Economics MA

Year of entry: 2026

Course length: 12 months Full-Time | 24 Months Part-Time

About the course

There is growing demand for skilled thinkers able to tackle complex economic and financial issues. Our MA Economics course trains you in microeconomic and macroeconomic principles, quantitative methods and applied economics, and strengthens your research skills.

You'll be exposed to cutting-edge economic tools and research that are used globally, large parts of which were developed here at Manchester by our leading academics.

You'll graduate with a firm grasp on economic concepts and techniques, as well as an advanced understanding of the relevance of applied and policy-oriented research in real-world scenarios.

See the full course profile on our website >

Join one of the UK's Top 10 universities for Economics and Econometrics

(Times Higher Education World Rankings 2025)

Become part of an internationally recognised academic community which boasts four Nobel Prize winners in its history. Our latest Nobel Prize winner, Simon Johnson, received his award in 2024 for his groundbreaking research into understanding wealth disparities between different nations

Graduate from one of the UK’s most targeted universities by top employers

(High Fliers, The Graduate Market Report 2025)

Compulsory Units

Macroeconomics;
Microeconomics;
Mathematics for Economists;
Introduction and Further Econometrics;
MA Dissertation.

Optional Units

Development Microeconomics;
Poverty, Inequality and Government in Less Developed Countries;
Healthcare Economics;
Topics in Applied Economics;
Political Economics;
Economic Growth;
Economics of Environmental Policy;
Labour Economics.

These are examples of units offered in 2024/25 and are subject to change.

See the full list of units and find out more on the full course profile >

Where will your course take you?

Demand for skilled economists continues to grow worldwide. Our courses push you to develop a variety of both subject-specific and transferable skills, such as inquiry, critical analysis, logical thinking and theory application, useful for a range of roles and necessary to work as an economist within a wide range of sectors from policy, business and consulting to data analysis.

Our recent graduates have gone on to work with leading organisations in finance and banking, local and national government, consulting, accountancy, and at top universities, within roles such as Economist, Analyst, Consultant, Accountant, Manager, and Researcher.

Many of our graduates choose to specialise for a career in research or academia through a PhD in Economics or a similar subject, at Manchester or other leading universities where they expand the boundaries of our knowledge.

Kuhelika De

Economics MA Graduate

“It was because of the in-depth, rigorous training in mathematics, macroeconomics and econometrics that I received during the MA Economics programme at Manchester that I could survive my initial years of PhD at The University of Georgia.

I could not have done this without the rigorous training provided to me during the MA Economics by the subject matter experts lecturing in the programme. I will be forever thankful and grateful to the Economics department at The University of Manchester and I strongly recommend the MA Economics programme to all students who aspire to become economists.“