Master’s Programme in Economics
- Helsinki, Finland
- Umeå, Sweden
MSc
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for main application round
Key Summary
Economics is the basis of a general and systematic understanding of economic transactions in society. Learn more about majoring in Economics and the unique opportunity to select courses from three universities.
Master’s program in Economics offers you a balanced mix of a broad perspective and a deep insight into economic theory. The curriculum is designed to match the demand for professional economists in business and government.
Facts about the degree
- 120 credits, 2 years of full-time study
- Language: English
- Degree: MSc in Economics and Business Administration
- Location: Helsinki
Majoring in Economics
The specialization builds on a logically consistent structure, which relies on rational criteria for decision-making. Economics offers perspectives on essential features of all types of markets ranging from local retailers to global currency markets.
The Master's studies consist of compulsory core courses in:
- microeconomics
- macroeconomics
- econometrics
- specialized courses in other important fields of economics
The courses oriented toward microeconomics deal with:
- analysis of competition with a focus on how firms, organizations, and industries should be organized to achieve efficiency
- analysis of corporate strategies to create sustainable competitive advantages and of asset markets characterized by incomplete information
Courses offered in macroeconomics focus on:
- economic policy
- why we have structural unemployment and how it can be reduced
- why monetary policy should be conducted by an independent central bank
- which policy options are available to overcome the financial crisis
Courses and outline of studies
The extensive spectrum of high-quality courses offered is made possible through our close cooperation with our two partners within the Helsinki Graduate School of Economics Helsinki GSE. This collaboration means that you'll be able to choose courses from both the Aalto University School of Economics and the University of Helsinki. As of 2020, also Hanken's admitted students will be offered the possibility to complete courses within the Research Master's program, through the Hanken & GSE cooperation.
QTEM certificate
As a student majoring in Economics, you also have the opportunity to top up your degree with the QTEM certificate (Quantitative Techniques for Economics and Management). This is your opportunity to earn a degree within a network of leading business schools and corporate partners. All partners are committed to developing global talent with strong quantitative competencies, analytical skills, international and intercultural experience, and management potential.
International experience
We encourage our students to gain international experience! We recommend students complete an internship and support students in finding a placement. A QTEM internship or a semester abroad through the QTEM cooperation, or at one of Hanken’s partner universities, can be incorporated into the program as an optional component of the planning for it already starts during the fall of the first academic year.
Hanken's Scholarship Scheme
- Scholarships are granted to students who are liable for tuition fees.
- Applying for a scholarship will not affect your application to the Master's Degree Programme.
- The scholarships at Hanken are merit-based. All scholarships are awarded based on the applicant's academic excellence in previous studies and applicable test score results.
- All scholarship requirements demand the receiving students to keep a good pace with their studies. Annual check-ups are done to ensure that the student will graduate within two academic years.
- A student can only receive one scholarship which includes a re-location or living expenses grant.
The extensive spectrum of high-quality courses offered is made possible through our close cooperation with our two partners within the Helsinki Graduate School of Economics Helsinki GSE. This collaboration means that you'll be able to choose courses from both the Aalto University School of Economics and the University of Helsinki. As of 2020, also Hanken's admitted students will be offered the possibility to complete courses within the Research Master's program, through the Hanken & GSE cooperation.
The master's program in economics at Hanken has two specialization options at the master level: A general study track in economics (gMSc) and a research study track in economics (rMSc). Upon completion of their master's degree at Hanken, there will be a separate formal notification (in their transcript of records) of the economics track that a student pursued.
Both tracks of the two-year master's program are offered in English and in collaboration with Helsinki GSE partner economics departments at Aalto University and the University of Helsinki. Both tracks of the program consist of 120 ECTS. There are altogether about 30 courses to choose from in various fields of economics, each of which is offered through the Helsinki GSE collaboration. You can find more information on the GSE courses at the link "HGSE Courses". More information about the degree structure and learning goals for Master's studies can be found under "Master's studies".
Students who apply to Hanken’s master’s degree studies in economics or who continue to master’s degree studies after completing their bachelor’s degree at Hanken are by default admitted to the general study track in economics. There is a separate selection procedure for the research study track.
The general track
The general study track in economics consists of 120 ECTS
The following courses are included in the degree structure for the general study track in economics:
Mandatory courses (65 ECTS)
- 26170 Research seminar (5 ECTS)
- 2620-E Master's thesis (30 ECTS)
- 9995 Global Competence: Introduction to Market Analytics (2 ECTS)
- 9996 Global Competence: Social Responsibility across Business Studies (3 ECTS)
- 26033 Competition Economics (5 ECTS)
- 26037 Behavioral and Experimental Economics (5 ECTS)
- 26034 Applied Microeconomics (5 ECTS)
- 26042 Applied Macroeconomics (5 ECTS)
- 26031 Applied Empirical Methods in Economics (5 ECTS)
Electives in economics (at least 25 ECTS)
- 26041 Empirical Industrial Economics (5 ECTS)
- 26043 Economics of New Ventures and Innovations ( 5 ECTS)
- 26044 Markets and Industrial Organisation (5 ECTS)
- 26035 Money and Banking (5 ECTS)
and/or elective courses offered by Helsinki GSE
and/or internship - 26217 Advanced Internship I (5 ECTS)
- 26218 Advanced Internship II (10 ECTS)
Language courses
- 5160 Academic Writing (5 ECTS)
Free electives (at least 25 ECTS)
- Free elective courses
The research track
The research track in economics consists of 120 ECTS
Those willing to pursue the research study track should submit their CV and study transcripts to the head of the economics unit and participate, if so requested, in an interview. Together with the professors of the unit, the head of the economics unit decides whether the applicant has sufficiently solid prior studies and quantitative skills to warrant him/her to pursue the research study track. Only those who already have a study right (MSc in economics at Hanken) can apply to an MSc.
Due to the way the course work is organized in Helsinki GSE's Research Master program, students should, as a general rule, apply for admission into the research study track (rMsc) already during August and at the latest by the end of the first (P1) Autumn term. Upon completion of their master's degree at Hanken, there will be a separate formal notification (in their transcript of records) for those students who pursued the research track.
The following courses are included in the degree structure for the research track in economics:
Mandatory courses (85 ECTS)
- 26170 Research seminar (5 ECTS)
- 2620-E Master's thesis (30 ECTS)
- 9995 Global Competence: Introduction to Market Analytics (2 ECTS)
- 9996 Global Competence: Social Responsibility across Business Studies (3 ECTS)
- 26045 Advanced Microeconomics 1 (5 ECTS)
- 26046 Advanced Microeconomics 2 (5 ECTS)
- 26047 Advanced Microeconomics 3 (5 ECTS)
- 26048 Advanced Microeconomics 4 (5 ECTS)
- 26049 Advanced Macroeconomics 1 (5 ECTS)
- 26050 Advanced Macroeconomics 2 (5 ECTS)
- 26053 Advanced Econometrics 1 (5 ECTS)
- 26054 Advanced Econometrics 2 (5 ECTS)
- 26056 Advanced Econometrics 4 (5 ECTS)
Electives in Economics (at least 30 ECTS)
- Highly recommended:
- 26051 Advanced Macroeconomics 3 (5 ECTS)
- 26052 Advanced Macroeconomics 4 (5 ECTS)
- 26055 Advanced Econometrics 3 (5 ECTS)
- 26051 Advanced Macroeconomics 3 (5 ECTS)
- 26052 Advanced Macroeconomics 4 (5 ECTS)
- 26055 Advanced Econometrics 3 (5 ECTS)
- Other electives in economics:
- 26041 Empirical Industrial Economics (5 ECTS)
- 26043 Economics of New Ventures and Innovations ( 5 ECTS)
- 26044 Markets and Industrial Organisation (5 ECTS)
- 26035 Money and Banking (5 ECTS)
- 26037 Behavioral end Experimental Economics (5 ECTS)
and/or elective courses offered by Helsinki GSE
and/or internship - 26217 Advanced Internship I (5 ECTS)
- 26218 Advanced Internship II (10 ECTS)
- 26041 Empirical Industrial Economics (5 ECTS)
- 26043 Economics of New Ventures and Innovations ( 5 ECTS)
- 26044 Markets and Industrial Organisation (5 ECTS)
- 26035 Money and Banking (5 ECTS)
- 26037 Behavioral end Experimental Economics (5 ECTS)
and/or elective courses offered by Helsinki GSE
and/or internship - 26217 Advanced Internship I (5 ECTS)
- 26218 Advanced Internship II (10 ECTS)
Language courses
- 5160 Academic Writing (5 ECTS)
Upon graduation, you will be:
- Ready to take on challenges in rapidly changing contexts
- Trained to use economic data
- An expert at communicating your findings
- Able to visualize the larger context of economics and influence policy
Up to 98% of the 2018 & 2017 graduates had found employment within 6 months of completing their degree.
Our alumni from Economics have job titles such as:
- Chief Financial Officer, Researcher, Consultant - and many more!
- And note that the Helsinki Graduate School of Economics cooperation enables our students to start a career within research early on, already during their Master's studies.
We are also proud of our Hanken International Talent initiative, where newly-admitted international MSc students are matched with Finnish companies for mentoring!
