Master of Economics

  My profile | Admission requirements | Study programme | Assets | Career prospects| Registration fee | More information | Application

Fact sheet

The Master's

As an economist you will observe the various players (individuals, companies, domestic and foreign governments) and their interactions within the global economy. You will be able to interpret the general economic situation in a wider social and legal context. The programme offers students with a Bachelor’s degree a theoretical framework, allowing them to provide well-grounded answers to socio-economic questions.

My profile

In the course of this Master’s programme, you will gain a thorough mastery of key economic principles. You will learn to interpret individual, interpersonal and social phenomena from a global economic perspective. Hence, you should have broad interests in social and scientific matters and demonstrate critical and creative thinking. You are eager to gain in-depth knowledge of economic research, develop strategies for addressing economic challenges and interpret existing research outcomes. You will be expected to develop a high degree of autonomy with regard to knowledge, research and methodology.

Admission requirements

To the definitive admission requirements
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Study programme

The programme consists of a common core of two programme units and a Master’s thesis. This is a thesis written under the guidance of a supervisor and a tutor. In addition, you will need to select one of three majors: a General Economics major, a Research in Economics major, which prepares you for entry into the Master of Advanced Studies in Economics, or a Financial
Economics major, which prepares you for entry into the Master of Financial Economics.

To a detailed overview of the programme

Assets

One of the faculty’s most important assets is its vast national and international network. We maintain strong links with the business and financial community by organising regular workshops with industry leaders and the European Commission, situated only 30 minutes from our campus. Many of our alumni work at European institutions, and many of the department’s staff members act as advisers to various European bodies and international companies. The student association, Ekonomika, is equally active via its Business-to-University lecture programme. Our Alumni network offers excellent communication channels and networking opportunities with leading figures in industry and politics.

We have a wide international student exchange network as well. Not only do we participate extensively in the (intra-EU) Erasmus programme (with 65 partners), we also have numerous agreements with leading universities outside the EU, e.g. the Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania), the University of Chicago, Cornell University, the University of Illinois and Rochester University in the United States, the University of British Columbia, Queen’s University, the University of Toronto and the Université de Montréal in Canada, the Indian Institutes of Management Calcutta and Bangalore in India, the Chinese University and the City University of Hong Kong, Beida, Tsinghua and Fudan in China, Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, National Taiwan University, Seoul National University in South-Korea, Queensland University of Technology Brisbane and the University of Sydney in Australia, Stellenbosch in South Africa, Insper in Brazil, Esan in Peru, the University of Monterrey in Mexico and the Singapore Management University.

Career prospects

As a graduates of this Master’s programme, you will have a very informed perspective on society as a whole. Moreover, you will be equipped to address a variety of social problems in an economically and socially sound way. Thanks to the expertise and flexibility you will have acquired, you will be qualified for employment in a variety of fields. The following career options are well-suited to the skills developed in this programme:

• Policy development in sectors in which decision-making is highly dependent on the external economic context: government research centres, professional associations, large enterprises and international organisations.
• Problem solution and implementation in managerial positions involving external communication, i.e. government departments, public institutions, international organisations, financial services, companies and social organisations.
• Critical reflection on and transfer of knowledge in education and basic scientific research.
• External communication, journalism and public relations in companies and social organisations.

Immediately after graduating, I worked in the Student Guidance Centre for six years. This meant I could put to good use what I had learned, primarily looking at the world through an economic lens. This was more important to me than the contents of the courses, although I found most of them interesting. One of my main aims in that first job was to share this way of looking at the world with my students. Moreover, it was also exciting and instructive to study subjects that have no direct link with the economy from an economic perspective. For my Master’s thesis, I used this perspective to analyse crime prevention policies. I have similar experiences in my current job as an environmental economist with the Flemish regional government. For most people, the link between the environment and the economy probably stops at the assumed choice between the economy and ecological concerns. However, in the few months I have worked as an environmental economist I’ve already noticed that economists can contribute substantially to a good environmental policy. Most of my colleagues have a degree in natural sciences. They have extensive knowledge of the measures and technologies that could be used in order to protect or regenerate the environment. However, the government budget to reach these targets is obviously limited. So it’s important to single out those measures that yield the best possible result within the given budget. And that’s a typical economic line of reasoning.
- Graduate

Registration fee

• Applications should be submitted by 1 March for non-EEA citizens and preferably by 1 June for EEA citizens. However, EEA students with the required background and language fluency may register until the end of September.
• Tuition fee: ±550 EUR

Application

More information on how to apply