests to substitute GMAT scores for GRE scores will be considered. Three letters of recommendation are required. Students with English as a second language who have not attended school in the U.S. are required to take either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). For IELTS, applicants must take the academic reading and writing modules. A minimum TOEFL score of at least 88 is required though successful applicants generally score at least 100. The minimum acceptable IELTS score is 6.5 though successful applicants generally score at least 7.5.

Fields of Study

As noted above, the program specializes in health economics and applied econometrics.

Course Requirements

A total of 90 credit hours:

includes the theory sequence: ECON-E 520, ECON-E 521, ECON-E 522, ECON-E 611, ECON-E 621,
and the econometrics-statistics sequence ECON-E 571, ECON-E 573, ECON-E 577, ECON-E 578, ECON-E 670, and ECON-E 673.
In addition, starting in their third year, students must formally enroll in a workshop course for a minimum of four semesters. Student may cease to register for the workshop seminar after four semesters if they have either accumulated the required 90 credits or defended their PhD thesis.

There is a minimum requirement of 61.5 credit hours of course work, including standard Economics courses, Economics workshop courses, and minor courses. The remaining courses will be taken as thesis credits.

Minor

In addition to the formal coursework in Economics the prospective Ph.D. candidate must complete a structured minor in a related area. The minor usually will relate to the health and life sciences disciplines. A minor obtained in areas such as behavioral health sciences, biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, or health policy and management would be appropriate, for example. The minor must be approved by the student’s Advisor or the graduate director of the program. The minor must contain a minimum of three graduate level courses (9 credits) in the chosen area and it must comply with the minor requirements of the respective department/unit. Typically departments require 12 credit hours for a Ph.D. Minor. In cases where it is appropriate, an interdepartmental minor can be arranged with the consent of the DGS. When appropriate, a student may, with the consent of his/her advisor and/or the DGS, substitute a research tool skill of at least 9 credit hours for the Minor. These research tool skills credits will count toward the 90 credit requirement as long as the courses are approved for graduate credit.