Students in our Washington, DC master of science in applied economics program are able to take both in-person and online courses. Demand for in-person courses is lower than demand for online courses. Consequently, the Washington, DC program does not always offer an in-person section of every course in our curriculum.
It can be possible for our Washington, DC students to take all 10 of their courses in person, if they are willing to choose from a more limited set of elective field course options, and if they are able to take 2 courses every quarter. Washington, DC students who wish to choose from a broader menu of field course options, or who wish to pursue the degree at a slower pace, would need to take at least some of their courses online, as specified in the table below.
Students who strongly prefer to take all 10 courses in person can also consider the fully in-person version of the program offered on our main campus in College Park.
Students who want to take more than half their courses online should enroll in our online program.
The academic calendar in our Washington, DC program has four 12-week quarters per year (as in our online program), rather than just two 15-week semesters (as in our College Park program).
A given 12-week course covers the same material at the same level of rigor as a 15-week course in our semester-based program in College Park. Since the 12-week courses compress the same amount of material into 12 weeks instead of 15 weeks, our 12-week courses require about 25% more work per week than the 15-week versions of the same courses in our College Park program.
Students can begin the Washington, DC version of our program in the fall (late August). We do not offer spring or summer enrollment in either of our in-person programs (Washington, DC and College Park). We do offer both fall (late August) and spring (late February) enrollment in our online program.
Typical Course Sequence in the Washington, DC Program (15-month plan)
| First Term (Fall) | ECON 641 – Microeconomics ECON 643 – Empirical Analysis I (ECON 641 and 643 offered in person every fall. Both courses are also offered online every fall and spring.) |
| Second Term (Winter) | ECON 642 – Macroeconomics ECON 644 – Empirical Analysis II (ECON 642 and 644 offered in person every winter. Both courses are also offered online every winter and summer.) |
| Third Term (Spring) | ECON 645 – Empirical Analysis III (ECON 645 offered in person every spring. Also offered online every spring and fall.) And one of the following field courses: ECON 670 – Financial Economics ECON 674 – Economic Analysis of Law ECON 676 – Development Economics (Only 1 or 2 of these field courses will be offered in person in the spring, depending on demand.) |
| Fourth Term (Summer) | Two from the following: ECON 671 – Health Economics ECON 677 – International Trade ECON 672 – Program Evaluation ECON 684 – Applied Time Series (Only 2 or 3 of these field courses will be offered in person in the summer, depending on demand) |
| Fifth Term (Fall) | Two from the following: ECON 673 – Game Theory/Market Design ECON 683 – International Macro/Finance ECON 687 – Economic Applications of R Programming or any of the “3rd term” field courses not already completed (Only 2 of the 3 listed courses will be offered in person in the fall, depending on demand) |
The answer for the core courses (ECON 641-645) is yes. Additional online sections of the core courses will also be offered every 6 months.
The answer for the elective field courses in no. Demand for in-person courses is lower than demand for online courses. And students in our DC program are allowed to take some of their courses online. We will offer 2 or 3 in-person field courses every spring, summer, and fall. We will also offer additional online sections of every field course at least once a year, and in some cases twice a year, depending on demand. The decision about which field courses to offer in person will depend on student demand. We do not plan to offer in-person sections of field courses in the winter (when our DC students would normally be taking only the core courses ECON 642 and 644).
Yes, it is possible. We will always offer in-person sections of the core courses (ECON 641-645) in the terms indicated in the table. Enrollments permitting, we will also always offer 2 or 3 in-person field courses in the spring, summer, and fall. So a student who takes 2 courses per term can take 10 in-person courses according to the typical course sequence laid out in the table.
However, the field courses that we offer in person will depend on student demand. Students who wish to take courses with low demand could be forced to take online sections of certain field courses.
Also: We only guarantee the possibility of being able to take 10 courses in person for students who follow the standard 2 course per term sequence. Students who take just a single course in certain terms, or who sit out certain terms, may need to take some of their courses online since the in-person sections are offered less frequently than the online sections.
Students who strongly prefer in-person instruction should also consider the fully in-person version of the program offered on our main campus in College Park (also within the DC metro area, less than 10 miles from the White House).
Certain course sequences are better than others for students who wish to work in private business settings, rather than in government positions, or in other public policy analysis contexts. Students who do choose their field courses with private business applications in mind will also be well-prepared to earn the National Association of Business Economics‘ (NABE) Certified Business Economist (CBE) credential, in addition to our M.S. degree.
Our program has a partnership with the NABE, which makes it possible for the graduates of our program to sit for the NABE’s CBE exam (with a reduced exam fee) without needing to take the NABE’s own courses. The NABE’s CBE credential is something like a “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” for economists who work in private business settings, as many of our graduates do. A student membership in the NABE also offers many excellent networking opportunities for our students in the Washington, DC area – even before graduating from our MS program, or earning the NABE’s CBE credential.
Students who wish to prepare for the NABE’s CBE exam after they graduate should consider the following field courses: ECON 670 (Financial Economics), ECON 677 (International Trade), ECON 672 (Program Evaluation), ECON 684 (Applied Time Series Analysis), ECON 673 (Game Theory), ECON 683 (International Macroeconomics), ECON 687 (Economic Applications of R Programming). Note that this is 7 of the 11 field courses offered in our program, and students only need to take 5 field courses to earn our degree. Students wishing to sit for the NABE’s CBE exam after graduation should also plan to do some self-study related to some fields of specialization that they did not explicitly study in the courses they took for credit. Graduates of any good graduate program (like ours) will be in a good position to be lifelong learners who can productively study and learn more on their own well after they complete their formal education.
Yes. Though some courses would need to be taken online.
A student could begin the program with just ECON 641 in their first term. They could then proceed as follows:
2nd term (winter): ECON 642
3rd term (spring): ECON 643 (online section)
4th term (summer): ECON 644 (online section) + an elective field course if desired (in person or online)
5th term (fall): ECON 645 (online section) + an elective field course if desired (in person or online)
6th term (winter): one or two elective field courses (online sections)
7th term and beyond: elective field courses (in person or online)
The University of Maryland’s Graduate School requires that students be enrolled in at least one course every term while they are pursuing their degree. Waivers to this policy are routinely granted as necessary. Leaves of absence are also possible under certain circumstances.