Master of Science in Economics

Why does the ECB keep interest rates low for so long? Is high public debt sustainable? Will climate investments spur productivity? How will robotics and artificial intelligence affect the labor market? How can banks promote sustainable finance?

If these questions trigger your mind, the Master in Economics at Ghent University is what you are looking for!

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About the programme

The Economics programme studies the functioning of economy as a whole. In so doing, the programme takes into account all economic actors and their mutual interaction: households, companies, financial institutions, government and foreign nations. The Master’s programme provides advanced insights into economic theories, models and techniques for you to use when analysing and assessing complex social issues with regard to the interactions and behaviours between economic actors. You will study how these different actors each make economic choices (e.g. consumption, production, labour, investment, import and export, …), what the consequences are for society, and how problems in that context can best be solved. You will learn how to set up an academic research project in this context, and how to convert your research results into policy recommendations. All the topics that are dealt with – e.g. economic growth, prosperity, income generation, income distribution, money, inflation, monetary policy, employment and unemployment, efficient government policy, social security, taxes and government debt, international economic relations, globalization, the problems of developing countries, environmental pollution, poverty, etc... - are all socially relevant.

Do you have a wide social-economical interest? Are you eager to find out what caused the financial crisis and how international regulation is strengthened?  Do you want to gain insight into how the behaviour of central banks and financial markets influence the return of investments? Do you want to contribute to defining the government budget or are you ambitious to help draw up the energy policy? Do you wonder which economical future Europe has in a globalised world? If that is the case, choose the Master of Science in Economics!

Facts & figures

  • Credits: 60 ECTS
  • Mode: full-time or part-time
  • Duration: 1 academic year
  • First semester: September 2023 - January 2024
  • Second semester: February 2024 - July 2024
  • Major: financial institutions and markets or economic policy
  • Internship: possible as elective course
  • Language: English
  • 1 October 2023: applications are open
  • 1 April 2024: application deadline non-EEA students
  • 1 June 2024: application deadline EEA students
  • Tuition fee EEA students: €1092,10
  • Tuition fee non-EEA students: €6540,10

What our international alumni say about this programme

ValeryiaThe education here was high-quality, but very demanding. I felt secure here and if I had a problem there was always someone to come to. The professors here are really smart people, they are extremely intelligent and love what they do. I have so much respect for your country and system of education. Belgium knows how to teach and is one of the most developed countries in the world. - Valeryia Yersh, from Belarus, obtained a Bachelor in Business Economics at the Lazarski University (Poland)
AnaI had an Erasmus experience at the faculty of Economics and Business Administration. Professor Heylen afterwards convinced me to get my master in Economics. The theoretical courses here are well-structured and go together very well. It was demanding, but manageable and totally worth it. The professors were very approachable. Professor Everaert for exemple replied within 20 minutes. They want to help you and make you feel better. It was a great experience for me. The international relations administrator at my home university gave me the advice I should go to Ghent, not to Paris. I had blind faith and did not regret my choice.’ - Ana Milanez, from Slovenia, obtained a Bachelor of Economics at the University of Maribor (Slovenia)

Programme structure

Compulsory courses (18 ECTS credits)

The common part for all students of this programme deepens your knowledge in three advanced courses in micro-economics, macro-economics and econometrics. You already have an educational background that covered the basics of these courses but here we have a deeper focus on the formal analysis and the tools that you need.

  • Micro-economics: you study the behavioural implications, dual approach and the general equilibrium of consumer and producer behaviour. This also includes an introduction to the game theory and you will explore the problem of asymmetrical information.
  • Macroeconomics: you learn to understand and master the key developments in macroeconomics during the last 40 years. The focus is on modern growth theory, new classical macroeconomics and modern business cycle analysis.
  • Econometrics: we broaden your knowledge of the econometric techniques for time series analysis.

Major (18 ECTS credits)

We offer two different majors, this might seem a limited choice but this is well-considered. First of all, these are the subject areas that are most relevant for economists in general and, secondly, these are the subject areas for which we have the deepest expertise. You can choose three courses from one of the following majors:

Master dissertation (18 ECTS credits)

The master dissertation evaluates the ability to develop and perform research in the domain of the master's programme independently and to report orally and in writing about this research.

Elective course (6 ECTS credits)

You have several options for the elective course:

  • You choose another course from your major to specialise even more in this subject area
  • You choose a course from the other major in order to widen your horizon
  • You choose an elective course from a broad range of general courses
  • You do an internship

More information

More information about the courses can be found in the course specifications, these can be consulted in the Study Guide.