MSc in Economic Analysis
Course Overview
The MSc in Economic Analysis at LSLPE is a research-informed Master's programme running one year full-time or two years part-time on-campus, online or by distance learning. The syllabus reads economic analysis as a working senior-track discipline aligned with Royal Economic Society, Society of Professional Economists and Government Economic Service standards, with strong grounding in applied microeconometrics, macroeconomic modelling and behavioural evaluation.
By graduation you will have produced a Treasury-style impact assessment, an applied microeconometric paper on UK microdata, a macro-forecast note, and a supervised dissertation with primary empirical work.
Key Features
- Weekly workshops aligned with Royal Economic Society (RES) and Society of Professional Economists (SPE) standards.
- Applied datasets drawn from UK administrative, Labour Force Survey and Understanding Society sources.
- Guest sessions from Government Economic Service (GES) analysts and Bank of England researchers.
- Supervised dissertation with primary empirical work.
- Three parallel study modes so serving economists and progressor graduates share the same cohort.
- Careers-day introductions across the Treasury, the Bank of England, the ONS, City firms and think tanks.
What You Will Learn
- Framing an economic question with identification, data and interpretation in view.
- Applying difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity and instrumental variables to policy files.
- Reading and stress-testing Treasury, Bank of England and IFS analyses.
- Building and interpreting a macro forecast at an intermediate level.
- Producing a peer-review-quality applied paper with reproducible code.
- Handling behavioural, experimental and survey-based methods.
- Writing a full dissertation with primary empirical contribution.
- Defending a dissertation in an oral viva in front of a mixed academic and practitioner panel.
Who This Course Is For
- Graduates aiming for GES, Bank of England or City economist roles.
- Serving analysts moving from junior to senior track in Whitehall, regulators or think tanks.
- International applicants targeting UK or European economics careers.
- Portfolio-route applicants with five or more years of relevant senior experience.
- Career changers from finance or consulting into applied economics.
Career Pathways
- Economist and Government Economist within the GES
- Central Bank Analyst
- Economic Consultant
- Research Economist at a think tank
- Regulatory Economist
- Investment Analyst in a City firm
- Public Finance Analyst
- Development Economist
The LSLPE careers service curates introductions across the Treasury, the Bank of England, the ONS, City firms and think tanks, and refreshes curriculum alignment annually against Bar Standards Board, Political Studies Association and Royal Economic Society guidance.
Entry Requirements
- A UK Bachelor's degree (2:2 or above) or equivalent international qualification, ideally in economics or a quantitative discipline.
- IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
- Applicants without a Bachelor's degree but with 5+ years of senior economist experience are considered on portfolio.
- One academic and one professional reference.
- A 500-word research proposal or professional practice statement identifying your applied-economics interest area.
Why Study at LSLPE
LSLPE is a specialist division of Harold International College of London teaching in small, tutor-visible cohorts. Central London places the Treasury, the Bank of England, the City, the ONS via video link and the LSE-adjacent think-tank ecosystem within a short tube ride of every seminar room, which matters when the economic files you will study are drafted nearby.
Every intake, on-campus or remote, joins the same weekly seminar structure with named programme-tutor support. Seminars are run in the case-room tradition, evidence-led and argued in public, and the careers service connects students with employers across the Treasury, the Bank, the City and think tanks.
Apply for MSc in Economic Analysis
Applications for the MSc in Economic Analysis are open now, with intakes calibrated to the UK academic year and rolling admissions for online and distance cohorts. Enrol on an LSLPE Master's programme and complete a supervised dissertation with primary empirical work. Enrol Now
