Do any good programs give good money for master's statistics or econ?

[One on One]

Hello, so I am out of school now and working as a consultant making pretty good money. I still want to go back for my master's in economics or statistics though. I have great grades and score really well on tests...I'm sure I could get into a great school. However, I'm not so sure I could get funding. I only want to do a master's and not a phd so is it possible to get good funding at a good school? It seems kinda dumb you can't get good funding for most master's programs cause I know I could get basically a full scholarship to a pretty good MBA program...of course I don't want the MBA, but I could probably find an MBA program where I could concentrate in economics and statistics and that wouldn't be so bad. I'd rather do the master's though if possible. I just don't want to shell out a ton of money out of my own pocket.

[CalmLogic]

I only want to do a master's and not a phd so is it possible to get good funding at a good school?

First off, I hope others respond to your post since I'm not familiar with economics graduate programs.

I do know that some Canadian universities seem to give full funding to master's students as a matter of course. For example, one poster suggests the following Canadian schools for funding:

I also suggest looking into an MA in economics from Queen's, U Toronto, or UBC. That's about the only place you'll get funding.

http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo...tml#post532186 (Changing field from Software to Economics.)

Regarding funding for an MS in statistics, I know the University of Florida actually requires statistics graduate students to be a TA for at least one semester, but that is atypical for most MS programs.

More positively, most undergrad college students take at least one statistics course and most of those courses have at least one or two TAs, so the chances of getting a TA position at some point seems far more likely compared to other departments. For example, UNC (ranked #4 in USNews for Statistics) says this:

As such, all graduate students admitted (at least the ones expected to be able to survive the program) will generally be offered, at the minimum, the opportunity to work for the department teaching courses or researching for a "reasonable" stipend.

For Graduate Students - UNC

Other higher-ranking programs like Iowa State, UMich, and TAMU (all three of which are tied at #12 in USNews for statistics) are also encouraging about TA positions:

Applicants to our graduate program are offered teaching assistantships. Most new students serve as graders their first two semesters.

Department of Statistics - Texas A&M University

Many graduate students in Statistics hold a teaching assistantship (TA) or research assistantship (RA). Most of these assistants are recruited by the Department and arrive with a signed Letter of Intent.

Financial support. Graduate programme. Dept of Statistics, ISU.

Most of the financial aid available to statistics graduate students is in the form of graduate student instructorships. The department teaches a large number of undergraduate students in introductory statistics courses. Graduate students assist in the teaching of these courses. The typical graduate student instructorship carries a full tuition waiver, health insurance and a salary of over $6,000 per semester.

Department of Statistics - University of Michigan

So, for statistics, it seems the issue may simply be how many semesters, if any, you may need to wait to get such a position (with your profile typically looking better as each semester goes by).

Since you are working already you may be interested in distance learning options on a part-time basis, e.g. for statistics:

South Dakota State - Distance Learning Discussion Forums (a lower-ranking program but it's less than $300 per credit hour; for some of their courses, one can see the videos lectures without being enrolled)
Statistics (M.S.) | Colorado State Continuing Education (about $1560 per course)
http://www.stat.tamu.edu/dist/Tuition%20and%20Fees.htm (about $1800 - $2000 per course for non-resident students; ranked #12 in USNews)