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Faculty of Economics

 

MPhil in Economics - Home

The MPhil in Finance and Economics is a one-year master's degree that runs from early-September to late July. It is an intensive course combining advanced study and research, tailored for people with one year or less of work experience who intend to go on to work for industry. It places particular emphasis on economic coverage of financial themes, beginning from the institutional background, moving on to careful consideration of how observed institutions should be modelled, and ending by relating existing models to data and discussing how these models should be improved when they do not fit the data. Each student will take eight modules and write a dissertation. Each module consists of twenty hours of lectures, together with supporting classes.

Study


To obtain the degree of MPhil in Finance and Economics, students need to:

 

  • Attend the preparatory course in mathematics and statistics. The prep course runs from early-September to early October. Its aim is to review and develop the required technical methods for the compulsory core modules. The topics covered are: linear algebra; statistics; static optimisation; dynamic optimisation; differential and difference equations. Students are expected to pass a two hour examination at the end of this preparatory course.
Course Requirements
  • Attend and be assessed in six compulsory modules in each core area of microeconomics, econometrics and finance, and two optional specialist modules (only one of which may be taken from the list of optional modules of the MPhil in Economics). Compulsory modules consist of both lectures and classes.
  • Write a dissertation of up to 10,000 words. During the second term, each student is allocated a supervisor for the dissertation. The topic of the dissertation is associated with either a core subject or a specialist subject, and must be formally approved by the Faculty. During the second and third terms the student will meet the supervisor to discuss an outline of the topic, a bibliography, the use of appropriate data and methods of analysis, and a draft of the dissertation. After the written examinations in the third term, students can concentrate entirely on their dissertations, with supervisors permitted to give comments until the end of June. Dissertations are submitted by the end of July.

Assessment


Examination of the Modules will be in January, and April-June.

Continuation to PhD


Continuation to PhD

 

 

The MPhil in Finance and Economics is designed for students who wish to obtain a one-year master's qualification before leaving academic economics.