How to prepare for master’s study in economics at Manchester

We offer four postgraduate economics courses: MA Economics, MSc Economics, MSc Economics and Data Science, and MSc Financial Economics. Find out more about the differences between our courses, the level of prior knowledge expected, and the key readings you should complete before starting your studies.

Which course is right for me?

To study our economics master’s, you’ll need a strong foundation in mathematics, particularly multivariate calculus, statistics, econometrics, microeconomic theory, and macroeconomic theory.

Our courses typically require you to undertake:

  • a core mathematics unit
  • advanced microeconomics and advanced macroeconomics units
  • econometrics units
  • a dissertation. 

MA Economics is a little less mathematically rigorous than our MSc courses, which require a more advanced understanding of mathematics, econometrics, and programming. On the MSc courses, you’ll take more technically challenging versions of the above units and will also need to produce a more substantial dissertation.

Engaging with the suggested reading for each course will allow you to better understand which master’s most suits your abilities.

Typical career paths

  • MA Economics is ideal if you’re interested in a career in economic policy, consulting, data analysis, academia, and related fields.
  • MSc courses are ideal if you plan to pursue more technical and specific roles.
  • All courses are suitable for further postgraduate study, though our MSc courses provide the background for advanced technical PhD programmes in economics. 

Application support

Not sure which course suits you best? We’re happy to advise. Offers of places on our courses are sometimes negotiable.

Email pgt-economics@manchester.ac.uk and cc Nick Weaver (nick.weaver@manchester.ac.uk) with any questions.

Required readings for all courses

Introduction to Quantitative Methods in Economics

All four economics master’s courses require you to complete a free course titled Introduction to Quantitative Methods in Economics (ECON60901) in September, before you commence your studies. This is delivered in person, but materials are also available online.

This course equips you with the quantitative skills you need for your core modules and counts towards 10% of your grade in:

  • Mathematics for Economists (MA students)
  • Introduction to Econometrics (MA students)
  • Mathematical Methods in Economic Analysis (MSc Economics and MSc Financial Economics students)
  • Econometric Methods (MSc students).

We’ll send you details in due course, and you’ll be able to find out more on our economics welcome website.

Mathematics and econometrics requirements

Our courses are taught with the expectation that you are already familiar with certain concepts, so we highly recommend that you engage with the suggested material before commencing your studies.  

All four economics master’s courses require knowledge of linear algebra and advanced multivariate calculus. Our MSc courses expect an even stronger level of knowledge in these subjects.

You should be knowledgeable about: 

  • Matrix rank
  • Linear independence
  • Quadratic forms and PSD matrices
  • Moments and distributions of random vectors (see Appendix A in Greene, and Appendix D and E in Wooldridge).

MSc students should also be knowledgeable in partial derivatives of scalar and vector-valued functions (see Appendix E in Greene).

Suggested reading

The following references contain material that is likely to be covered during your first semester.

  • Wooldridge, J. M. (2013). Introductory Econometrics. 5th edn. South-Western Cengage.
  • Greene, W. H. (2011). Econometric Analysis. 7th edn. Pearson.
  • Strang, G. (2010). Linear Algebra [Online]. MIT OpenCourseWare. View this online course at MIT OpenCourseWare.
  • Jehle, G., and Reny, P. (2011). Advanced Microeconomic Theory. 3rd edn. Pearson.
    • For our MSc students, the appendices dealing with Sets and Mappings, Calculus, Optimisation, Constrained Optimisation, Optimality Theorems, Separation Theorems are particularly useful. 

Programming readings

During your studies, you’ll use computer packages such as R and Python for econometrics, and Matlab in particular for our MSc courses. We strongly recommended looking at the following material:

Suggested reading lists by course

We recommend you familiarise yourself with these readings to ease your transition to postgraduate studies. The following material reflects the highly mathematical nature of modern economics taught at Manchester.

MA Economics

  • Jehle, G. A., and Reny, P. J. (2011). Advanced Microeconomic Theory. 3rd edn.
  • Romer, D. (2018). Advanced Macroeconomics. McGraw-Hill.
  • Hoy, M. et al. (2011). Mathematics for Economics. MIT Press.
  • Wooldridge, J. M. (2013). Introductory Econometrics.

MSc Economics

This course requires an advanced understanding of mathematics and econometrics.

Typical careers include: economist, economic advisor, analyst, consultant, auditor, accountant, related fields.

  • Jehle, G. and Reny, P., (2011). Advanced Microeconomic Theory. 3rd edn. Prentice Hall.
    • Focus on mathematical appendices.
  • Mas-Collel, A., Whinston, M., Green, J. (1995). Microeconomic Theory. Oxford Univ. Press.
  • David R. (2019). Advanced Macroeconomics, 5th edn. (Chapters 2, 5, 8, 11–13).
  • Greene, W. H. (2011). Econometric Analysis. 7th edn. Pearson Higher Education.

MSc Economics and Data Science

This course requires substantial knowledge of programming, as you’ll undertake two data science and machine learning units, a yearlong ‘skills for data scientists’ unit, and a longer data science dissertation.

You’ll be well prepared for a role as an economic data analyst in government, central banks or the private sector, as well as work in related fields.

  • James, G., Witten, D., Hastie, T. and Tibshirani, R., (2021). An Introduction to Statistical Learning with Applications in R. Springer.
  • Jehle, G. and Reny, P., (2011). Advanced Microeconomic Theory. 3rd edn. Prentice Hall.
    • Particularly the mathematical appendices.
  • Mas-Collel, A., Whinston, M., Green, J., (1995). Microeconomic Theory. Oxford Univ. Press.
  • David R., (2019). Advanced Macroeconomics. 5th edn. (Chapters 2, 5, 8, 11–13)
  • Greene, W. H., (2011). Econometric Analysis. 7th edn. Pearson Higher Education Publishing Company. 

MSc Financial Economics

This course requires you to complete a unit in mathematical finance, and a unit in risk, uncertainty and the links between economics and finance.

Typical careers include: economist, portfolio manager, risk management consultant, or financial analyst, related fields. 

  • Evstigneev, T., Hens, T., Schenk-Hoppé, K.R. (2015). Mathematical Financial Economics. View the full text on Springer.
  • Jehle, G. and Reny, P., (2011). Advanced Microeconomic Theory. 3rd edn. Prentice Hall.
    • Particularly the mathematical appendices.
  • David R., (2019). Advanced Macroeconomics. 5th edn. (Chapters 2, 5, 8, 11–13).Greene, W. H., (2011). Econometric Analysis. 7th edn. Pearson Higher Education Publishing Company.