Jump to content
Urch Forums

One year masters programmes for top US PhDs


Generichandle

Recommended Posts

Hi all

 

I've posted here before but was looking to canvas some further opinions. I'm looking to apply for one year econ masters starting sept 2018 with a view to getting into a top 5 US phd programme in 2020. For financial/personal reasons I only want to do a one year programme, preferably with funding.

 

With that in mind, can anyone give their thoughts on how the following programmes would rank with a view to progressing to a US phd: LSE, BGSE, UCB, Cambridge. I know LSE is probably the best but chances of funding seem remote, and I think the main thing I'm concerned about is getting top LoRs and research experience. I'm particularly interested in comparisons between BGSE and UCB.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

PROFILE:

 

Type of Undergrad: BA in philosophy, politics and Econ at Oxford (UK citizen)

Undergrad GPA: 1st class, 72% and 75% in Econ modules. 15/240 in the year

Type of Grad: I have a law school msc.

Grad GPA: distinction

GRE: taking it soon, expect near 170

Math Courses: the usual required for undergrad micro and metrics

Econ Courses: micro, macro, metrics, game theory

Other Courses: political theory, 3 other philosophy modules

Letters of Recommendation: probably 1 good one from my old tutor and a decent one from another tutor. Both were PhD students at the time and neither have stayed in academia. I hope to get three good ones out of my masters.

Research Interests: finance, macro (especially dev), game theory

Other: I have been out of uni for 4 years. 2 years of 'relevant' work experience as a corporate lawyer in a top city of London firm. Including a stint in the capital markets

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LSE's Econometrics and Mathematical Economics has consistently produced top-notch U.S. PhD placements across all top 10 universities in previous years. It is often regarded as the best master's degree in Europe for Econ PhD. Though, without a solid maths perquisite, entry is almost impossible bearing in mind that they only accept very few people on this course.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Canadian MSc. degrees, like U of T and UBC, require only 1 year and place well in the United States, although you would likely have to be the best in the program to place in the top 5. However, they are more affordable than LSE. They also have smaller class sizes, and unlike LSE, have students write exams in the winter, which may be more conducive to getting LORs.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Queens, UBC, U of T and Western would be the big 4 Canadian programs that occasionally place their top students into well known programs in the US. Almost all Canadian masters are a year long and compared to other countries are very reasonably priced, for example UBC's tuition is something like 8k for international students.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...