The Fifth Year MA Program allows MU undergraduates who qualify to obtain a Masters of Arts degree in economics with only one additional year of study beyond the BA or BS. A student is normally accepted into the program during his or her junior year. During the senior year, in addition to courses required for the BA/BS, the student enrolls in 6 hours of courses to be counted for graduate credit. In the following year, the student completes requirements for the MA degree while enrolled in the MU Economics Department graduate program.

The MA Degree in Economics

The MA is an appropriate degree to obtain a position as a professional economist or to pursue further studies at the Ph.D. level. It may also provide valuable background for those intending to pursue another professional degree, e.g., law, journalism, business.

Program Requirements

Students in the program need not have an undergraduate major in economics but must meet the following requirements:

1. 90 credit hours toward the BA or BS completed by the end of the junior year.
2. Overall GPA of at least 3.0 at the time of admission to the program.
3. An undergraduate program to include Economics 4351 and 4353, preferably taken prior to the senior year, and Economics 4370/7370 and 4371/7371, usually taken in the senior year.

Program Procedures

Students are normally admitted into the program in the second semester of their junior year. At this time, the student and Fifth Year Program advisor establish a firm program of course work for the senior year and a tentative outline for the following year. During the senior year, the student completes his or her undergraduate program, which must include six hours of coursework taken for graduate credit beyond the 120 hours required for the bachelor’s degree.

During the senior year, students complete application for admission into the MU Economics graduate program. In the following year, they complete requirements for the MA degree, which includes 24 hours of course work and completion of an MA research paper.

Financial Aid

During their undergraduate senior year, students in the Fifth Year MA Program are given first consideration among undergraduates for teaching assistantships and grader awards.

The Department of Economics and the School of Law offer an integrated program in which students may obtain both an MA degree in economics and a JD degree from the School of Law. Although an MA degree in economics normally requires two years of study, and a JD requires three, many students will be able to complete the program in four years.

Application Procedure
Applicants to the Dual Degree Program must submit formal applications for admission to the School of Law and to the Department of Economics, accompanied by a statement requesting permission to pursue the Dual Degree Program. Students must meet the requirements for admission to both programs. Contact the Department of Economics in the College of Arts & Sciences, and the School of Law for further information on admissions requirements. Both applications and the request must normally be submitted before a student has substantially completed the requirements of either program. However, petitions requesting admission to the Dual Degree Program from students at more advanced stages in either program will be considered.

Degree Requirement Summary
The program outlined here meets requirements for the JD degree with 83 hours of law credit, and 6 elective credit hours in economics, for a total of 89 credit hours. Requirements for the MA degree in economics are met with 24 credit hours of courses in the Department of Economics and 6 elective credit hours within the School of Law. The detailed program of study in economics is also subject to approval by the student's advisor in the Department of Economics and by the Director of Graduate Studies in Economics.

Curriculum
The curriculum has been designed so that law and essentials in economics are addressed, followed by specialized courses in the upper levels.  Students in the dual-degree program normally will spend their first year at the law school taking the traditional first-year law school curriculum.  During the remainder of the program, students will take courses both in the School of Law and the Department of Economics.  
 

The Departments of Mathematics and Economics offer selected students the option of obtaining a dual M.S. degree in applied mathematics and an M.A. degree in economics within an integrated program. Whereas obtaining separate master's degrees would nominally require a minimum of 60 credit hours of course work, students enrolled in the dual master's degree program may obtain degrees based on 48 credit hours of course work. Students may be able to complete degree requirements within two and a half years.

Rationale for the dual master's degree program: The interplay between mathematics and the field of economics has become more and more intense in the past four decades. On one hand sophisticated mathematical tools have been involved in advanced research in economic theory, and on the other hand various economic phenomena have inspired many applied mathematicians. The proposed dual master degree program in mathematics and economics will help students to prepare themselves better so that they are substantially more attractive to their potential employers, as well as providing them enough background to further their academic studies if they choose to do so.

General Requirements

I. In each degree field a minimum of 18 hours of graduate courses is required.

The students are required to choose from the Department of Mathematics two of the following three core courses: 
Math 8440 Advanced Ordinary Differential Equations I
Math 8445 Partial Differential Equations I
Math 8480 Advanced Probability,

and choose 4 more elective courses from the following list:*
Math 7140 Matrix Theory
Math 7300 Numerical Analysis
Math 7310 Numerical Linear Algebra
Math 7320 Introduction to Probability Theory
Math 7500 Applied Analysis
Math 7520 Statistical Inference I
Math 7700 Advanced Calculus I
Math 7900 Advanced Calculus II
Math 8425 Complex Analysis I
Math 8440 Advanced Ordinary Differential Equations I
Math 8445 Partial Differential Equations I
Math 8480 Advanced Probability
Math 8680 Stochastic Processes

Total: 18 credit hours
 
The students are required to take the following core courses from the Department of Economics: 
Econ 8451 Microeconomic Theory 
Econ 8453 Macroeconomic Theory
Econ 8473 Applied Econometrics
(8451 may be replaced by 9451, 8453 by 9453, and 8473 by 9473 for students who satisfy the prerequisites of these 9000 level classes.)

and 3 elective courses from the following:*
Econ 7311 Labor Economics
Econ 7312 Labor Market Analysis
Econ 7315 Public Economics
Econ 7316 State and Local Finance
Econ 7320 History of Economic Thought
Econ 7322 Economics of Regulation and Antitrust
Econ 7325 The International Monetary System
Econ 7326 Economics of International Trade
Econ 7329 The Banking System and the Money Market
Econ 7340 Introduction to Game Theory
Econ 7355 Industrial Organization
Econ 7360 Economic Development
Econ 7367 Law and Economics
Econ 7368 Macroeconomic Forecasting
Econ 7370 Quantitative Economics
Econ 7371 Introductory Econometrics
Econ 7775 Dynamic Optimization and Its Applications to the Natural Sciences and Economics
Econ 8001 Topics in Economics
Any 9000-level course (excluding 9413, 9090 and 9480) for students who satisfy the prerequisites of these 9000-level classes

Total: 18 credit hours

*In appropriate situations comparable courses may be substituted if approved by the advisors and Directors of Graduate Studies.

II. In addition, students are required to take the following shared 8000 level graduate courses:

Math 8190 Master's Project (3 credit hours) or Math 8090 Master’s Thesis (3 credit hours)
Math 8420 Theory of Functions of Real Variables I (3 credit hours)
Econ 8413 Research Workshop (3 credit hours)
Econ 8085 Problems (3 credit hours)

Total: 12 credit hours

III. Students are required to complete an M.A. paper in economics (normally undertaken in Econ 8413) and a master's project in mathematics (Math 8190). Students are encouraged to undertake a single project that will satisfy both requirements. It is expected that the project will contain substantial work done in each field.

Each candidate will select two co advisors, one from mathematics and one from economics and at least one additional committee member from each department. The candidate may select separate committees, one from each department, or a joint committee consisting of two members from mathematics and two from economics.

Up to 8 hours of transfer credit may be applied as follows: to one of the two degree programs, or divided between the two degree programs. The 8 hours of transfer credits cannot be applied to each degree program separately.

Applicants to the dual degree program may be eligible for financial support for up to three years of study. Special fellowship support is available through the Department of Mathematics.

Application Procedure

Students should be admitted to both degree programs in the Department of Mathematics and Economics at the same time using a separate application to each. Because some students may not be aware of the dual master's degree program prior to their arrival at MU, the option to participate in the program may be postponed to no later than the end of a student's second semester at MU.
 

Rationale

Recent years have witnessed an increasing demand for people with skills in both statistical and economic analysis. In this information age, the ever increasing power of computing enables economists to handle more complicated statistical models and improve their ability for policy analysis and forecasting. Consequently, skills in solving complicated statistical problems have become more desirable for many academic and applied economists. At the same time the demand for statisticians has surged in industry, especially in pharmaceuticals and telecommunications. For many industrial statisticians, knowledge of economics is vital for formulating statistical questions concerning subjects such as cost-efficient design for drug testing and demand for new products for internet service. Given the development of the market for these skills, our students’ career opportunities will be considerably enhanced if they are equipped with knowledge in both economics and statistics.  

General Information

The Departments of Economics and Statistics offer select students the option of obtaining both an M.S. degree in statistics and an M.A. degree in economics within an integrated program. Students may obtain both degrees with 48 credit hours of course work instead of the 52 or more hours required for separate degrees.

Minimum requirements for acceptance into the dual master’s program include three semesters of calculus, intermediate microeconomic theory (Econ 7351), intermediate macroeconomic theory (Econ 7353), and one or more semesters of mathematical statistics (Stat 7710, 7750 or 7760). Under exceptional circumstances, students with more limited training may be accepted into the program and required to undertake remedial instruction.

General requirements:

• At least 48 hours of coursework numbered 7000 or higher at the University of Missouri-Columbia or equivalent. (These 48 hours may not include Economics 7351, 7353, and Statistics 7510, 7530, or 7710.)
• Eighteen or more hours from the Department of Economics. At least 15 hours must be numbered 8000 or higher with no more than three hours of 8085 or 8090. Students must take the core economics courses 8451, 8453, and 8473, and research workshop 8413. 8451 may be replaced by 9451, 8453 by 9453, and 8473 by 9473, for students who satisfy the prerequisites of these 9000 level classes.
• Eighteen or more hours from the Department of Statistics. At least 15 hours must be numbered 8000 or higher with no more than three hours of 8085 or 8090. Credit will be given for only three of Statistics 7540, 8310, 8320 and 9310. Statistics 8710 and 8720 and Mathematics 7140 are required if equivalent courses were not taken as an undergraduate.
• All candidates must submit a thesis or written project demonstrating an independent effort towards producing original work satisfactory for each degree. The candidate may complete a separate thesis/project for both economics and statistics or a single joint thesis/project satisfying both requirements.
• All candidates are required to present an open seminar on the results of the thesis/project and satisfactorily complete an oral examination, which may cover the written report, seminar, and course work.
• Each candidate will select two co-advisors, one from economics and one from statistics and at least one additional committee member from each department. The candidate may select separate committees, one from each department, or a joint committee consisting of two members from economics and two from statistics.
• Up to eight hours of transfer credit may be applied as follows:  to one of the two degree programs, or divided between the two degree programs.  The eight hours of transfer credit cannot be applied to each degree program separately.

Suggested courses.  Students may choose from a variety of courses including the following from economics and statistics.

Economics
7311 Labor Economics
7312 Labor Market Analysis
7315 Public Economics
7316 State and Local Finance
7320 History of Economic Thought
7322 Economics of Regulation and Antitrust
7325 The International Monetary System
7326 Economics of International Trade
7329 The Banking System and the Money Market
7355 Industrial Organization
7360 Economic Development
7367 Law and Economics
7368 Macroeconomic Forecasting
7370 Quantitative Economics
7371 Introductory Econometrics
7775 Dynamic Optimization and Its Applications to the Natural Sciences and Economics
8001 Topics in Economics
8085/8090 Problems/Research
Any 9000-level course (excluding 9413, 9090 and 9480) for students who satisfy the prerequisites of these 9000-level classes

Statistics
7110 Statistical Software and Data Analysis
7250 Quality Control
7310 Sampling Techniques
7810 Nonparametric Methods
7830 Categorical Data Analysis
7870 Applied Time Series Analysis
8310 Data Analysis I
8320 Data Analysis II
8370 Statistical Consulting
9210 Bayesian Statistics
9310 Theory of Linear Models
9320 Advanced Linear Models
9370 Multivariate Analysis
9410 Reliability Theory & Survival Analysis

Application Procedure

Applicants to the Dual Master’s program must submit formal applications for admission to master’s program in both the Department of Economics and Department of Statistics, but they submit a single University of Missouri application.  Students currently enrolled in either an economics or statistics master’s program may apply for the dual program before the end of the second semester at MU.
 

Students with a bachelor's degree in any field may apply for admission into the master's program. Applicants are admitted on the basis of an undergraduate record, with particular emphasis on performance in economics, mathematics, and statistics courses, performance on the GRE, and letters of recommendation. Although the graduate program assumes mathematical background through calculus, as well as undergraduate economics training, applicants with more limited backgrounds may be accepted into the program. Such individuals will be assigned supporting course work, some or all of which may be counted toward fulfilling requirements.

To fulfill requirements for the MA degree, a candidate must complete a 30-hour approved program of study. This includes 15 credit hours of core courses: Econ 7370 (quantitative economics), Econ 7371 (intro econometrics), Econ 8451 (microeconomics), Econ 8453 (macroeconomics), and Econ 8473 (applied econometrics). In addition, students must take Econ 8413 (MA research workshop) and Econ 8085 (MA problems). Note that Econ 9451 may be substituted for Econ 8451, Econ 9453 may be substituted for Econ 8453, Econ 9473 may be substituted for Econ 8473, and enrollment in 9000-level courses may require consent of the department and/or the instructor.

Students can also earn an MA while working toward a Ph.D. by completing the first two years of the Ph.D. program plus the field requirement.

MA Sample Plan of Study

Fall Semester Year 1                               

Econ 7340: Game Theory*                      
Econ 7370: Quantitative Economics      
Econ 7371: Intro Econometrics               

Spring Semester Year 1

Econ 8451: Microeconomic Theory
Economics Elective 7xxx or above
Economics Elective 7xxx or above

Fall Semester Year 2                                   

Econ 8453: Macroeconomic Theory          
Econ 8473: Applied Econometrics             

Spring Semester Year 2

Econ 8413: Research Workshop I**
Economics 8085: Problems***

* May be substituted by another class approved by the Program Director.
** A research paper is required as part of Econ 8413.
*** Econ 8085 will generally be taken with the instructor of Econ 8413.

Note: Students who have had any listed course or its equivalent may substitute another course with permission of Program Director.

Note: Students who plan to complete the program in three semesters must consult the Program Director for a modified plan of study.