Video Transcript – Boise State University Economics Graduate Programs
[Music]
[Samia Islam]: Hello there. I would like to share with you today some facts and details about our graduate program. First, an introduction to our department. Our area of emphasis is in applied microeconomics with our faculty specializing in environmental, natural resources, urban regional sustainability, health and labor economics.
We are a very diverse department, about 50 percent of our faculty and lecturers are women, and about 62 percent of our faculty are foreign born according to 2020-21 data. Students in our program can come from any background, provided that they have a background in quantitative methods. Our department website has all of this information, in case interested students would like to take a look at the application requirements and the details of our programs.
[Music]
We offer two distinct traditional graduate degrees: Master of Economics and Master of Science in Economics. Master of Economics, which requires the completion of a capstone course as the culminating activity, and Master of Science in Economics, which requires a completion of a six-credit thesis. Both programs will provide students with advanced training in current microeconomic theory, quantitative economics, ecometrics and other fields of economics as well as rigorous research methods.
Our program learning outcomes can be accessed on the by clicking the Program Learning Outcomes menu item in this section.
At a glance, these are the details of our Master of Economics program, the core requirements of both of the traditional degree pathways are the same. The one difference is in the capstone versus the thesis requirement. Elective credits required in each of the two programs are different. Beyond our traditional master programs, we also offer an accelerated four plus one master’s degree, and this is open to our undergraduate students in their senior year when they can take the graduate econometric core sequence, Econ 521 and Econ 522 in the fall and spring of their senior year, and then they can finish the remaining 23 credits the year after graduation from the undergrad program here at Boise State. The typical plan in the traditional program is that students are required to finish in the summer a two-credit math for economists course, Econ 501, and then officially in the fall the first year starts.
[Music]
For a small program from a small department, we do have substantial funding opportunities available. We offer three graduate assistantships (GAs) every year. They come with all tuition and fees covered, approximately $9,500 stipend per year, with 20 hours per week of work required from the GAs, and it also includes health insurance. We also offer two John J. and Ethel C. Chapman graduate economics fellowships every year. These amount to about $10,000 per year per student, and they come with no work requirement and out-of-state tuition is covered. Outside of these opportunities, other external opportunities such as assistantships under a grant may also be available.
Our program has just completed its third year. Given that we are such a new program, we are very proud of our graduates who have gone on to continue either in Ph.D. programs at some of the top-tier schools in the nation, or they have started their careers in either the private or the public sector in Idaho and outside of Idaho.
Application and admission requirements are pretty straightforward, we do require a letter of application that describes a background, career goals, academic interest in how the graduate program in economics will help achieve these goals for the particular applicant, along with a current curriculum vitae, a writing sample, submission of GRE test results. If a student or applicant is eligible for the fast-track admission, the GRE requirement may be waived. This is only available to Boise State economics majors or minors who have a 3.5 GPA in their 300- and 400-level economics courses, and have a cumulative GPA of 3.3. The application also requires three letters of recommendation. At least two from academic faculty with particular attention to students ability to succeed in a graduate environment, addressing applicant’s strengths and weaknesses and the benefits the applicants may receive from graduate study and economics in our program here. I’d like to mention that the traditional option applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and at least one semester of calculus and two semesters of probability and statistics courses completed with a B minus or above.
[Music]
Why get a graduate degree in economics? According to the McKinsey Global Institute in a big data world, we expect demand for deep analytical talent in the U.S. to reach 440,000 to 490,000 positions in 2018, compared to 150,000 positions in 2008. Our MS in Economics and Master in Economics programs are designed to foster this very type of deep analytical talent that the report focuses on. Our programs prepare students for careers that regularly use economic concepts and quantitative methods to analyze and solve real-world problems faced by businesses, government and society. Graduates typically obtain jobs as an applied economist or data analyst in the public or private sector, or continue on to pursue doctoral studies in economics or data science. Graduates in our program will be capable of conducting independent analysis and will be able to use their skills and knowledge to develop and shape policy to inform business decisions to analyze data and to manage organizations, but why choose us?
One of the significant aspects of our program is our faculty – our diverse and interdisciplinary faculty. Here are just some details about a few of them. Dr. Kelly Chen’s research interests lie in the field of applied microeconomics on issues related to labor market, health, education and welfare policies. Dr. Michel Fragkias is an applied economist and interdisciplinary social scientist working broadly on issues of urbanization, land use and the environment. Dr. Samia Islam’s primary research focus at present is on urban regional economic issues including well-being economics, workforce dynamics, impact of automation, and economic policy analysis.
Our department website has all of this information in case interested students would like to take a look at the application requirements and the details of our programs. So, we hope that you will consider our program when you are thinking about graduate school. Thank you for your interest and hope you will join us.
[Music]