Curriculum
How is the program structured?
ISET offers a two-year Master's program in Economics.
- The first year program of studies consists of mandatory sequences in four core disciplines: Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Statistics/Econometrics, and Mathematics for Economists. Students also take supplementary courses in English and Academic Writing.
- During their second year, students draw up an individual plan of 14 elective courses designed to provide mastery in one or more subfields of modern economics, complementing the breadth of the first-year core classes with depth in the chosen specialization.
- Students are required to demonstrate mastery of technical research skills by writing and defending a thesis, applying the tools they acquired in their studies. The master's thesis represents a significant piece of independent economic research on a topic chosen by the student with guidance from faculty.
The curriculum is supplemented by internships, faculty-led research projects, and frequent opportunities to interact with policymakers and practitioners.
All courses are taught in English.
What will my schedule look like?
The School's academic calendar is broken into five two-month "mini-terms", beginning in September and running through early July. Each mini-term comprises seven weeks of instruction and one week for review and exams. A normal course load is four courses per mini-term. Most courses meet twice per week, not including recitation sessions.
Students study at ISET full-time and typically do not hold outside jobs during the academic year. Courses normally meet during the day. At least a few times a week, lectures start at 9am and run through 5pm.
The Program includes three breaks: New Year's break (three weeks); Spring break (typically, the first ten days in May); Summer break (July-August).
International accreditation and recognition
Students earn three European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits for each economics course and 120 credits are required to complete the MA. The ECTS credit system facilitates recognition of the degree internationally. ISET uses the U.S. grading system (A-B-C-D-F).
