Introduction
The M.S. program in quantitative economics and finance is a one-year Plan II (capstone) master's program that provides analytical graduate training designed to prepare students for careers in business, international and domestic banking, consulting firms, government, and nonprofit organizations. The program combines core training in economic theory with meaningful applications that students are likely to face in their professional careers. Compared to a typical M.A. in economics, our program has a more applied orientation. Compared to most M.B.A. programs, our program provides more training in economics, statistics, and econometrics. The curriculum stresses mastery of core principles in micro and macroeconomics and finance. In addition, each student learns how to solve practical problems and to communicate the results clearly. The emphasis of the program, and perhaps its greatest strength, is exposing students to cutting edge data analytics approaches, advanced econometric techniques, statistical and data analysis software packages (R, Stata, Python), and large-scale financial and microeconomic data sets throughout their coursework.
International students in the M.S. program are eligible to apply for optional practical training (OPT) through the Global Engagement Division. Our M.S. program in applied economics and finance is also eligible for the OPT STEM Extension. For more information please visit the International Student Services and Programming (ISSP) website.
Past graduates of this program have gone on to successful careers in the private and public sectors with placements at a diverse range of companies and institutions, including tech giants such as Apple, Amazon, Google, Twitter; smaller tech firms such as ZipRecruiter, Zillow, Expedia; biotech and industrial companies including Genentech and Toyota; financial companies including traditional such as Bloomberg, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, new such as SoFi, as well as regional and foreign commercial banks; all of the "Big Four" accounting firms; and government and regulatory institutions such as Federal Reserve, the California Franchise Tax Board, State Bar of California, and local governments and agencies. Other graduates have gone on to earn Ph.D. degrees in economics.
Requirements
Course Requirements
Students take a minimum of 22 credits in fall quarter, 14 credits in winter quarter, and 14 credits in spring quarter.
Courses by Quarter:
Courses and Program Requirements
For winter and spring, students can petition to replace one 5-credit course with another course in the list of pre-approved electives, subject to instructor approval, and students may choose to enroll in all three instead of two.
Fall
ECON 186 Note: M.S. students are required to enroll in and attend the in-person ECON 186 mathematics course, which is highly beneficial to students’ success in the program. ECON 186 is offered as an accelerated short course taught over the three-week period immediately before the formal start of fall quarter. Students may test out of taking ECON 186 by passing an exam at any time after June 15 and by July 31.
Winter
| ECON 294A | Applied Economics and Finance Laboratory | 2 |
| ECON 294B | Applied Economics and Finance Seminar | 2 |
Plus two of the following electives:
Students need a minimum of 14 credits in winter quarter. UCSC students who have already taken some of the pre-approved master’s elective courses as an undergraduate can use those elective courses to fulfill the master’s course requirements, if they already have enough course credits to satisfy the requirements of the bachelor’s degree. Students who use elective courses they have already taken previously to fulfill the requirements of the master’s degree must comply with campuswide policy which states that a minimum of 35 credits must be completed as a master’s student, after the student has completed the bachelor’s degree. We will follow existing campuswide policy stating that courses used to satisfy the requirements for a bachelor’s major must include a minimum of 40 upper-division credits (UCSC Senate Manual 10.4.3) that are not used to satisfy the required courses or minimum credits for any other major (or in this case the master’s degree). Courses used to satisfy the requirements for the master’s degree cannot be used to satisfy the minimum 40 upper-division credits for the bachelor’s degree.
Master's elective courses must be at least 5 credits (see list of "Pre-approved M.S. Electives").
Spring
| ECON 294A | Applied Economics and Finance Laboratory | 2 |
| ECON 294B | Applied Economics and Finance Seminar | 2 |
Plus two of the following electives:
Students need a minimum of 14 credits in spring quarter. UCSC students who have already taken some of the pre-approved master’s elective courses as an undergraduate can use those elective courses to fulfill the master’s course requirements, if they already have enough course credits to satisfy the requirements of the bachelor’s degree. Students who use elective courses they have already taken previously to fulfill the requirements of the master’s degree must comply with campuswide policy which states that a minimum of 35 credits must be completed as a master’s student, after the student has completed the bachelor’s degree. We will follow existing campuswide policy stating that courses used to satisfy the requirements for a bachelor’s major must include a minimum of 40 upper-division credits (UCSC Senate Manual 10.4.3) that are not used to satisfy the required courses or minimum credits for any other major (or in this case the master’s degree). Courses used to satisfy the requirements for the master’s degree cannot be used to satisfy the minimum 40 upper-division credits for the bachelor’s degree.
Master's elective courses must be at least 5 credits (see list of "Pre-approved M.S. Electives").
Pre-Approved M.S. Electives
Please note elective courses are not offered every quarter or every year.
Economics
Applied Mathematics
| AM 216 | Stochastic Differential Equations | 5 |
Computer Science and Engineering (CSE)
| CSE 101 | Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithms | 5 |
| CSE 182 | Introduction to Database Management Systems | 5 |
CSE Pre-Approved course electives (require permission of instructor)
Environmental Studies
| ENVS 140
/LGST 140E
| National Environmental Policy | 5 |
Statistics
Capstone Requirements by Track
Students must pass a comprehensive capstone exam to receive their degree. The capstone exam is a two-hour in-person exam at the end of May and consists of four sections, with each section corresponding to one course. Students pick four sections to complete out of the following: ECON 200, ECON 201, ECON 259B, ECON 233, ECON 234, ECON 235, ECON 236. Students who do not pass the May examination may take it once again at a date scheduled by the department. Further attempts at passing the comprehensive examination will be approved by the master's committee on an appeal-only basis, with appeals only given for extraordinary or extenuating circumstances. If the appeal is approved but the student cannot be present for the capstone retake, the student may petition to use a term paper as a substitute for the capstone exam.
Academic Progress
Along with enrolling in the necessary number of credits, students are expected to maintain satisfactory academic standing during their time at UC Santa Cruz. Students not making satisfactory progress will be placed on academic notice, and students will be dismissed from the program if they do not remove their notice status within one quarter. For example, if a student is placed on notice starting in the winter quarter, they must improve to the extent that their notice status is removed by the beginning of the spring quarter.
Specifically, a student will be placed on academic notice if they fail any of the core (i.e., non-elective), 5-credit courses in the program. Students will be dismissed from the program if they fail core courses in consecutive quarters. The core courses are: ECON 200, ECON 216, and ECON 233.
Note that notice and dismissal can only be formally issued by the Graduate Division (under recommendation from the Economics Department). More details on these procedures, as well as student’s right to appeal such decisions, can be found in the Graduate Division Handbook.
Applying for Graduation
By the end of the second week of instruction in the quarter you intend to graduate, you must file an "Application for Degree" form with the Division of Graduate Studies.