MSc in Economic Theory
Course Overview
The MSc in Economic Theory at LSLPE is a UK Level 7 postgraduate degree running one year full-time or two years part-time on-campus, online and by distance learning. The programme is aligned with Royal Economic Society reference frames and provides analytically demanding training in advanced microeconomics, macroeconomics and game theory calibrated for PhD progression, senior consultancy work and central-bank research.
By graduation you will have worked through advanced problem sets, produced theoretical papers, argued economic-theory arguments in seminar and defended an original MSc dissertation. The MSc is a strong foundation for PhD entry and for research careers in the Bank of England, NIESR, IFS and specialist consultancies.
Key Features
- Curriculum aligned with Royal Economic Society PhD-preparation guidance.
- Advanced problem-set programme in micro, macro and game theory.
- Seminars in the tradition of workshop-style theory reading groups.
- Choice of dissertation, theoretical paper or replication portfolio.
- Named programme-tutor support across all three study modes.
- Careers alignment with UK PhD entry and research-economist routes.
What You Will Learn
- Advanced consumer and producer theory.
- General equilibrium and welfare economics.
- Advanced macroeconomic dynamics — RBC, DSGE, endogenous growth.
- Game theory — non-cooperative, cooperative, mechanism design.
- Information economics — signalling, screening, moral hazard.
- Contract theory and its policy applications.
- Foundations of mathematical economics.
- Research design and technical writing for an economic-theory dissertation.
Who This Course Is For
- PhD applicants building a technical foundation.
- Practising analysts in central-bank research and NIESR-adjacent settings.
- Senior consultants in specialist economics practices.
- Career changers moving into theoretical or research economics.
- International applicants preparing for UK-facing academic and research roles.
Career Pathways
- Research Economist
- Central Bank Analyst
- Econometrician
- Government Economist
- Regulatory Economist
- Behavioural Economist
- Economic Consultant
- Academic economist
The LSLPE careers service runs at least one careers day each academic year connecting MSc in Economic Theory students with the Bank of England research offices, NIESR, IFS and PhD programmes at leading UK universities.
Entry Requirements
- A UK Bachelor's degree (2:2 or above) in economics, mathematics or a quantitatively intensive discipline, or an equivalent international qualification.
- IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
- Applicants without a Bachelor's degree but with five or more years of senior research-analyst experience are considered on portfolio.
- One academic and one professional reference.
- A 500-word research proposal identifying an economic-theory topic.
Why Study at LSLPE
LSLPE reads economic theory inside a wider law-politics-economics conversation because theoretical results shape how policy is designed, how contracts are drafted and how regulators think. Central London places the Bank of England research offices, IFS, NIESR and the LSE-adjacent research community a short tube ride from every classroom.
Three parallel study modes let progressors, working practitioners and portfolio-route applicants complete the MSc in Economic Theory alongside employment, and the LSLPE careers service refreshes curriculum alignment against Royal Economic Society PhD-preparation guidance each year.
Apply for MSc in Economic Theory
Applications for the MSc in Economic Theory open across rolling intakes and admissions responds within one working day. Enrol on an LSLPE Master's programme with a dissertation, capstone or sponsor project supervised by City economists and PhD-active researchers. Enrol Now
