Entry to masters of economics

BuzzMcdonnell

Hi guys,

Im 21 years old and I’m currently completing an undergrad in business and going into 4th year in September. I’m hoping to apply for the masters in Economics and Policy Analysis at UL, and I’ll comfortable meet the minimum entry requirements of a 2:2, but I never put much effort into college the first 3 or so semesters, and I have fairly poor grades in economics and maths modules from that time (C grades in economics and one or two D grades in maths)

The thing is I’m the past year or so I’ve become very interested in economics. I’ve read a few books on the topic and I also subscribe and listen to David McWilliams on Patreon who I find very interesting. I’ve also completed an introduction to economics course on EDx with Stanford University last year during the first lockdown.

Sorry to be longwinded, I’m just wondering if I’ve ruined my chances of studying economics with my poor grades? I’d appreciate some input/advice!

Wanderer78

Just be aware, economics in education is primarily neoclassical, as I suspect is the case in ul, McWilliams could be classed as a heterodox, it's a different ball game altogether, ul could drive you mental. neoclassical is actually in serious trouble, it's continually proven to be wrong in almost every way, including in its fundamental beliefs. British economist Kate raworth walked away from economics due to these failures, only returning recently due to its failures, it's great to see she's starting to have a major impact, particularly at a political level.

It's gonna take a long time to right the wrongs of neoclassical economics, our educational system could very well be one of the most difficult to do so, it is doing astonishing damage globally. It's largely mathematically based, and to be honest, largely disconnected from our actual needs, on the other hand, studying at ul would give you access to people such as Stephen kinsella, check his podcast out, it's called Ann and Steve talk stuff, see what you think, I 'll link it later

What aspect of McWilliams do you like, and I might be able to direct you?

KyussB

Ya as mentioned Stephen Kinsella teaches at UL, and I think he views himself as Post-Keynesian (i.e. heterodox) - so UL would, I think, offer some plurality in its economic teaching.

Everywhere will teach the neoclassical stuff (tbh, it's important to know it, even just to know what's wrong with it) - it's the plurality of different economic views/schools being taught that matters.

Though, the OP was asking about the grades - so would be worth perhaps emailing UL directly to ask? (could probably even directly email Stephen)

Wanderer78

KyussB wrote:

Though, the OP was asking about the grades - so would be worth perhaps emailing UL directly to ask? (could probably even directly email Stephen)

Kinsella is the man there, hes responded to me before, I can pm the address, but it is publicly known

Wanderer78

interesting, maybe!

https://economicpluralism.org/accreditation/

Wanderer78

ann and steve podcast

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCthGT3Ron6DoF321T3cixyQ/videos

https://soundcloud.com/limerickpost

https://play.acast.com/s/limerickpostpodcast/tag%3Asoundcloud%2C2010%3Atracks%2F1020261943

https://open.spotify.com/show/32OmfuBVF8yGdkENsU39Ox

andrew

IMO, at masters level, it's not really worth weighing too heavily, the ideological leanings of professors in the dept too much. This matters if you want to do a Phd - you'll want alignment of research interests. But a Masters is mainly taught, and it's just a year. There are still fundamentals to learn (e.g. a big chunk of econometrics) and employers don't really care what you did in a masters, just that you have one.

To your question - the only way to know will be to ask! i think if you can argue you've an earnest interest in the topic that belies your grades then you'd be in with a chance, but hard to know!

completedit

Going to send you a pm.

completedit

Man, it can be done. What do you want to do for a career?

Like you, I struggled badly in Undergraduate, I studied economics and sort of just passively got by eventually graduating with a 2.2. While I really liked economics in the way McWilliams describes it, as you know in college it is not always so interesting or digestible. I tended to do well in the more descriptive courses and struggled to get by in the quantitative ones. Neverthess, I managed to get into an Economics Masters programme and it was the best experience of my life. As a professor told us in an Econ of Regulation class, the courses you study don't matter, it's more a signal to prospective employers. I think if you keep this in mind, study hard and just know that it won't be as interesting as David and John shooting the breeze on the podcast, then the MA will be worth it.

Feria40

One word of caution if you go down this route... Econometrics...dear god what a horror show. You might struggle with this element if you were getting D's in Maths. Even if you were only cruising through your undergrad years.

I can't speak for UL, but economics in NUIG was theory and modeling. It had no connection really to what David McWilliams or any other well known economic pundits nights spout

Wanderer78

Feria40 wrote:

I can't speak for UL, but economics in NUIG was theory and modeling. It had no connection really to what David McWilliams or any other well known economic pundits nights spout

....and you d wonder why The world of economics continues to fail over and over again! We truly need to move on from neoclassical, we have enough evidence to support, its complete nonsense, in fact dangerous for all

[Deleted User]

BuzzMcdonnell wrote: »

Hi guys,

Im 21 years old and I’m currently completing an undergrad in business and going into 4th year in September. I’m hoping to apply for the masters in Economics and Policy Analysis at UL, and I’ll comfortable meet the minimum entry requirements of a 2:2, but I never put much effort into college the first 3 or so semesters, and I have fairly poor grades in economics and maths modules from that time (C grades in economics and one or two D grades in maths)

Email the programme department, and ask for a copy of the syllabus, or the closest thing to an outline of the modules they have. Find out how much of it is quantitative.

Then go to the library, if you can access it, or get the textbook online via your library, ideally something like Principles of Econometrics. Do as much of the relevant material as you can manage, as a dry run.

A lot of masters education is self-directed learning, moreso than undergraduate learning. You're going to need to be able to grapple with a lot of quant aspects by yourself, with minimal input from academic staff (especially during a pandemic).

You have a strong starting point, in that you have an interest. I think you just need to check that this interest is sufficiently strong for some aspects that might not suit you.

completedit

https://economics.ut.ac.ir/documents/3030266/14100645/Jeffrey_M._Wooldridge_Introductory_Econometrics_A_Modern_Approach__2012.pdf

Look through this OP.

BuzzMcdonnell

Sorry for taking a while to reply, and thanks for all of the helpful posts!

Having a look at the likes of econometrics has made me think maybe a masters in economics isn’t the best choice for me. I’ll continue to read books on the topic and things like that just because the subject interests me, but it doesn’t seem like the path for me.

Wanderer78

BuzzMcdonnell wrote:

Having a look at the likes of econometrics has made me think maybe a masters in economics isn’t the best choice for me. I’ll continue to read books on the topic and things like that just because the subject interests me, but it doesn’t seem like the path for me.

Just be aware, economics is currently entering a revolution, the academic world is a little slow to react, but it is reacting, this is truly an incredible time to be alive to witness it, let us know what you discover, as we could all learn from it