While many recent Bachelor’s graduates are debating the choice between entering the job market and embarking on a PhD (take a look at this post if you find yourself in this position), it’s important to remember that there are a number of top-notch Master’s programs in economics out there as well. We recently offered you a list of Erasmus Master’s programs, but in the current post we’ll shift focus to the United States, where stand-alone Master’s programs in economics are gaining both prominence and popularity.

Whether you’re interested in economic policy analysis, international and development economics or applied economics, the list below includes a program for every type of econ student. Each of these programs offers a terminal Master’s degree, meaning one that is not part of a PhD program. To browse these and other options, take a look at the comprehensive listings from around the globe on INOMICS.

To build the list below, we first turned to international ranking schemes, but found those to be lacking, which is a topic we discussed in a recent blog post. Thus, this list represents programs at well-respected universities across the country, but the order simply follows geography rather than adhering to any kind of systematic ranking.

• MA in Global Development Economics, Boston University

Boston, Massachusetts

• MA in International and Development Economics, Yale University

New Haven, Connecticut

• MA in Economics, Columbia University

New York, New York

• MA in Economics, New York University (NYU)

New York, New York

• MS in Applied Economics, Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, Maryland

• MS in Applied Economics, Georgetown University

Washington, D.C.

• MA in Economics, American University

Washington, D.C.

• MA in Economics, Duke University

Durham, North Carolina

• Master of Applied Economics, University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

• MS in Economics, Purdue University

West Lafayette, Indiana

• MA in Economics, University of Texas at Austin

Austin, Texas

• MA in Economics, University of San Francisco

San Francisco, California

 

Photo credit: Beraldo Leal