SSE vs PSE vs Bonn for Master in Econ.

[krchan63]

Hi.
I want to study in Europe except in the UK.
(I'm not from either EU or North America.)
My top choices are SSE, PSE, and Bonn.
Cheap tuition fees and the cities where the schools located are attractive to me.
But, it seems hard to get some info about those schools.
I think that those schools have great with good faculty members and their placements are great, but they are somewhat underestimated here.
(Bonn has Rhein hardSelten, the Nobel prize winner. and PSE has François Bourguignon, the former Chief Economist of the World Bank.)

So, if you guys have any inside infos or any comments about those school, plz let me know.
I also welcome any comparing those schools to any other schools in Europe or the US.

[michaelmas]

SSE don't offer a stand alone masters program. They do however offer what seems to be a decent phd program with none other than Lars Ljungquist for one.

Stockholm university on the other hands offers a two year Msc in economics, which hasn't thrilled me so far. They seem to be teaching on a much lower level than the first year at SSE or UK and US departments.

[krchan63]

Thank you for your reply.
I heard that SSE will offer its master program in 2009.
However, i'm not sure that SSE will offer the ph.d level of courses for master students. (maybe, the program will not be great as its ph.d)

about master program:
SSE - Application Master's Program
about courses:
SSE - Master's Program

[michaelmas]

My bad.

I totally forgot about that program.

But to be honest, if you really want a solid Msc degree in economics, you should avoid those tought at the intermediate level. One good way to figure out the programs is to look at the readings for the core courses.

If the program emphasizes MWG, then you know the level is solid and graduate (the level that is, not the quality of the teaching). If, however, they are using Microeconomics by Rubenfeld, as SSE seems to be using, then it is most likely at the intermediate level.

This is a quote I found on Amazon on Rubenfeld's book: "Second, even though I've had extensive economics background, the book could be suitable for beginners."

[asianeconomist]

If you really are looking for cheap programs, then why not consider programs in Netherlands. Places like Amsterdam, Tinbergen and Tilburg are solid programs and will fund their students.

[krchan63]

I have considered those programs,but their tuition fees are still costly for me due to the fact that i'm not from EU. By the way, do they give the financial support to their international students for their master programs? If they do, I will also consider them.

[philecon]

Tinbergen Institute awards scholarships to selected students. Primary criterion for deciding the level of support is earlier performance, GRE-scores, motivation and capacity for higher academic performance. TI offers partial and full scholarships. Partial scholarships cover the tuition fees and costs for health insurance with a maximum of € 40 a month; full scholarships offer a monthly allowance of € 955 a month on top of this. In 2007/8 Tinbergen Institute awarded 9 full scholarships and 1 partial scholarship to first year students. In addition, Tinbergen Institute stimulates and helps students in applying for external scholarships (5 of our students have a Huygens Scholarship for the academic year 2007/8).
- from the Tinbergen website

[Diplomer]

I can strongly recommend the University of Bonn. It is one of the best universities here in Germany, if not the best. Its focus is mainly on microeconomics, game theory and behavioural economics (perhaps you heard about Arnim Falk or the IZA).

You also might be interested in the University of Mannheim or the Ludwig Maximiliams-Universität München ("LMU" in Munich).

Is there any special field you are interested in?

Kind regards
Diplomer

[EnLaPlaya]

Originally Posted by Diplomer

I can strongly recommend the University of Bonn. It is one of the best universities here in Germany, if not the best. Its focus is mainly on microeconomics, game theory and behavioural economics (perhaps you heard about Arnim Falk or the IZA).

You also might be interested in the University of Mannheim or the Ludwig Maximiliams-Universität München ("LMU" in Munich).

Is there any special field you are interested in?

Kind regards
Diplomer

As for German econ programmes, I´m quite curious about how one can obtain sufficient background for doing research in just one or two semesters (http://www.bgse.uni-bonn.de/fileadmi..._version-1.pdf, Core Courses - Munich Graduate School of Economics, CDSE); could you please give some comment on this?
And as it has been pointed out here lately, it might be quite tough to get in if you´re not German, as they seem to be biased towards students from their own country.

[mpleportals]

Originally Posted by EnLaPlaya

As for German econ programmes, I´m quite curious about how one can obtain sufficient background for doing research in just one or two semesters (http://www.bgse.uni-bonn.de/fileadmi..._version-1.pdf, Core Courses - Munich Graduate School of Economics, CDSE); could you please give some comment on this?
And as it has been pointed out here lately, it might be quite tough to get in if you´re not German, as they seem to be biased towards students from their own country.

It might be that Bonn prefers people who have already got master degrees