FAQ - Graduate Program
On this page you can find answers to frequently asked questions about our graduate program.
- Is graduate student advising mandatory? If so, how often should a graduate student meet with a faculty advisor?
- What is the meaning of the two terms "Classified Status" and "Conditionally Classified Status"?
- What are the Graduate English Test (GET) requirements?
- What are the core courses an MA student must take?
- Can credits for some of the courses from a previous institution be transferred and be used as a replacement of some of the above courses?
- When can I take Econ 890?
- Do I have to maintain a certain sequence in taking courses?
- What are the available electives that are offered to MA students?
- How many paired elective courses are allowed for an MA degree?
- Can a student take one or more elective courses from another department to fulfill the graduation requirement?
- How many course units from other departments can be counted toward the MA degree?
- In addition to the core and elective courses, can I take one or more faculty-directed "Independent Study" to fulfill graduation requirement? How many units does an "Independent Study" carry?
- What is the total number of units required for graduation?
- Does the regular oral comprehensive exam count for three unit of credit?
- Does Masters Thesis and subsequent oral defense count for six units of credit?
- How do I plan and organize my regular, comprehensive oral exam?
- If I have already planned to take the Masters Thesis route, how do I plan and organize the process leading to Thesis oral defense?
- What is a Graduate Approved Program (GAP) form?
- When does a student submit the graduation application petition?
- Where do I get all the necessary forms, such as the GAP form, Graduation Application form, form relevant for students who are on probationary status, etc.?
Is graduate student advising mandatory? If so, how often should a graduate student meet with a faculty advisor?
Yes. Graduate students must meet with an assigned advisor at least once a year. Mandatory advising must be scheduled with the assigned advisor during the second half of the Fall semester.
Faculty advisor should keep a record of advising and forward the names of those advised to the graduate coordinator for record keeping purposes.
What is the meaning of the two terms “Classified Status” and “Conditionally Classified Status”?
At the time of admission, graduate adviser decides the preparation needs of the applicants for MA admission. Depending on the needs students who are placed as “;Conditionally Classified”; are admitted to the MA program subject to satisfactory (grade B or better) completion of one or more of the following undergraduate courses before they start taking the graduate level courses:
Math 226, Math 227, Econ 301, Econ 302, Econ 311, Econ 312.
“Classified Status” students can take the MA level courses without going through the above remedial courses.
Conditionally Classified students on satisfactory completion of the above remedial undergraduate courses must apply for change of status to “Classified”, since the status change is not automatic. Application forms are available in the department.
Conditionally classified students cannot take more than 12 units of MA level courses without changing the status from “Conditionally Classified” to “Classified”.
What are the Graduate English Test (GET) requirements?
There are two levels for English Writing Tests that graduate students take.
Test Level 1 GET must be taken during the first semester of enrollment into the program. If an incoming student fails in Level 1, department recommends taking the following remediation courses: (SCI 614, BUS 514, HUM 514, CHS 514, EDUC 614, CA 514). Satisfactory completion of GET or of anyone of the above courses is a must for application of the Graduate Approved Program (GAP). Students must look up the Testing Center Examination Calendar website for the dates of the GET tests.
Test Level 2 is fulfilled through completion of the culminating experience course Econ 890.
What are the core courses an MA student must take?
- Econ 615 Mathematical Economics
- Econ 630 Intro Econometrics
- Econ 700 Seminar Macro Theory
- Econ 701 Seminar Micro Theory
- Econ 725 Data Research Methods
- Econ 730 Econometric Methods
- Econ 890 Graduate Seminar in Applied Economics
The above core courses fulfill 21 units of the total requirement of 30 units for graduation.
Can credits for some of the courses from a previous institution be transferred and be used as a replacement of some of the above courses?
Yes. However, an adviser, on student request, must recommend this replacement based on merit, sign the course replacement form, and then forward the case to the graduate coordinator for official signature of the form.
When can I take Econ 890?
A student can take Econ 890 only during the final semester of the graduate study.
Do I have to maintain a certain sequence in taking courses?
Yes, some courses have prerequisites and thus, must follow the order. For example, Econ 730 cannot be taken before Econ 630. For prerequisites, refer to the course manual.
What are the available electives that are offered to MA students?
Currently, departmental offerings of graduate elective courses are primarily paired with undergraduate electives. Instructors teaching these courses ensure additional required reading for the graduate version of the course and have different exams and assignments for the graduate students taking those courses. The paired courses are:
- Econ 801 paired with Econ 601: Applied Microeconomics
- Econ 811 paired with Econ 611: International Trade Theory and Policy
- Econ 805 paired with Econ 505: Graduate Applied Public Finance
- Econ 811 paired with Econ 610: International Trade Theory and Policy
- Econ 812 paired with Econ 612: International Finance and Macroeconomics
- Econ 820 paired with Econ 520: Industrial Organization
- Econ 825 paired with Econ 625: Theory of Economic Development
- Econ 850 paired with Econ 550: Economics of the Environment
How many paired elective courses are allowed for an MA degree?
A maximum total of three paired courses are allowed to count for an MA degree.
Can a student take one or more elective courses from another department to fulfill the graduation requirement?
Yes. Following courses have been recommended in the past to count as an elective:
- IR 728: International Political Economy
- IR 735: Global Environmental Policy
- GEOG 825: Seminar in Economic Geography
- BUS 785: Financial Management
- BUS 780: Financial Accounting
If an advisor must recommend an outside course not on the above list, the decision must be based on its merit, such as the extent this course draws on economic theories and principles. An advisor must inform the graduate coordinator of his/her decision in such cases for record keeping purposes.
How many course units from other departments can be counted toward the MA degree?
A maximum of six units from other departments can be counted toward MA degree.
In addition to the core and elective courses, can I take one or more faculty-directed “;Independent Study”; to fulfill graduation requirement? How many units does an “;Independent Study” carry?
Yes. An “;Independent Study” (Econ 899) can be planned with the formal approval of a faculty member who agrees to direct a student for a semester-long study, as per rules.
An “;Independent Study” carries up to three units. Based on the assessment of the student's workload, the faculty member directing the study decides the number of units the study can carry.
Only students with a GPA of 3.25 or better are allowed to take Independent Study.
For record keeping purposes, the faculty member who directs the study should provide a half-page synopsis of the students work to the graduate coordinator, on completion of the directed study.
What is the total number of units required for graduation?
Total number of units required for the MA degree is 30 units. This includes 21 units of core requirement and 9 units of elective requirement. However, students opting for Masters Thesis can count 6 units out of the 9 units of elective requirement.
Does the regular oral comprehensive exam count for three unit of credit?
No. It is already a part of the culminating experience.
Does Masters Thesis and subsequent oral defense count for six units of credit?
Yes. However, with effect from Fall 2007, economics department will be phasing out the Masters' Thesis option. This will not, however, affect the students who have already planned to do the Masters' thesis.
How do I plan and organize my regular, comprehensive oral exam?
The semester prior to their final semester students must submit the “Proposal for Culminating Experience” form.
At the start of their final semester, students must inform the Graduate Coordinator and the Economics Department Office Coordinator about their plan for Oral Defense.
The students must pick up a copy of the Oral Application Form from the economics department, fill out, sign, and submit to the department office coordinator.
The department will assign an Oral Defense Committee for each graduating student and notify to the student on the date of Oral Defense.
Oral Defense will be based on Econ 890 (Culminating Experience) project.
Each Oral Defense will last for a maximum of about 60-75 minutes. This will include presentation and question-answer session. Students may pick up a copy of the Oral Examination criteria from the department office coordinator.
Normally, oral exams are scheduled at the end of the final semester of the students' enrollment.
If I have already planned to take the Masters Thesis route, how do I plan and organize the process leading to Thesis oral defense?
(NOTE) With effect from Fall 2007, department will discontinue supporting Masters' thesis.
A student must allow at least two semesters to start and complete the Masters Thesis.
The student must decide his/her Thesis oral defense committee as early as in the second semester of his/her enrollment into the MA program.
The Masters Thesis committee will consist of a chairperson and two other faculty members.
The committee members must be either tenured or tenure track faculty.
It is the students' responsibility to have the Chair and the committee members agree to serve on the Masters Thesis committee. It is the student's responsibility to schedule the Masters Thesis oral defense on a date agreeable to all the committee members. Normally, Masters Thesis oral defense is scheduled at the end of the final semester of the student's enrollment.
What is a Graduate Approved Program (GAP) form?
The GAP form must be filled out and submitted to the Graduate Office after completing 9 units of MA level courses, but before completing the last 6 units of courses. This form must be signed by the faculty advisor, graduate coordinator, and the Dean before it goes to the Graduate Division for final action.
The deadline for submission of GAP forms is the first month of the semester when the students plans to graduate. Students should keep themselves aware of the GAP submission deadline by looking up the important deadlines at the Graduate Division website.
Only students with 3.0 or better GPA and with Classified status can submit GAP forms.
When does a student submit the graduation application petition?
The deadline for submission of graduation application petition is the first month of the semester when the students plans to graduate. This form must be signed by the graduate coordinator and the Chair of the Economics Department.
Where do I get all the necessary forms, such as the GAP form, Graduation Application form, form relevant for students who are on probationary status, etc.?
All the necessary forms can be downloaded from the Graduate Division site. A majority of them can be filled out online.
