The MA program in Economics is very flexible, catering to the student's academic and career goals. One great feature that some schools do not have is students are required to take two courses outside of their department, such as mathematics, statistics, and public policy. The program has enriched my professional development in so many respects. When I entered the program, I had only an applied background in economics with no experience in empirical software (i.e. Matlab, PcGive, and Stata). Remeber this is to set a good foundation for your PhD program. In some respects, the MA courses are PhD courses in disguise, but with lighter grades.

The best advice I can give for all prospective students is come prepared with a great background in mathematics and take (at least) one semester of graduate microeconomic theory. The minimum prepatory math courses are the full sequence of calculus, calculus based statistics, and linear algebra. If you are ambitious and know you want to pursue a PhD in economics, take a proof-based math class (i.e. Modern Algebra) and differential equations so you can take Real Analysis and Topology. This will strengthen your application for PhD studies. I regret not having done this.

Contrary to my undergraduate studies, competition is a major part of the grading system. But this has pedagical reasons: the program is to bring out the best in you. It pushes you to work harder and prepare you for the challenges in a top PhD program. The course content is challenging. Problem sets are assigned regularly which takes hours going through. In fact I was shocked on how much individual and group projects were required for each class.

Students should be treated the same in a master's program, in that we should be expected to take the same courses and not just escape hard classes. Micro- and macroeconomics are the two core theory courses that students are escaping, which are the hardest courses in the program. Each class requires much thought and time (about 30 hours a week) for problem sets and preperation for tests. Students being allowed to escape these courses actually hurts students who take harder classes, because the gpa will be lower than one who takes easier courses. This is not good for the students and reflects negatively on the program and university.