Certificate in Economic Systems Design

The Economics Department offers the certificate in Economic Systems Design (ESD), which provides graduate students with a program of courses and laboratory experience. Course work for the graduate certificate can be used for credit toward the MA and PhD in Economics. The primary purpose is to provide a well-defined target for students who want to advance or update their knowledge in this fast-moving field.

Graduate students in economics, computer science, mathematics, systems engineering, and informatics will find this certificate a strong complement to their major area of study. The courses and project work will provide skills that can be used in electronic commerce, public policy and internal firm resource allocation processes.

Certificate Requirements

The certificate consists of three graduate courses (9 credits) in Economic Systems Design (ECON 632, 633, 634) and two elective course (6 credits) chosen in consultation with an advisor in Economics. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required, and no more than one course with a grade of C may be applied toward the certificate.

Admission Requirements

• Undergraduate degree from an accredited institution (Does not have to be an economics degree)
• Completion of microeconomics and macroeconomics through the intermediate level
• Completion of one semester of calculus (MATH 108 or equivalent)
• Grade point average of 3.0 in the last two years of undergraduate work and in all economics courses.
• Satisfactory scores on the Graduate Record Examination (general exam only - the subject exam is not required)
• Two letters of recommendation
• Brief personal statement explaining your interest in the program

All applicants should also be familiar with basic statistics. International applicants must also supply a TOEFL score of 230 or higher (575 on the paper based exam) and English translations of foreign transcripts.

Our average incoming student has a GPA of 3.4 and GRE scores of 580 verbal and 740 quantitative. The review committee places a great deal of emphasis also on the quality of grades received in Economics courses as well as courses taken in Mathematics or the sciences.

The application deadline for Fall is March 15. Interested applicants may apply online or access the PDF version of the paper application located on the admissions website.