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Curriculum | MIEF

Gain an in-depth understanding of advanced economic theories, and master professional quantitative and econometrics skills through the MIEF curriculum.

In designing your academic plan, you enroll in core MIEF required courses, and supplement them with a combination of International Economics & Finance (IEF) electives and Skills courses.

Fall Term 1

Begin your coursework by developing the ability to use models to interpret the complex reality around us and gain an understanding of the theories governing the behavior of individual units in an economy. Students will enroll in a minimum of 13 credits with an optional non-credit Math for Economics course.

Curriculum

  • Advanced Microeconomics
    (4 credits)
  • Advanced Macroeconomics
    (4 credits)
  • Quantitative Methods 1
    (4 credits)
  • Skills Workshop Course
    (1 credit)
  • Math for Econ (Optional elective)

Duration

(13-week term plus finals)

September-December

January Intersession (Optional)

Curriculum

Duration

(2 weeks- online)

January

Spring Term 1

Become conversant with contemporary issues in the practice of international finance and trade and acquire an advanced framework to solve practical problems through a variety of elective courses. Students enroll in a minimum of 16 credits.

Curriculum

  • International Trade
    (4 credits)
  • International Finance
    (4 credits)
  • Quantitative Methods 2
    (4 credits)
  • Required MIEF Elective 1
    (4 credits)

Duration

(13-week term plus finals)

January- May

Summer

Optional Internship

 

Fall Term 2

Conduct in-depth research on a particular area of international economics while developing professional skills and knowledge related to careers in the field. Students enroll in a minimum of 15 credits.

Curriculum

  • Quantitative Methods 3
    (4 credits)
  • IEF Elective 1
    (4 credits)
  • Required MIEF Elective 2
    (4 credits)
  • Applied Research Paper
    (2 credits)
  • Skills Workshop
    (1 credit)

Duration

(13-week term plus finals)

September-December

January Intersession

Curriculum

  • Optional Skills Workshop Course

Duration

(2 weeks- online)

January

Spring Term 2

Examine questions relevant to understanding the world economy while further expanding your knowledge on economics through a variety of elective courses. The curriculum culminates in a capstone project. Students enroll in a minimum of 12 credits

Curriculum

  • IEF Elective 2
    (4 credits)
  • IEF Elective 3
    (4 credits)
  • Capstone course
    (4 credits)
  • Optional Elective

Duration

(13-week term plus finals)

January-May


Summer Term

Begin your coursework by developing the ability to use models to interpret the complex reality around us and gain an understanding of the theories governing the behavior of individual units in an economy. Students enroll in a minimum of 12 credits.

Curriculum

  • Advanced Microeconomics
    (4 credits)
  • Advanced Macroeconomics
    (4 credits)
  • Quantitative Methods 1
    (4 credits)

Duration

(6 weeks, classes meet 2x per week)

July-August

Fall Term

Become conversant with contemporary issues in the practice of international finance and trade and acquire an advanced framework to solve practical problems through a variety of elective courses. Students enroll in a minimum of 20 credits.

Curriculum

  • International Trade
    (4 credits)
  • International Finance
    (4 credits)
  • Quantitative Methods 2
    (4 credits)
  • Required MIEF Elective 1
    (4 credits)
  • Required MIEF Elective 2
    (4 credits)
  • Start Applied Research Paper (ARP)
  • Optional Skills Workshop Course

Duration

(13-week term plus finals)

September- December

Intersession

Conduct in-depth research on a particular area of international economics while developing professional skills and knowledge related to careers in the field. Students enroll in a minimum of 4 credits.

Curriculum

  • 2 Skills Courses
    (2 credits)
  • Complete ARP
    (2 credits)

Duration

(2 weeks- online)

January

Spring

Examine questions relevant to understanding the world economy while further expanding your knowledge on economics through a variety of elective courses. The curriculum culminates in a capstone project. Students enroll in a minimum of 20 credits.

Curriculum

  • Quantitative Methods 3
    (4 credits)
  • IEF Elective 1
    (4 credits)
  • IEF Elective 2
    (4 credits)
  • IEF Elective 3
    (4 credits)
  • Capstone Course
    (4 credits)

Duration

(13-week term plus finals)

January-May


Sample Electives

  • Advanced International Macroeconomics
  • Advanced Topics in Microfinance
  • Advanced Topics in Trade Theory
  • Big Data Analytics
  • Credit Markets & Credit Risk
  • Central Banking In Emerging Markets
  • Development Finance: Addressing Today's Challenges
  • Environmental Economics
  • Economic Development
  • Financial Decision Making
  • Global Risk Management and Valuation
  • International Financial Organizations: Institutions and Analytical Methods
  • International Macro Policy
  • Impact Evaluation in Development
  • Investments: From Theory to Practice
  • Labor Economics and Public Policy
  • Macro Measurement
  • Private Equity and Emerging Markets
  • Project Finance
  • Quantitative Global Economics
  • Sustainable Finance and Impact Investing
  • Sustainable Finance: Applications and Methods
  • Topics in Growth and Development
  • Topics in Trade

For detailed descriptions visit our Sample Electives page.

Sample Skills Workshops

Students take two skills workshops to expand their professional skills and knowledge related to careers in international economics. Past workshops have covered working with economic and statistical analysis tools such as EViews, MATLAB, PcGive, R, and Stata, as well as, address topics related to working in strategic consulting, investment banking, and business strategy roles.

Examples of Past Skills Workshops

  • EViews
  • MATLAB
  • PcGive/ Oxmetrics
  • Stata
  • Introduction to R Programming
  • Advanced R Programming
  • Case Use R Programming
  • Causal Inference with R
  • Machine Learning for Finance
  • Macro Measurement
  • Introduction to Python
  • Portfolios and Investing

For detailed descriptions visit our Skills Workshops page.

ARP & Capstone

ARP
Applied Research Project prepare students to be able to provide reliable answers to practical research questions. This project requires students to organize data and develop suitable statistical methods to summarize the significance and attributes of the data into an intelligible answer to the question at hand.

Capstone
The capstone course consists of small groups of students working on a practical project or a current policy issue in their area of interest. Students will apply the knowledge, skills, and tools they have learned in the program to address an international economics issue impacting the public, private, or nonprofit sector through research projects. Students will prepare a detailed presentation to be made to the class, faculty, as well as outside professionals. Topics may include the following: current account sustainability, exchange rate exposure, investment case study, studies on financial markets, and growth and debt sustainability studies.

Examples of MIEF Capstone Topics

  • "Chinese Natural Gas Market: The New Battleground"
  • "The Role of Public Finance in Economic Development: A Case Study of the U.S. Department of the Treasury State Small Business Credit Initiative Venture Capital Program"
  • "Financial Education and Investment Decision Making"
  • "Offsetting a Devaluation of the Trinidad and Tobago Dollar with an Import Tax Reduction"
  • "Climate Change and Crop Yields: Evidence from Rural Punjab, Pakistan"
  • "Valuation of a Solar Photovoltaic Plus Storage Plant in Chile"