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I'd like to know your thoughts on how these programs rank in terms of international reputation as well as PhD preparation. Yes, I've done some prior research on this topic, but most answers were from more than 4 years back. If you, or someone you know, attended one of these programs, I'd love to know your experience. Personally, I'm a micro-guy, so I'm leaning towards UCL, but how much do the names of LSE/Cam stack against UCLs favour?

Hi All, I recently graduated with a BSc in economics degrees and have been applying to Master programs for the terms 20/21. As of now I hold offers from UCL and BGSE (BGSE incl. 50% tuition waiver and havent heart back of LSE as of now), however, I am very unsure which program I should choose. I initially had a preference for the UCL programm for the following reasons: I am more interested in Micro-/Labour-economics and BGSE seems to be better for Macroeconomics. I also heard that the quality of the courses at UCL is supposedly better than at the GSE and that it seems to be easier to graduate with distinction from UCL because the cohorts are more consistent. Regarding reputation, both programs seem to be more or less equally well regarded, however, I heard/read everything from UCL >> BGSE to BGSE >>> UCL. Most of these issues are of course very subjective so I am happy to hear your thoughts! I now received the offer from BGSE with a 50% tuition waiver (making it approx. 60% cheaper than UCL) and I am now wondering whether going to UCL for the reasons above outweights the difference in tuition fees. I am planning on going on to a "good" PhD program afterwards and potentially staying in academia so scoring well in the masters and also obtaining a degree of a well-regarded university seems to be quite important. So is UCL better than BGSE or is BGSE the better choice? Thank you a lot for taking the time to read through my question! Any recommendations or opinions would be much appreciated! Quick facts on my profile (since helpful for reference for future info seekers): * Graduated with an equivalent of a first class degree (Top 5%) from a "Top 3 University" in Germany (according to rankings at least). * GRE - Quant 165 * Worked as a RA and did a few internships at banks, insurances, economic consulting firms etc. (in hinsight found that to be helpful for master applications)

UK undergraduate in Economics. Options for a masters in economics at Barcelona GSE or UCL. Definitely want to pursue a PhD after at a top program in USA. Which would you say is the better feeder program ?

Hi everyone, I’m considering applying to UCLouvain (Université Catholique de Louvain, not the british UCL, unfortunately) MSc in Economics (Research focus, to follow a PhD afterwards) bit I can’t seem to find any information on their website regarding the admission criteria, only that it says “DIRECT ENTRY” would be given to applicants whose bachelor degree is compatible with theirs on some courses. Does that mean it’s non-selective? I wonder because they are so well-ranked at RePec, I can’t imagine how a non-selective program would play off (first-come-first-serve maybe?). Has anyone previously applied there? How was it? If I get in, I’d be happy to follow their PhD afterwards, so if you have any info on their progression rate etc. it would help a great deal. Thanks!

Hi all, I will be attending UCL’s MSc in Economics from this September and would like to hear some advice about applying to the American schools after the MSc. My primary aim is to apply for the T20 schools at the U.S, even though I am also thinking of doing a Ph.D in the UK. 1. As far as I know, UCL would offer places on their MRes / MPhil + Ph.D programme conditional on getting a distinction in their masters programme. Which one do you think is better? (i) Applying straight after graduating UCL’s masters, or (ii) stay with UCL for another year – based on the assumption that I finish the coursework with distinction - with their MRes and apply after their MRes grades (which would just take an extra year) Put in other words, do you think studying MRes-level courses in UCL helps in graduate admissions in the U.S? On one side, it might be beneficial to show that I’m capable of surviving the graduate-level studies. But then, (i) I guess studying a Ph.D level course might be ‘too much’ since you will re-do the masters level coursework and (ii) I can run the risk of failing the MRes or being on the borderline threshold for passing – which I guess is not a really positive signal to the adcoms. (thus neutralizing the distinction-performance at Msc courses...) 2. Just the general question - Do you know any UCL MSc graduates who proceeded into the American PhDs, arguably into the top 20? Which schools should I be aiming for if I happen to attain distinction? – How well is UCL regarded in the states? Any inputs would be welcomed Many thanks in advance.

Hey guys I need your help in choosing a European MSc, with the intention to progress to its Ph.D. stage. My profile is: BA Econ Honors 91.73/100, Dean List, top 8% out of a class of 90-100. MA Financial Econ 95.45/100 (second in the cohort out of 40 students) Include calculus + multivariable calculus + linear algebra + intro to analysis. Statistics 1 & 2, Econometrics 1 & 2 in BA and three more courses in MA. Both degrees are from a relatively new institution which is considered as the third best place in my country (Israel) after TAU and Hebrew Uni. However, most of the faculties are well-known guys who came from TAU (they established the school) and studied in top 10. RA for two of my referees, well-known professors in finance and labor (one is top 10% in ideas ranking and the other one is top 1000 economists according to ideas economist ranking) TA for intermediate macro and advanced econometrics I recently got accepted to Barcelona GSE MSc in Economics, where I am planning to take the advanced track (with a partial tuition waiver) and also to UCL and LSE MSc economics (in both). I recently got accepted to Barcelona GSE MSc in Economics, with intention to take the advanced track (with a partial tuition waiver) and also to UCL and LSE MSc economics (in both). My ultimate goal is to pursue a Ph.D. in one of the top European departments (geographical preferences) unless I will find out that I can get into top 10 in the US (I will try and apply anyway). My main fields of interest are developmental economics, international trade, international finance, financial economics and monetary economics. I would like to hear your opinion regarding my three options. I know that BGSE is considered as a great place for macro, but LSE is considered as best for development, while also good for macro. Also, I heard that UCL hired some really serious macro guys and right now it is a good place for macro as well. and also, they are best for econometrics and are policy-oriented, which I like. I would be also happy to hear about how feasible is it to progress to the Ph.D. stage of each school? How difficult is it to get a distinction at LSE and UCL? How many of the distinction achievers are eligible for funding? How many are able to proceed to MRS at BGSE? Are they more likely to get funding at BGSE/UPF? I am also a bit worried about the international reputation that BGSE has in terms of job placement. For instance, if I change my mind and decide to give up on the Ph.D. route, is MSc from BGSE really that valuable? And can open significant doors in the professional market? Or the branding of UCL and LSE in that matter is strictly dominated? Even though it is always nice to pay less, fortunately, I can finance my studies and living expenses in both places, so I prefer to make professional considerations and not financial considerations.

Hey guys My profile is: BA Econ Honors 91.73/100, Dean List, top 8% out of a class of 90-100. MA Financial Econ 95.45/100 (second in the cohort out of 40 students) Include calculus + multivariable calculus + linear algebra + intro to analysis (as a pre-course of the MA, not very deep level though). Statistics 1 & 2, Econometrics 1 & 2 in BA and three more courses in MA. Both degrees are from a relatively new institution which is considered as the third best place in my country (Israel) after TAU and Hebrew Uni. However, most of the faculties are well-known guys who came from TAU (they established the school) and studied in top 10. RA for two of my referees, well-known professors in finance and labor (one is top 10% in ideas ranking and the other one is top 1000 economists according to ideas economist ranking) TA for intermediate macro and advanced econometrics I recently got accepted to Barcelona GSE MSc in Economics, where I am planning to take the advanced track (with a partial tuition waiver) and also to UCL and LSE MSc economics (in both). I recently got accepted to Barcelona GSE MSc in Economics, with intention to take the advanced track (with a partial tuition waiver) and also to UCL and LSE MSc economics (in both). My ultimate goal is to pursue a Ph.D. in one of the top European departments (geographical preferences) unless I will find out that I can get into top 10 in the US (I will try and apply anyway). My main fields of interest are developmental economics, international trade, international finance, financial economics and monetary economics. I would like to hear your opinion regarding my three options. I know that BGSE is considered as a great place for macro, but LSE is considered as best for development, while also good for macro. Also, I heard that UCL hired some really serious macro guys and right now it is a good place for macro as well. and also, they are best for econometrics and are policy-oriented, which I like. I would be also happy to hear about how feasible is it to progress to the Ph.D. stage of each school? How difficult is it to get a distinction at LSE and UCL? How many of the distinction achievers are eligible for funding? How many are able to proceed to MRS at BGSE? Are they more likely to get funding at BGSE/UPF? I am also a bit worried about the international reputation that BGSE has in terms of job placement. For instance, if I change my mind and decide to give up on the Ph.D. route, is MSc from BGSE really that valuable? And can open significant doors in the professional market? Or the branding of UCL and LSE in that matter is strictly dominated? Even though it is always nice to pay less, fortunately, I can finance my studies and living expenses in both places, so I prefer to make professional considerations and not financial considerations.

Hey, I am a current UCL final year student and I'm planning to do a Master's and PhD in Economics. My final aim would be a top 20 US or LSE PhD programme. I have offers from: - Cambridge- MPhil Economic Research (Funding results at the end of May) - LSE-MSc Economics (No funding) - UCL-MSc Economics (No funding) - Toulouse School of Economics - Master 1 in Economics (Still waiting for Eiffel Scholarship) - Barcelona GSE - MSc in Economics (50% off tuition waiver) - CEMFI - MSc Economics and Finance (No funding) I am more inclined to CEMFI as it is a 2 years programme and would provide me with better preparation for PhD. However, as I did not get any funding, it is also one of the most costly options for me besides LSE. It is very likely that I will get funded at TSE, but the teaching there would probably be the worse among my options. Barcelona, UCL and Cambridge would come with approximately the same costs. Furthermore, staying at UCL would mean that I can get good LoRs but I am not sure if I should stay in the same institution for my master's studies. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Hello everyone, I received offers from the following master's courses in the UK and would be really interested in some comments about what might be the best route to take in my situation. Specifically, what I'm interested in are topics in macro modelling and computational economics, econometrics (especially time series) and machine learning and its applications to econometrics. My offers are for these courses: Oxford MPhil Economics LSE MSc Econometrics and Mathematical Economics (EME) UCL MSc Machine Learning Cambridge MPhil Economic Research I know there are already tons of posts comparing the relative merits of the LSE EME and Oxford, Cambridge etc. but what I don't really know is whether I might not be better off doing an MSc in Machine Learning rather than the more traditional economics courses since I think they have very little, if any, coverage on the computational and ML side. The EME might be the exception since I could do modules in the stats department on modern computational methods. Also, does anyone know of potential PhD programmes that have strengths in these areas? Would I lower my chances of getting into a top US PhD programme doing an MSc in Machine Learning rather than the EME? Or could that be a strength because it would give me the preparation to use these tools in my research? At the moment I am still undecided between LSE, UCL and Oxford. (I think the Oxford programme dominates Cambridge for me - am I wrong?) Funding is another issue - and should I get a scholarship for any of the three programmes I am likely going to do that. Thanks very much for your help!

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Hi folks! I am planning on applying in the coming year for Econ PhD positions in the top UK universities (Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, Warwick) and I have a GRE from 3 years ago, with a score of: 168 Quantitative, 164 Verbal, 4.0 Writing I believe it is a good score (I am a non-native English speaker, if that makes any difference for admissions), but I am unsure whether it is enough or I should retake it (at the risk of not improving my score). I am mainly concerned about my writing score, but I have read in a few places that only the quantitative score is really taken into account. To what extent is this true? Any advice in my case? Tweet-sized background: BA Engineering from good home-country Uni, MSc Statistics with great distintiction from top 50, starting MSc Economics at UCL next; some experience with RA and TA.

Hello everyone, I am currently struggling with an important decision regarding a Postgraduate programme for next year and could use some input from the community. Current situation I have been accepted to the following programs: - MSc Economics (UCL) - MSc Economics, Two Year program (LSE) and am waiting for a response (which is very likely to be positive) from: - Master of Advanced Studies in Economics (KU Leuven, Belgium) Background I have a Bachelor degree in Engineering from a good university in in my home country but without that much international projection (PUC - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and I am currently finishing a MSc Statistics program at KU Leuven, Belgium, very likely with distinction. I have a strong quantitative background in Mathematics and Stats, but I lack formal knowledge in theoretical economics. My Economics knowledge comes from a lot of reading, 2 optional courses (Macro and Development Econ) and 2 Coursera MOOC's on (Principles of Macro and Micro). Goals For the past couple of years now, I have been doing the (surprisingly, imo) common transition from Engineering into Economics. I would like to pursue a PhD with a focus on applied econometric analysis to Development, Public Policies and Growth (if that doesn't sound too vague). I see myself working in academia, think tanks, research or policy making institutions. I have no intention of going into Finance or Consulting, or the business sector in general. Misc I applied to some PhD positions this year already, but was not accepted, in my opinion (just my opinion really, because no feedback was ever given), partly for lack of economic knowledge and training. In all three Unis, a good performance in the Master program is almost a guarantee to be accepted at the PhD program afterwards. However, this does not guarantee funding, so I would also apply to PhD's elsewhere (Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, Wawick, other places outside the UK). Due to already having a 2-year Master program (in Stats), I originally applied to 1-year programs only, both in UCL and LSE. During my application, LSE contacted me and asked whether I would also be open to be considered for the 2-year program, to which I said yes. One thing that concerns me a little was the fact that having two two-year Master programs and a switch of fields from my original Engineering degree would make me come across as somewhat indecisive and hurt my chances in the future. I have no clue whether this is indeed a thing or it's just me being an overthinker, I would also love to hear some thoughts on that if someone has any. Any advice on my situation? Thanks a million! TL;DR Engineer/Statistician seeking advice on choosing between MSc Economics at UCL, LSE (2-year) or KU Leuven as a first step to a future PhD.

Hello everyone, I am currently struggling with an important decision regarding a Postgraduate programme for next year and could use some input from the community. Current situation I have been accepted to the following programs: - MSc Economics (UCL) - MSc Economics, Two Year program (LSE) and am waiting for a response (which is very likely to be positive) from: - Master of Advanced Studies in Economics (KU Leuven, Belgium) Background I have a Bachelor degree in Engineering from a good university in in my home country but without that much international projection (PUC - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and I am currently finishing a MSc Statistics program at KU Leuven, Belgium, very likely with distinction. I have a strong quantitative background in Mathematics and Stats, but I lack formal knowledge in theoretical economics. My Economics knowledge comes from a lot of reading, 2 optional courses (Macro and Development Econ) and 2 Coursera MOOC's on (Principles of Macro and Micro). Goals For the past couple of years now, I have been doing the (surprisingly, imo) common transition from Engineering into Economics. I would like to pursue a PhD with a focus on applied econometric analysis to Development, Public Policies and Growth (if that doesn't sound too vague). I see myself working in academia, think tanks, research or policy making institutions. I have no intention of going into Finance or Consulting, or the business sector in general. Misc I applied to some PhD positions this year already, but was not accepted, in my opinion (just my opinion really, because no feedback was ever given), partly for lack of economic knowledge and training. In all three Unis, a good performance in the Master program is almost a guarantee to be accepted at the PhD program afterwards. However, this does not guarantee funding, so I would also apply to PhD's elsewhere (Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, Wawick, other places outside the UK). Due to already having a 2-year Master program (in Stats), I originally applied to 1-year programs only, both in UCL and LSE. During my application, LSE contacted me and asked whether I would also be open to be considered for the 2-year program, to which I said yes. One thing that concerns me a little was the fact that having two two-year Master programs and a switch of fields from my original Engineering degree would make me come across as somewhat indecisive and hurt my chances in the future. I have no clue whether this is indeed a thing or it's just me being an overthinker, I would also love to hear some thoughts on that if someone has any. Any advice on my situation? Thanks a million! TL;DR Engineer/Statistician seeking advice on choosing between MSc Economics at UCL, LSE (2-year) or KU Leuven as a first step to a future PhD.

Hello, I would really appreciate your insight on the following! Programs: I have been accepted into: MSc Economics at UCL and MSc Economics at BGSE. I am still waiting to hear about my application to the MPhil in Economics at Oxford. (I think it is unlikely I get in, given that I was rejected from LSE and Cambridge, but I guess we’ll see!) In either program (except of course Oxford, where it is not offered) I plan to switch into the Economic Policy Program because I want a more applied program. My interests: I am really interested in applied micro; especially development, behavioral econ, and health. I have a particular interest in these areas as they apply to women. About me: I have a BA in Economics from a top 10 liberal arts college in the United States. After I graduated, the plan was to work as an RA in the US for a year, and then for a year in the field, to gain research experience and really be sure that I wanted to pursue a PhD in Econ after those two years. Unfortunately, I was unable to get an Economic RA position (at places like JPAL, IPA, Urban Institute, AIR, etc, but also at smaller places) but have spent this year as a program assistant at a university research center and working as an unpaid RA for an Econ professor at that university (I have also taken multivariable calc, which I have done well in, but not totally enjoyed). This year has helped me learn that while I might still want to pursue another degree, it will probably not be a PhD in Econ. I want to take a little bit more time to think about that decision. Goals: In the future, I would like to work at an org/think tank that does research, but also more applied work in development or issues of economic justice domestically. I would still like to spend some time working in the field in either a research or more applied capacity. I applied to masters programs because I thought a master’s degree would help me towards this goal. In the short run, however, I would also like to enjoy my life. This year has not been one I have enjoyed (getting uniformly rejected from jobs will do that to you) so happiness is a slightly larger priority. Some of what I have read online has indicated that the programs at UCL and BGSE are seriously killer (read: miserable) years. However, I know there is probably a significant bias (I might not feel compelled write a blog post about my just-fine/not horrible experience at either school). Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy challenging work—but I don’t want to feel like I am being put through a meat grinder. I would like learn more about these programs to help inform my decision. Is one clearly superior (for my interests, in terms of options afterwards, or quality of training)? How might they differ in experience? Have you, or anyone you know attended? I would love to hear any and all information that might help to inform my decision (or any other career advice you want to give!). Thank you for your help!!

I've started this admission season badly with a rejection from UCL MRes. Has anyone here been admitted yet? Also if there's anyone who was rejected what do you fancy your chances are of ending up with a good admit? I must say I'm pretty worried now. Also, does anyone know if UCL MRes admits are mostly from the MSc program? Any previous admits here in TMland?

Hello, I've been reading up on people's opinions about various economics masters courses on the forum here but, as I'm in a slightly different position to many, I haven't found quite the perspective I'm looking for. I'm hoping there may be others out there who have been in similar situtations, or can comment on alternative aspects. I'll try not to get too specific though, as I don't want to make this (hopefully useful) thread only applicable to me. I'm also aware that reputations and experiences can change over the years so some advice and opinions, such as personal rankings, from several years ago might no longer be entirely valid. Firstly, I'm not looking to go on and do a PhD in the US. I'm perfectly happy with the UK or continental Europe for any future research opportunities. Secondly, I'm a mature student returning to university education many years after my first undergraduate degree, which means that I have different barriers to cross when getting into a Masters programme (non-standard entry course and explaining why I'm doing this now) - plus I find I care more about quality of life whilst studying (as in a supportive academic environment, good location, etc) than I did when in my early twenties. That said, I want to study somewhere at a high enough level and I know it will be hard work. Living costs aren't a huge problem, but heavy course fees could be. My interest is in development economics, but I want to make sure I'm covering a good amount of general economics with enough quantitative rigour. My relevant background is an undergraduate degree in Maths from a top-tier UK university (alas, I only got a 2(ii)) some years previously, plus I'm now taking a graduate diploma in economics (well-known in the UK as an accelerated degree 'conversion course') on track to come out with a distinction (equivalent to a first). I've been advised by both professors and a post-doc friend to go for 'straight' economics masters (as long as there is at least one development optional course), rather than a development economics masters, since this will be seen as stronger for any potential PhD. N.B. I haven't done the GRE test yet, but I will soon! At the moment, my thoughts are as follows. In the UK: - Oxford MPhil (strong econ and good dev, although two years and expensive if no course funding, also rather hard to get into!) - UCL MSc (good econ, one dev option, just one year so a little more affordable, I think I have a reasonable shot of getting a place) - Essex MSc ?? (a bit of an emergency back-up option perhaps) I've discounted Cambridge, LSE and Warwick for personal reasons, to do with cost, location, timing of dissertation/thesis, etc. In Europe: - Tinbergen Institute (seems to be a rigorous course with some dev options, inexpensive, Amsterdam nice to live, seeming guarantee of PhD place, need to commit to five years there though, quite competitive to get into) - ECARES (similar reasons to TI, although fewer dev options, Brussels nice to live, lesser commitment of two years) I'm not sure about Barcelona GSE (nice location, quite expensive unless course funding is realistic, speedy course like LSE), Stockholm SSE (free, too cold?, not many dev options), Toulouse TSE (bad reputation on the forum), Carlos 3 Madrid (mid-priced I think, but need to take relocation into account). I'd appreciate the views and input of anyone with knowledge of these economics departments so I can try to get a sense of whether I'd have particular issues as a mature student. Or, really, I'm happy to hear everyone's latest views. Many thanks for your help!

Hi guys! I recently received some offers: - Msc Economics from UCL 1yr - Msc Economics and Social Sciences from Bocconi 2yr - MPhil Economics from Tinbergen Institute (with direct continuation to PhD) 2yr - Msc Economics from Warwick 1yr I was also considering the Msc in Economics at the University of Turin combined with Collegio Carlo Alberto allievi honours track (2 yr). My goal, enter a top US - EU PhD program. I am leaning towards UCL, but maybe a 2 yr program would suit me better. TI made me a nice offer, but it feels somehow you cannot leave for the PhD, and I do not think I want to take my PhD in the Netherlands. Any advice? Thanks

Hi! Need help, offer holder for MSc economics from UCL and MA economics from UCSB. I'm an international student (india) and was contemplating between UCL and university of California Santa Barbara (MA economics-1 year course). For me the prime factor is getting a job after the degree, could anyone tell me which one is a better bet in that respect? (US vs UK for getting a job) thanks! Any inputs would be highly appreciated. Kinda screwed right now

I applied for an MSc in Economic Policy at UCL, 2014/15, however, they replied asking for a GRE score. So I took a test with very little preparation and I met their verbal and analytical writing requirements. However, I scored 150 on my quants, which is pretty mediocre and they require a minimum of 155. Other than that, I have a very good profile when it comes to economics work experience, undergrad, essay and recommendations. Do you think I have a chance for an admission?

I am an American that has the opportunity to be financially supported in London (family). This is incredible and I'd really like to do it. I have Economics Bachelors and Masters degrees and was planning on applying for a Phd in the 30-70 range. Obviously, LSE and UCL (doubt I'd get into either) are good programs in London, are there others that would suit my situation? Since they are 3 year programs (besides LSE), would it be foolish to apply MSc to guarantee a spot (still graduating in 4 years as opposed to US/LSE 5 years)? Do I have any shot at UCL with this route?

Hi, I should introduce myself briefly. I have been lurking on these forums for some time. I have a great BSc Econ from my local university, which is not famous for econ, other than in some sub-fields. I am enrolled to the MSc Econ program at the same university, but mostly because the structure is quite lax, allowing me to follow courses at other universities for free. My academic interests are agent behavior, interaction and the implications of imperfections, especially information problems regarding credit markets. While I do not dismiss the framework of rational agents, it many cases it is probably misleading. Recently, I have been studying evolutionary game theory, reciprocity and similar stuff. I will attend one of the following MSc programs next semester. Only the first is confirmed, but I believe I have a good shot at the other ones as well: MSc in Economics and Psychological Sciences at Warwick MSc in Economics/Economics Policy at UCL (they have some nice elective courses and Binmore is teh Awesome!) MSc in Competition and Market Regulation at BGSE. The program counts toward my vanilla MSc Econ from my local university. It should also be noted that being Scandinavian, I am quite a bit more fond of small classes with the possibility of concurrent discussion than ``traditional'' lectures. My medium run goal is to get a Ph.D. from a European university or American university, dealing specifically with microeconomics as briefly described above. My Unreachable Dream™ is probably the CalTech Social Science Ph.D. program. One ought to aim high, eh? Given my interests, my background and my goal(s), I would greatly appreciate specific advice on which program to follow or just general advice. Thanks in advance, Rasmus