COURSE OVERVIEW

Our economics postgraduate programme is challenging but rewarding. It is designed to equip you with tools and techniques that provide a strong basis for careers in business, government and academia. It provides a grounding in economics and econometric techniques:

looking at standard economic theories and their applications to new economic problems

enabling you to access and evaluate current research output in academic journals and in the public domain

providing you with the ability to use economic analysis and related techniques in practical and professional contexts

examining the issues behind current controversies in economics and finance

training you in quantitative skills and data handling

requiring you to combine your theoretical and quantitative understanding in an original piece of applied work.

Prior training in economics is a distinct advantage, but not essential. If your first degree is in another discipline, in your first year at Birkbeck we may ask you to complete some or all of the modules in our well-established Graduate Diploma in Economics, which will provide you with key tools in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics to enable you to tackle advanced study in economics. The exact choice and number of modules will depend on your academic background.

You will learn to assess original ideas in academic papers and to test them with the use of econometrics.

Birkbeck's postgraduate economics courses are built around our long-running experience in research-led evening teaching. Many of our students work in government, finance, economic consultancies, think tanks and the digital economy, which generates a lively atmosphere in class and ensures that you'll be studying alongside, and networking with, committed, enthusiastic students with a wealth of experience. You will be taught by active researchers, working at the cutting edge in their respective fields, who are also experienced professional practitioners, giving specialist advice and in-house training to government departments and banks and firms in the City of London.