Development Economics (MA Program)


Fiona MacPhail, Professor and Chair
Paul Bowles, Professor
Jalil Safaei Boroojeny, Associate Professor
Ajit Dayanandan, Associate Professor
Baotai Wang, Associate Professor
Karima Fredj, Assistant Professor
Bryan Bogdanski, Adjunct Professor

Economic development remains a critical issue for more than three-quarters of the world’s population who reside in countries classified as “low income” or “middle income.”  The causes and consequences of economic development remain contested issues.  This academic program considers the changing global, regional and national contexts for economic development;  the policy lessons that can be learned from comparative studies;  and the tools required to enable development economists to contribute to the development process.

Economic development cannot be studied in isolation from other dimensions of development. An understanding of poverty, for example, requires not only economic analysis but also an understanding of the insights provided by other social and health sciences. The training of a development economist must therefore expose students to interdisciplinary approaches to development.

The Master of Arts degree in Development Economics is available on a full-time or part-time basis, involving coursework and the mandatory completion of a graduate project or thesis. Upon admission into the Development Economics MA program, each student will be assigned a supervisor, who will work closely with the students to monitor their program of study and progress. In consultation with the supervisor, students will choose courses designed to complement and inform their areas of interest.


Admission Requirements:

Applicants to the UNBC Development Economics MA program must follow the admission requirements outlined in Section 1.0 of the UNBC Graduate Academic Calendar.  Applicants normally should have a four-year undergraduate degree that is equivalent to a UNBC degree in Economics. In addition to these requirements, applicants must also provide a sample of written work (usually a senior-level undergraduate essay or research paper) as part of their application.  Entrance to the MA will be competitive: only applicants with a record of excellence in undergraduate work, strong letters of academic recommendation, and strong letters of intent will be considered.  In their letters of intent, applicants should demonstrate evidence of interest in the MA’s areas of specialization (Development Economics).

Application deadlines are found in this calendar under "Semester Dates" or online at www.unbc.ca/calendar/graduate, and also under "Semester Dates." The Development Economics MA Program accepts students for the September and January Semesters.

For additional information about graduate admissions or to download application materials, go to the Graduate Programs website at www.unbc.ca/graduateprograms.


Requirements:

The course of study is composed of a minimum total of 24 credit hours of work for the project option and a minimum of 27 credit hours of work for the thesis option.  First, students are required to complete 5 courses totaling 15 credit hours.  Second, students are required to produce (i) both a detailed project proposal and bibliography and to defend, in a formal oral examination, a 9-credit project of a maximum of 50 pages in length or (ii) a detailed thesis proposal and to defend, in a formal oral examination, a 12 credit thesis of a maximum of 75 pages.


Required Courses:
The Global Economy
Poverty, Inequality and Development
Macroeconomic Policy for Development
Applied Econometrics
Required Research:
MA Project
OR
MA Thesis 
In addition, any student who does not, at the time of entry to the program, have a course in advanced microeconomics at the undergraduate level will be required to take ECON 451-3
(Advanced Microeconomics).


Elective Course:

The elective course is normally selected from graduate level Economics courses offered at UNBC and must be approved by the supervisor.