Economics MSc

Year of entry: 2026

Course length: 12 months Full-time

About the course

There is growing demand for skilled thinkers able to tackle complex economic and financial issues. Our MSc Economics course prepares you for a postgraduate research degree (PhD) by giving you comprehensive training in modern economic theories and techniques.

You'll build upon your understanding of areas such as mathematics, econometrics and programming to develop your powers of inquiry, critical analysis, logical thinking.

We offer a mixture of compulsory and optional course units giving you the freedom to gain in-depth knowledge of core theories and methods whilst prioritising your own areas of interest, for example, growth and development, finance or health economics.

Seamlessly transition from master's to PhD study through a fully-funded 1+3 pathway with our prestigious ESRC North West Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP).

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, 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

Mathematical Methods in Economic Analysis;
Microeconomic Theory;
Macroeconomic Theory;
Introduction to Quantitative Methods in Economics;
Econometric Methods;
MSc Dissertation.

Optional Units

Financial Econometrics;
Political Economics;
Microeconomic Theory - Information and Games;
Economic Growth;
Economics of Environmental Policy;
International Macroeconomics.

These are example course units from 2024/25 and are subject to change.

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

Where will your course take you?

Demand for economists continues to grow worldwide. Our courses push you to develop a variety of both subject-specific and transferable skills suited to a range of roles such as analytical skills, research, problem-solving solving and communication.

Many of our recent graduates choose to continue their academic careers through a PhD in Economics or a similar subject, at Manchester or other leading universities.

Our recent graduates have also 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.

William Tayler

Economics MSc Graduate

"I found the MSc provided me with the groundwork and academic rigour to launch an academic career.

The breadth of the course allowed me to acquire the core skillset and understanding needed in the field at this level, whilst the optional modules in the second term helped me to start to think more about more specific issues in economics. This combination ultimately shaped my choice of dissertation topic and future research path.

The academic staff kept the course interesting with the appropriate balance between quantitative rigour and real-world intuition which helped to deliver research-led training in both a technical and insightful way. The year was also a great opportunity to meet an interesting and diverse group of people in one of the UK’s most vibrant cities."