OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this Master’s degree is to provide students with an education in advanced economics, thus enabling them to undertake research in this field. More specifically, the aim is to locate students at the cutting edge of research in various areas of Economics so that, upon completion of the course, they are equipped to undertake their doctoral thesis successfully.

Students that complete the Master’s Degree in Quantitative Economics should have in-depth knowledge of the latest advanced concepts and methodologies in the field, enabling them to analyse complex economic problems and apply a conceptual framework to the specific circumstances of economic agents, including individuals, businesses and institutions. This knowledge must necessarily include quantitative tools in mathematics, statistics and econometrics, hence the special emphasis on teaching quantitative methods.

The course programme should equip Economics graduates that complete the Master’s Degree in Quantitative Economics to pursue an academic or professional career. The generic and specific competencies developed on the Master’s course incorporate recommendations from the Tuning Project (Tuning Educational Structures in Europe. Universities’ contribution to the Bologna process, 2006). Particular attention has also been paid to the “Subject Benchmark Statements. Economics” from the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.

• Structure of the Master’s Degree: credits and subjects

• Distribution of subjects by year/semester

• General course programme

MASTER’S DEGREE COURSE CREDITS AND SUBJECT GROUPS

DISTRIBUTION OF SUBJECTS BY YEAR/SEMESTER

⁽¹⁾ Optional courses: Each year, up to 18 optional subjects will be offered from the list of modules below. All optional subjects are worth 5 ECTS credits. The specific subjects offered each year will depend on student preferences and on the availability of internal and external teachers that year in the Foundations of Economic Analysis Department. Students must choose nine optional subjects, and are advised to take three per term.

GENERAL COURSE PROGRAMME 

The Master’s Degree in Quantitative Economics consists of 120 ECTS credits to be taken over two academic years. In the first year, students take ten compulsory subjects worth 6 ECTS credits each. In the second year, students take a compulsory subject, Introduction to Research into Economics, worth 5 ECTS credits, and choose another nine optional subjects, all worth 5 credits each. They must also complete the Final Master’s Project, which is worth 10 ECTS credits.

The Master’s Degree in Quantitative Economics is divided into terms. Each term lasts 12 weeks, except for the first term of the first year, which lasts 15 weeks. During the first ten weeks of each term (13 weeks in the first term of the first year), students attend theoretical and practical classes in each subject, with final exams taken in the last two weeks of each term. In the first year, students study four compulsory subject areas: Mathematics, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Econometrics. Mathematics is an important tool in Economics and the subject, worth 6 ECTS credits, will be taught in the first term. The other three subject areas taught in the first year are also worth 6 ECTS credits each, and students study one subject per term from these three areas. In the first term of the second year, students take a compulsory subject, Introduction to Research into Economics, worth 5 ECTS credits. Students in the second year also choose nine optional subjects (from at least three different modules) from the list of 18 possible subjects available. The specific subjects offered each year will depend on student preferences and on the availability of internal and external teachers that year in the Foundations of Economic Analysis Department. Finally, during the last two terms of the second year, students complete their Master’s Final Project, under the supervision of either a teacher in the Foundations of Economic Analysis Department, or one of the external teachers collaborating on the Master’s degree programme that year.

• Entry Requirements and Selection Criteria
• Admission and Assessment Criteria
• Pre-enrolment and Enrolment
• Number of Places

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS AND SELECTION CRITERIA 

According to the Regulations of the University of Alicante, the following requirements must be complied to have access to official taught Master’s degrees:

1. To be in possession of a SPANISH OFFICIAL GRADUATE DEGREE CERTIFICATE or other issued by an institution of higher education  within the EHEA (European Higher Education) that enables the holder to have access  to Master’s degrees in the issuing.
2. To be in possession of an officially approved  FOREIGN HIGHER EDUCATION DEGREE CERTIFICATE that had been recognised as equal to the degree that allows access to the requested studies.
3. To be in possession of a UNIVERSITY DEGREE CERTIFICATE obtained in a University or Higher Education Institution of COUNTRIES OUTSIDE THE EHEA, without the prior approval of their studies. In this case, the following should be considered:

• Non- recognised degree certificates shall require a technical report showing an equivalence statement issued by the University of Alicante (ContinUA – Continuing Education Centre), for which the corresponding fee should be paid.
• Access through this way does under no circumstances imply prior official approval of the holder’s degree certificate, nor its recognition for purposes other than studying a master's degree.

ADMISSION AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 

1.- Admission Profile

This course is primarily aimed at graduates in Economics, although graduates in Mathematics, Physics, Engineering and Business Administration and Management, among others, are also eligible for admission.

All students whose first language is not English will be required to submit recent proof that their command of written and spoken English is sufficient to ensure that their academic progress will not be hindered by language difficulties.

In accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, an applicant’s command of English must be equivalent to:

1. International English Language Testing System (IELTS): global mark of 6.5, with a minimum of 6.0 for each of the papers.

2. Test Of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): mark of 580, plus 4 in the Test of Written English (TWE).

2.     Assessment criteria

Applicants will be selected according to the following criteria:

• Grades obtained for previous studies, above all in subject areas related to the Master’s Degree (60%).
• References  (30%).
•  Other achievements, such as training courses or research related to any of the subjects areas covered by the Master’s Degree course (10%).

Students have to pre - register online and attach the following documents:.

• Statement of purpose (or research).
• Official transcripts from each University which conducted studies. If the original transcripts are not written in English or Spanish, must be accompanied by a translation.
• Official academic diplomas at each University which conducted studies. If the original transcripts are not written in English or Spanish, must be accompanied by a translation.
• Curriculum Vitae.
• Two letters of recommendation.
• Copy of the Passport.

Two letters of reference must be directly sent by the letter-writers to qed@ua.es

PRE-ENROLMENT AND ENROLMENT 

PRE-ENROLMENT +info

Students who intend to study for an officially recognised Master’s Degree at the UA should complete

Frequently asked questions

ENROLMENT +info

Following publication of the final list of those admitted to the course, an email containing a user password will be sent to successful applicants, enabling them to enrol via the Campus Virtual in accordance with the guidelines and deadlines specified annually.

In the registration process, the documents issued abroad must be official, duly notorised and translated. Further information:

• https://sga.ua.es/en/academic-regulations/attestation/attestation-of-documents.html

NUMBER OF PLACES

Focus

Academic and research.

Degree course specialisation profile

1. Research in Economics
2. Studies services in Banking and International Organizations
3. Economic Consulting
   

  TIMESCALE FOR IMPLEMENTATION

• Timescale
• Procedure

• Discontinued programmes

1. Timescale for implementation of the Master’s Degree course 

2. Procedure for equivalence recognition, where appropriate, between the current and the new course programme.

Since all the compulsory and optional subjects in the new Master’s degree are identical to those of the current Official Master’s Degree in Quantitative Economics, students on the existing course will obtain automatic credit equivalence recognition for the new course.

3. Studies being phased out and replaced by the proposed degree course: 

Official Master’s Degree in Quantitative Economics

Internal Quality Assurance System (SGIC) of the Title

• Structure of the Centre for Quality
  • Comission of Internal Quality Guarantee
  • Other Commissions  
• Handbook SGIC
• Procedures
  • Strategic (PE)
  • Key (PC)
  • Support (PA)
  • Measurement (PM)

• Management of the SGIC (Access to ASTUA)

Follow-up of the Title

• Self-reports UA
• External reports AVAP 
• Other reports
• Improvement Plans
• Progress and Learning Outcomes