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MSc Quantitative Economics

MSc (NFQ Level 9)

This course is available through the following application route(s)

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The MSc Quantitative Economics provides high-quality quantitative training in economics with a focus on advanced research methods alongside a supervised research thesis. Students get a rigorous grounding in using mathematical and statistical methods to derive, test and apply formal economic models. Core modules in microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics prepares students for PhD-level study in economics or obtaining employment as a professional economist in jobs requiring the application of analytical methods to economic problems. 

UCD School of Economics is Ireland’s leading economics department. Our staff are experts with international reputations in a wide range of topics such as macroeconomics, econometrics, applied microeconomics, behavioural economics, health economics, international trade, and economic history. School members play a significant role in debating economic policy issues and in contributing to the formulation of economic policy. Students get to know our staff via participation in small classes and seminars and through direct supervision.

  • Taught by leading economists in a supportive environment
  • A rigorous grounding in using mathematical and statistical methods to derive, test and apply formal economic models. 
  • The course prepares students for PhD-level study in economics or obtaining employment as a professional economist in jobs requiring the application of analytical methods to economic problems.
  • UCD is Ireland's global university: with almost 10,000 international students making up 25% of the student body, and a further 5,000 overseas

For more information, visit our website.

Contact Us:

  • EU Enquiries: economics@ucd.ie
  • Non-EU Enquiries: internationalenquiries@ucd.ie

About This Course

  • Articulate socio-economic policy recommendations based on sound scientific reasoning
  • Be able to interpret and communicate economic issues to a wider non-specialist audience including decision makers, NGOs, practitioners, and the media
  • Demonstrate ability to conduct independent and original basic and applied research in economics
  • Demonstrate mastery of the issues, theories and latest advances in at least one of the sub-fields of economics
  • Explore the relationship between theory and practice; test theories by using published and bespoke data sets
  • Know how to use an econometric approach to model economic phenomenon, estimate the resulting model, and interpret the estimated parameters
  • Understand the main models across different fields of economics;

Our learning environment provides a solid foundation in fundamental economic concepts, and the small group classes, presentations by past students and employers of MSc graduates, and weekly seminars from leading academics encourage students to obtain exposure to cutting-edge research and real-world experiences of economists.

This programme uses small-group teaching in the subjects of microeconomics, macroeconomics, quantitative analysis, and econometrics during semester 1.

In semester 2, students have small-group teaching in elective subjects such as international trade, as well as more advanced courses in the core topics.

The summer semester is devoted to thesis research: students identify and articulate a research problem and present a report detailing how they developed and executed a research plan to resolve the problem.

Graduates of our masters programmes move to jobs in central banks, think-tanks, government departments, regulatory agencies, financial sector institutions and consultancy firms.

Some have also gone on to complete PhDs in economics and pursue successful careers as academic or research economists.  Past employers of MSc in Applied Economics graduates include: Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES), Central Bank of Ireland, Economic and Social Research Institute, Competition and Consumer Protection Commission,  KPMG, Accenture, Novartis, EnvEcon Decision Support Ltd, Deloitte, Grant Thornton, Davy Group, Indecon International consultants, Central Statistics Office, and other leading national and international organizations and companies. 

Below is a list of all modules offered for this degree in the current academic year. Click on the module to discover what you will learn in the module, how you will learn and assessment feedback profile amongst other information.

Incoming Stage 1 undergraduates can usually select an Elective in the Spring Trimester. Most continuing undergraduate students can select up to two Elective modules (10 Credits) per stage. There is also the possibility to take up to 10 extra Elective credits.

Module Type Module   Trimester Credits
Stage 1 Core Modules
 ECON41820 Econometrics Autumn  5
Stage 1 Core Modules
 ECON41840 Microeconomics Autumn  5
Stage 1 Core Modules
 ECON42020 Research & Career Skills 1 Autumn  5
Stage 1 Core Modules
 ECON42550 Macroeconomics Autumn  5
Stage 1 Core Modules
 ECON42620 Maths & Stats Autumn  5
Stage 1 Core Modules
 ECON41620 Advanced Macroeconomics Spring  5
Stage 1 Core Modules
 ECON41810 Advanced Microeconomics Spring  5
Stage 1 Core Modules
 ECON42300 Research & Career Skills 2 Spring  5
Stage 1 Core Modules
 ECON40090 Thesis Summer  30
Stage 1 Options - A)1 of:
Option List A: Students must select one of these modules.
ECON42560 Behavioural Economics Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)1 of:
Option List A: Students must select one of these modules.
ECON42600 Development Economics Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)1 of:
Option List A: Students must select one of these modules.
ENVP40230 Environmental Economics Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)1 of:
Option List A: Students must select one of these modules.
POL42540 Applied Data Wrangling and Visualisation Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)1 of:
Option List A: Students must select one of these modules.
STAT30340 Data Programming with R Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)1 of:
Option List A: Students must select one of these modules.
STAT40730 Data Programming with R (Online) Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Option List B: Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 and MAXIMUM of 2 of these modules.
POL42540 Applied Data Wrangling and Visualisation Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Option List B: Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 and MAXIMUM of 2 of these modules.
ECON42190 Health and Welfare Economics Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Option List B: Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 and MAXIMUM of 2 of these modules.
ECON42360 Energy Economics and Policy Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Option List B: Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 and MAXIMUM of 2 of these modules.
ECON42570 Behavioural E'mics:Policy App Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Option List B: Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 and MAXIMUM of 2 of these modules.
ECON42610 Aviation Economics Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Option List B: Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 and MAXIMUM of 2 of these modules.
ECON42630 Decision Theory Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Option List B: Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 and MAXIMUM of 2 of these modules.
ECON42730 Global Economic History Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Option List B: Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 and MAXIMUM of 2 of these modules.
ECON42740 The Economics of Banking & Financial Stability Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Option List B: Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 and MAXIMUM of 2 of these modules.
ECON42750 Evaluation Methods for Health Economics Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Option List B: Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 and MAXIMUM of 2 of these modules.
STAT40080 Nonparametric Statistics Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Option List B: Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 and MAXIMUM of 2 of these modules.
STAT40850 Bayesian Analysis (online) Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - D) Min 1 of:
Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 of the Advanced Econometrics modules.
 ECON42700 Advanced Econometrics: Microeconometrics Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - D) Min 1 of:
Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 of the Advanced Econometrics modules.
 ECON42710
Advanced Econometrics: Time Series		 Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - D) Min 1 of:
Students must select a MINIMUM of 1 of the Advanced Econometrics modules.
 ECON42720 Causal Inference & Policy Evaluation Spring  5

Annabell Schneider

The UCD was the perfect place to pursue my MSc in Quantitative Economics as it is Irelands largest university and has an excellent reputation throughout Europe and the academic world. The university as well as the programme management provided everything necessary to successfully prepare for the start of the studies which especially enabled international students to quickly get familiar with the new academic environment. Further support can be obtained by contacting the Student Help Desk or by directly approaching organisers and professors.

The MSc in Quantitative Economics offers the perfect combination of theory and practice. Students gain a more detailed understanding of economic fundamentals through core modules such as Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. In addition, students can choose from a variety of elective modules that provide them with important tools which train both the use of statistical methods as well as programming languages. During the MSc programme, I really enjoyed analysing data and thus providing answers to economic questions which not only helped me when I was working on my master’s thesis, but also in my current job.

Today, I work as a credit risk analyst at one of the largest banks in Germany, helping to analyse data and develop new metrics to monitor the bank’s credit risk. The MSc in Quantitative Economics is perfect for everyone who seeks to expand theoretical knowledge as well as to deal with economic issues in practice.

 

Dan Foley, Research Assistant, Economic and Social Research Institute

“The masters program in UCD is an excellent choice for anyone wanting to further their knowledge of economics. The main advantage of the programme is the array of courses available to students. The first semester provides students with both the foundations needed to study the more advanced classes as well as hands on experience using econometric software to perform practical empirical work. The second semester provides a range of classes allowing students to choose between courses that prepare students for PhD-level study, more applied courses or a mix of both. I particularly enjoyed the strong research element of the programme which gave me an insight into what economists actually do. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in UCD and felt the programme provided me with the necessary tools to confidently undertake my own research which has been invaluable in my current job.”

MSc Quantitative Economics (W352) Full Time
EU          fee per year - € 12500
nonEU    fee per year - € 22600

MSc Quantitative Economics (W353) Part Time
EU          fee per year - € 7690
nonEU    fee per year - € 11300

***Fees are subject to change

Tuition fee information is available on the UCD Fees website. Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For further information please see International Scholarships.

 

  • A primary degree with at least an upper second class honours or international equivalent in Economics or in a degree in which Economics is a major component.
  • An upper second class honours in a Higher Diploma in Economics or in the MSc Qualifier.
  • Applicants whose first language is not English must also demonstrate English language proficiency of IELTS 6.5 (no band less than 6.0 in each element), or equivalent.
  • Students meeting the programme’s academic entry requirements but not the  English language requirements, may enter the programme upon  successful completion of UCD’s Pre-Sessional or International Pre-Master’s Pathway programmes. Please see the following link for further information http://www.ucd.ie/alc/programmes/pathways/

These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes. 

Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. No


 



This programme is aimed at students who wish to develop a rigorous understanding of economic principles. It targets students who wish to obtain employment as economists as well as students who are interested in pursuing a PhD in economics. Due to its technical and cumulative nature (current topics building on material covered previously in the programme), we encourage our students to have strong quantitative skills and to be active, motivated, and autonomous learners.



We specifically want to see students who have taken macro, introductory and intermediate microeconomics, statistics and econometrics with good grades, and some field modules in economics.


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General application route(s) for Irish/UK/EU applicants* for International (non-EU) applicants* to MSc Quantitative Economics:

ROWCLASS Apply to   Application Type  
showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt W352
MSc Quantitative Economics
Master of Science		 Full-Time
Commencing 2024/2025 September		 Graduate Taught Apply
showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt W353
Quantitative Economics
Master of Science		 Part-Time
Commencing 2024/2025 September		 Graduate Taught Apply
* you can change options at the top of the page
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