Master of Arts in Economics

Queen's offers what we believe is the finest Masters program in Economics in Canada. Our program is rigorous and demanding, but it is also challenging and exciting, and it is noted for being highly collegial and congenial. Our program is held in high esteem by its graduates, by its current students, and by professional economists in Canada and throughout the world. The program is designed to prepare students to undertake both applied and theoretical research. It involves a central core of courses in economic theory and quantitative methods, together with some specialization according to interest.

A special feature of the M.A. program is that it offers students the chance to undertake independent research with individual supervision, in the form of either an M.A. Essay or a Master's Thesis. Most students choose the former option, since the essay is designed to be written during the summer after all coursework has been completed. Both of these options enhance the prospects of those seeking employment at the M.A. level and provide excellent preparation for writing a dissertation at the Ph.D. level.

Because most students live near campus, and under normal circumstances we provide office space for all graduate students, there is a great deal of interaction among M.A. students, Ph.D. students, and faculty members. Good students often learn as much from each other as they do from lectures, and Queen's provides an ideal setting for this sort of learning.

Applicants to the MA program usually have an honours bachelor degree with major concentration in economics with at least B+ average in core 3rd and 4th year undergraduate courses such as Micro, Macro and Econometrics along with adequate preparation in calculus, linear algebra and quantitative methods, strong reference letters from academic source and GRE is required for students without a Canadian or a US degree. TOEFL, IELTS or MELAB is required for non-native speakers that are not residents of Canada.
Minimum average
The School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs requires at least an upper second class average. Most successful applicants, however, have a strong first class average. The percentage score for first class standing is 80 percent and over, or the letter grade A, a second class standing is 65 to 79 percent, or the letter grade B. Admission to our programs is highly competitive, with hundreds of applications each year. We are unable to comment on the likelihood of admission based on grades as this depends on the annual pool of applicants.
Transcripts

If your previous degree is not from a Canadian or U.S. university, you will be required to submit a GRE score.
For international students, if required, a TOEFL total score of at least 600 (paper-based) or TOEFL iBT minimum scores of: writing (24/30), speaking (22/30), reading (22/30), listening (20/30), for a total of 88/120. Applicants must have the minimum score in each test as well as the minimum overall score. IELTS score of 7