Department of Economics
220
704-687-2185
http://www.belkcollege.uncc.edu//economics/MS/
ms.htm
Degree
M.S.
Coordinator
Rob Roy McGregor III, rrmcgreg@email.uncc.edu
Graduate
Faculty
Louis H. Amato, Professor
John E. Connaughton, Professor
W. Young Davis, Professor
John M. Gandar, Professor
B. Philip Jeon, Adjunct Lecturer
Hwan C. Lin, Associate Professor
Gaines H. Liner, Associate Professor
Ronald A. Madsen, Professor
Rob Roy McGregor III, Associate Professor
Stanislav Radchenko, Assistant Professor
Benjamin Russo, Associate Professor
Peter M. Schwarz, Professor
Ellen Sewell, Assistant Professor
Jennifer L.Troyer, Assistant Professor
Hui-Kuan Tseng, Associate Professor
Richard A. Zuber, Professor
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ECONOMICS
The Master of Science degree program in Economics features a curriculum that is flexible yet thorough in its approach to theoretical training and applied course work. The program offers concentrations in Economics and in Economics/Finance. Students completing this program are prepared for analytical and management positions that require the integration of economic analysis and advanced quantitative methods. Employment opportunities for economists with a master’s degree exist in both the public and private sectors. In addition, students with a master’s degree may choose to pursue additional graduate education leading to a doctoral degree in Economics or in Finance.
Additional
Admission Requirements
In addition to the general requirements for admission to the
1) Undergraduate coursework that includes: Calculus, Econometrics (or equivalent), Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, Intermediate Microeconomic Theory, and Mathematical Economics. (Students missing some of these courses can be admitted conditionally.)
2) A satisfactory score on the aptitude portions of the Graduate Record Examination. The Graduate Management Aptitude Test may be substituted for the GRE with the permission of the program coordinator.
Degree
Requirements
The program leading to the Master of Science degree in
Economics requires at least 30 hours of graduate credit, with a maximum of six
hours of transfer credit accepted from an accredited institution. (Credit applied toward an awarded graduate
degree will not be accepted as transfer credit.) Courses taken at other accredited
institutions after enrollment may receive residence credit if approved by the
department and the Dean of the
1) a core curriculum in economic theory and quantitative methods;
2) a concentration to be selected from one of the two described below; and
3) a research project or thesis.
Admission
to Candidacy Requirements
An Admission to Candidacy form listing graduate-level courses that apply to the degree must be submitted to the program coordinator one month prior to the semester in which the student plans to complete the course work for the degree.
Assistantships
A number of graduate assistantships are available each year. To be fully competitive, applications must be submitted by March 15. Contact the coordinator for further information.
Core
Courses
ECON6201 Advanced Macroeconomic Theory (3)
ECON6202 Advanced Microeconomic Theory (3)
ECON6112 Graduate Econometrics (3)
ECON6218 Advanced Business and Economic Forecasting (3)
In addition, students who choose to complete a thesis must successfully complete six hours of ECON 6999 (Master’s Thesis), while students enrolled in the non-thesis option must complete ECON 6901 and ECON 6902 (Research Methods I and Research Methods II).
Concentrations
1) Economics
The purpose of the economics concentration is to provide students with the opportunity to acquire specialized theoretical skills related to their areas of interest and expertise. This concentration can be completed in one full year of study.
Students in this option must complete the core curriculum for the M.S. in Economics and the thesis or research project. In addition, they must complete 12 hours of electives chosen from the fields of macroeconomics and monetary policy, finance and banking, environmental economics, international trade and international finance, economic modeling and simulation, urban economics, public finance and cost/benefit analysis, or economic and business forecasting. The program also permits the development of individualized specializations in areas that are complementary to economic theory and analysis.
2) Economics/Finance
There are two options available in the Economics/Finance Concentration: the Financial Management Option and the Quantitative Finance Option.
i. Financial Management Option
The Financial Management Option is designed for students interested in pursuing careers in corporate finance or financial planning. This option can be completed in one full year of study.
Students in this option must complete the core curriculum for the M.S. in Economics and the thesis or research project. In addition, they must complete
FINN6152 Financial Management (3) (Prerequisite: MBAD 6131 or 6 hours of undergraduate accounting and approval of the program coordinator)
FINN6153 Investment Management (3)
FINN6157 Theory of Corporate Finance (3)
and one of the following:
FINN6155 Multinational Financial Management (3)
ECON6235 Monetary and Financial Theory (3)
OR An Approved Elective.
ii. Quantitative Finance Option
The Quantitative Finance Option is designed for students interested in pursuing careers in portfolio management or financial risk management. The Quantitative Finance Option can also provide an excellent foundation for students who wish to pursue additional graduate study leading to a doctoral degree in Finance. This option can be completed in one and a half years.
Students in this option must complete the core curriculum for the M.S. in Economics and the thesis or research project. In addition, they must complete
ECON6203 Financial Economic Theory (3)
ECON6219 Financial Econometrics (3)
FINN6210 Derivatives I: Financial Elements of Derivatives (3)
and one of the following:
FINN6211 Risk Management and Fixed Income Derivatives (3)
ECON6235 Monetary and Financial Theory (3)
OR An Approved Elective.
Minors
The Department of Economics also participates in the program leading to an interdisciplinary graduate minor in Operations Research. See Operations Research Section of this Catalog for complete information and program requirements.
Advising
Prior to, or concurrent with, the first semester of study, each student will be expected to complete a program of study listing each class the student expects to take as a part of the program. The program of study requires the approval of the coordinator.
Thesis
Students who choose the thesis track must successfully complete six hours of ECON 6999 (Master’s Thesis). The thesis must be written and defended within six calendar years after admission into the M.S. in Economics program. The Thesis Committee, which must be approved by the program coordinator, will consist of a Chair and at least two other faculty members. ECON 6999 is graded on an A, B, C or U basis.
Application
for Degree
An Application for Degree form must be completed and submitted with the graduation fee to the Registrar’s Office by the published deadline.
Tuition
Waivers
A limited number of in-state and out-of-state tuition waivers are made available each year. These waivers are competitively awarded using the same application required for assistantships.
Program
Certifications/Accreditations
The Belk College of Business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
Courses in Economics
ECON 5116. Public Sector Economics. (3) Revenue and expenditure problems of governmental units, intergovernmental financial relationships and the impact of federal fiscal policy upon the American economy. (On demand)
ECON 5135. Economics of Growth and Development. (3) Theories of economic growth and development applied to varying economic and social systems. Current theoretical models and their relevance to efficient allocation of resources to both the developed and the developing nations. (On demand)
ECON 5160. Economics of Transportation. (3) Analysis of transportation systems. Topics include the historical development of various modes, costs and rate-making, regulation and national transportation policy. (On demand)
ECON 5171. Economics of International Trade. (3) Theory of international trade including determination of international trade patterns, welfare implications of international trade, economic integration, and effects of tariffs and quotas. (On demand)
ECON 5172. Economics of International Finance. (3) Survey of international monetary theory. Topics include exchange rate determination, balance of payments and adjustment, international liquidity, capital movements, international financial organizations, and monetary reform proposals. (On demand)
ECON 5180. Industrial Organization and Public Policy. (3) An examination of monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly and questions of public policy in dealing with problems created by industrial concentration. (Spring, Summer)
ECON 5181. Energy and Environmental Economics. (3) Economic issues of both energy and environment. Energy issues include the historical development of energy resources, supply and demand considerations, and projections of the future energy balance. Environmental issues are externalities, common property resources, and government regulation. Policy considerations include environmental standards, pollution charges, and property rights. Cost-benefit analysis and microeconomic theory are applied. (On demand)
ECON 6001. Advanced Topics in Macroeconomics. (3) Prerequisites: ECON 6112, 6201 and 6202. Advanced treatment of selected issues in macroeconomics. (On demand)
ECON 6002. Advanced Topics in Microeconomics. (3) Prerequisites: ECON 6112, 6201 and 6202. Advanced treatment of selected issues in microeconomics. (On demand)
ECON 6090. Topics in Economics. (1-3) Prerequisite: consent of the department. Topics from various areas of economics. Credit hours will vary with the topic offered. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. (On demand)
ECON 6100. Graduate Mathematical Economics. (3) Economic problems are analyzed with quantitative techniques. Topics covered include the study of economic growth models, utility maximization, homogeneous functions, dynamic systems, applications of linear programming, and constrained optimization. (On demand)
ECON 6112. Graduate Econometrics. (3) Prerequisites: Admission to graduate program and permission of program coordinator. Advanced study of the theory and application of statistics to economic problems. Topics include derivation of least-squares estimators; maximum likelihood estimation; and problems of multicollinearity, heteroskedasticity, and autocorrelation. (Fall)
ECON 6201. Advanced Macroeconomic Theory. (3) Prerequisites: Admission to graduate program and permission of program coordinator. Theories of aggregate income determination, inflation, unemployment, interest rates and economic growth; macro-economic consumption and investment behavior; the business cycle. (Fall)
ECON 6202. Advanced Microeconomic Theory. (3) Prerequisite: Admission to graduate program and permission of program coordinator. Theories of the firm, of the consumer, and of resource owners; determination of prices under different market structures; general equilibrium analysis and welfare economics. (Fall)
ECON 6203. Financial Economic Theory. (3) Prerequisites: Admission to the graduate program and permission of the program coordinator. Review of financial economic theory using discrete-time models. Topics include: risk measurement; choices under uncertainty; portfolio selection; capital asset pricing model (CAPM); Arrow-Debreu pricing; options and market completeness; the Martingale measure; arbitrage theory; consumption based CAPM; and valuation of the firm. (Fall, Spring)
ECON 6218. Advanced Business and Economic Forecasting. (3) Prerequisite: ECON 6112. Develops forecasting techniques used in business decision making and techniques used in forecasting macroeconomic variables. Topics include: estimation, identification and prediction using ARMAX, state space, and Box-Jenkins models; spectral analysis; linear filtering. (Spring)
ECON 6219. Financial Econometrics. (3) Prerequisite: ECON 6218 or MATH 6201. Advanced time series with financial applications. Topics include: time series regressions (univariate and multivariate, stationary and non-stationary) and time series models (including ARMA, ARCH, GARCH, stochastic volatility and factor models). The emphasis will be on model properties, estimators, test statistics, and applications in finance. (Fall or Summer)
ECON 6235. Monetary and Financial Theory. (3) Prerequisites: ECON 6112 and either ECON 6201 or 6202. Theory and empirical tests of money supply, money demand, and financial markets; portfolio theory with special attention to portfolio choices of banks; term structure of interest rates; dynamic models of money and economic activity. (On demand)
ECON 6240. Economics of International Finance. (3) Prerequisites: ECON 6112, 6201 and 6202. Open economy macroeconomics, international transmission of inflation and unemployment, internal and external balance; balance of payments and international payments mechanisms; determination of exchange rates and effects of hedging and speculation. (On demand)
ECON 6241. Economics of International Trade. (3) Prerequisites: ECON 6112, 6201 and 6202. Examines the causes and consequences of trade using Ricardian and neoclassical models. Considers extensions, modifications, and empirical tests of these models. Analysis of tariffs, quotas, other trade restrictions, export subsidies, and trends in current trade policy. (On demand)
ECON 6250. Advanced Urban and Regional Economics. (3) Prerequisite: Admission to graduate program. Applications of microeconomic theory to problems of cities, metropolitan areas and regions; methods in regional analysis, location theory, land-use planning, measurement of economic activity; transportation, housing, poverty, and growth issues. (Spring)
ECON 6255. Benefit-Cost Analysis. (3) Principles, practices, and applications for defining and comparing the benefits and costs of public policy programs and private sector projects, including techniques useful for organizing and analyzing data, evaluating programs systematically, and developing a framework for decision making while recognizing ethical implications, measurement problems, and time value problems. (On demand)
ECON 6800. Directed Study in Economics. (1-3) Prerequisite: Admission to graduate program. Independent study of a theoretical and/or a policy problem in a special area of economics. Topics of the investigation may originate from the student or from the faculty member supervising the study. May be repeated for up to 6 hours of credit with the approval of the program coordinator. (On demand)
ECON 6901. Research Methods for
ECON 6902. Research Methods for Economists II. (3) Prerequisite: ECON 6901. Critique of economic research and reports, presentation of econometric results and reports. The student will develop a research project, perform statistical tests, and present the results orally and in a major research paper. (Summer)
ECON 6999. Graduate Thesis Research. (1-6) Individual investigation
culminating in the preparation and presentation of a thesis. May be repeated for credit.
(On demand)
ECON 7999. Masters Degree Graduate Residency. (1) (Fall, Spring, Summer)