Master of Arts (MA)
Admission Requirements
Candidates must at a minimum satisfy the general requirements for admission as spelled out in the Faculty of Graduate Studies Regulations. Entrance to a one-year MA Program requires an Honours BA or BSc in Economics (or equivalent) with an average of at least B+ (upper second-class) at Dalhousie standards in Economics and related fields. Normally this means completion of at least 48 credit hours in Economics beyond the introductory level including courses in Microeconomic and Macroeconomic Theory beyond the intermediate level, Statistics, Econometrics and courses in applied areas of economics. Mathematics courses which are equivalent to Dalhousie MATH 1000.03: Differential and Integral Calculus I, MATH 1010.03: Differential and Integral Calculus II and MATH 2030.03: Matrix Theory and Linear Algebra I are also required.
Applicants must satisfy the English Language proficiency requirements of Dalhousie. For more information, see “English Language Proficiency” under “Admissions Requirements” for the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Areas of specialization for the MA are open, subject to the fields of economics represented in the graduate course offerings in any given year and/or the ability of students to arrange a research supervisor.
Approval by the department and the Faculty of Graduate Studies is required for the program of each student.
Those with insufficient background in economics may be admitted to the MA program with additional course requirements to satisfy the gap in economics preparation, which may extend the degree beyond one year. Alternatively, such students may be given the option of a being a Qualifying Year student or Special Undergraduate student to prepare them to qualify for admission to the MA program.
Completion of MA Program
Students must successfully complete the required and optional courses of their program. Normally a course of study includes:
- Math Workshop (early in September)
- ECON 5500.03: Macroeconomic Theory
- ECON 5509.03: Microeconomic Theory
- ECON 5575.03: Econometrics I
- Twelve credit hours (4 half-credits) graduate electives in economics
- Three credit hours (1 half-credit) in either a graduate elective in economics or a non-economics graduate elective with approval of the Graduate Coordinator
Students taking the non-thesis option must select at least 6 credit hours of their graduate electives in economics from courses with a writing component consisting of at least 25% of the course work. This currently includes:
Additional courses may be added through the year. Please contact the Graduate Coordinator for a list of current eligible courses.
Normally the math workshop, ECON 5500: Macroeconomic Theory, ECON 5509: Microeconomic Theory and ECON 5575: Econometrics I and one elective are taken in the fall term, and the remaining electives are taken in the winter term, with the option of a thesis that starts in the winter term and is completed in the summer.
Thesis Option
Students who excel in the first term and demonstrate superior writing and research ability may, with the permission of the graduate coordinator and a supervisor, choose to write a thesis. Normally, a thesis topic and committee are chosen by the end of the first semester and, in this case, the student would be required to take three total elective courses rather than five. Students who choose the thesis option are expected to undertake research of innovative, original and publishable quality.