Financial Economics - 2022-23 Graduate Catalog

Chair: Peter Vanderhart
Graduate Coordinator: Isabel Zeng
Address: 240B Maurer Center
Phone: 419-372-2646
E-mail: kdove@bgsu.edu
Program Web Page: https://www.bgsu.edu/business/departments-and-programs/economics/gradprogs.html

Degrees Offered
Master of Arts

Program Offered
MA in Financial Economics

The goal of the Master of Arts in Financial Economics program is to prepare students for careers in business, government, financial markets, or for further graduate study. The program is designed to train students to function as professional financial and economic analysts in the corporate, government, and academic sectors.

Program Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the Master's degree, students in the Financial Economics program are expected to be able to:

• Evaluate and critique rigorous micro-and macroeconomic models related to financial economic topics 
• Analyze data with a variety of econometric techniques
• Evaluate various econometrics models and methodologies, as well as critically interpret results
• Analyze and research economic problems related to the financial system with theoretical and econometric skills

Prerequisites to Graduate Work
Prerequisites include a bachelor degree in any field, courses in introductory economics, intermediate economic theory, and at least one course in both finance and statistics. Applicants should have at least one semester of calculus before beginning graduate studies in financial economics. Applicants who do not have the prerequisite background may be admitted. Such students may be required to make up deficiencies as a condition of admission and are encouraged to enroll at the University during the summer preceding their first fall semester to repair deficiencies.

Admission Procedure
Applicants seeking admission to the graduate programs in Financial Economics should follow the instructions outlined in the Graduate Admission webpage.  All application materials should be sent to the Graduate Admissions Office.
In addition, applicants should review the admissions requirements specific to the program to which they seek admission.  Note that either the GRE or the GMAT is accepted for admission to this program.

Degree Requirements
Candidates are required to earn a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate credit, of which at least 18 hours must be at the 6000 level. Depending on the student's needs, the student may pursue the M.A. degree under one of two plans.

• Plan I: Candidates must complete a thesis and a written and/or oral examination over the thesis.
• Plan II: Candidates must complete a significant oral presentation based on work done in either Econ 6070, Econ 6720, or Econ 6900.

The following course work is required for both Plan I and Plan II: ECON 5020, MBA 5510, MBA 5520, Econ 6070, Econ 6100, Econ 6110, and Econ 6720. Additionally, students should earn credits for an internship (Econ 6890) or directed research (Econ 6900).  At least six credits of elective courses should be taken in financial economics or in fields such as public administration, business administration, mathematics, statistics, or in such allied social sciences as geography, history, political science, psychology, or sociology. At least three of the elective credits must be earned at the 6000 level.
For a list of the approved courses, please see:  https://www.bgsu.edu/business/departments-and-programs/economics/gradprogs.html

Graduate Courses
Please access graduate courses online by clicking the “Browsing Course Catalog” button at http://www.bgsu.edu/registration-records/courses-and-classes/class-course-information.html. Graduate courses offered by the Department of Economics use the prefix: ECON.