STEM Program

Welcome to the Masters of Arts in Economics Program at the California State University in Fullerton. The Department of Economics is part of the renowned College of Business and Economics. The Department offers an exceptional Masters of Arts degree in Economics with a STEM designation. The program prepares students for professional careers in the private sector, the industry, and the government agencies. The program also prepares students to continue with their graduate education and pursue a Ph.D. We have several success stories with our students. Our alumni have been placed in different positions in prestigious corporations, while others have continued their graduate education and pursued their Ph.D. degree in some of the top-ranking universities.

The courses offered in the program cover a broad array of topics such as Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Macroeconometrics, Microeconometrics, Mathematical Economics, and Statistics, in addition to a wide variety of electives in the various fields of Economics that include International Economics, Development Economics, Financial Economics, Monetary Economics, Labor Economics, Environmental Economics, Industrial Organization, Game Theory, and others.

The Department has top ranked Economics professors who are experts in their fields of study and who have made various contributions to Economic scholarly research. Our faculty members hold academic seminars, interact with colleagues in other Universities, and also serve as consultants and advisers to firms and organizations. Our professors also maintain a close working relationship with graduate students.

We invite you to explore the web pages of our Program, Department, and University, and we hope you will find that CSUF meets your interests, needs and qualifications. While we hope that these sites will provide the answers to most of your questions, please do not hesitate to contact us with additional questions about the program or suggestions for this site.

Graduate Program Handbook

Graduate Adviser: Dr. Gabriela Best
Department of Economics
California State University, Fullerton
Email: maeconcsuf@fullerton.edu
SGMH 3379; Tel: (657) 278-2387

Office Hours: Th: 11:00AM-12:00PM Zoom

Admission

The Department of Economics requires:

- At least two academic letters of recommendation.

- A resume.

- A statement of purpose.

- (GRE requirement is waived for Spring 2022 admission only) Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores of the Verbal and Quantitative sections. The GRE score is valid only if the examination was taken no more than five years prior to the date the application is submitted. .

- For international students, a minimum TOEFL score of 550 or equivalent, or an IELTS overall score of 7.0. Applicants who are from English-speaking countries or who hold a bachelor's or higher degree from a university in which English is the medium of instruction are exempt from both the TOEFL/IELTS requirement.

- Completion of the following prerequisite courses (or the equivalents) with a GPA of at least 3.0. The course in Business Calculus must have a grade of at least a C.

 

In the absence of one or more course prerequisites, students may be admitted as conditionally classified if their record otherwise indicates the ability to successfully complete the program. Such deficiencies can be eliminated after enrollment. However, students must advance promptly to classified status by satisfying all prerequisites. Students must also satisfy the University's Writing Proficiency Exam.

Application

You are encouraged to apply online. An online application is available at:

http://www.business.fullerton.edu/programs/graduate/admissions/apply

Study Plan

If all prerequisites have been met, the program can be completed in three semesters of full-time study or two and one-half years of part-time study. Classes are offered in the late afternoon and evenings to accommodate part-time study.

Students may obtain their degree either through a thesis exit track or an examination exit track. The study plan consists of a minimum of 30 units for the thesis exit track and 33 units for the comprehensive examination exit track. Units must be completed with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0. Any study plan course must be completed with at least a C grade, regardless of the overall grade-point average of the student.

Required Courses (18 units)

ECON 440: Introduction to Econometrics

ECON 441: Introduction to Mathematical Economics (3)

ECON 502: Advanced Microeconomics (3)

ECON 503: Advanced Macroeconomics (3)

ECON 504: Advanced Microeconometrics (3)

ECON 505: Advanced Macroeconometrics (3)

ECON 595: Current Research in Economics (3)

Terminal Evaluation (Thesis 30 units)

Econ 598 Thesis Research

500-level Electives (min. 6 units)

Terminal Evaluation (Comprehensive Exam 33 units)

500-level Electives (min. 6 units)

400-level Electives (max. 6 units)

Financial Assistance

Instructional Student Assistantships:

The department of Economics has a limited number of assistantships available for exceptional graduate students with strong applications. For these students, the department will offer half-time (10-20 hours of work per week) student assistantships (approximately $9,000/year). The student assistants are expected to have fluency in English, have an ability to tutor undergraduate students and are expected to assist the faculty in various aspects of research.

Tuition waiver:

Students from abroad or from out-of-state (not from California) pay higher tuition than students who are legal residents of California. For exceptional students, the department recommends to the graduate school that tuition waivers be awarded.

Note:
No separate financial aid application is required for financial aid or out-of-state tuition waiver. If you want to be considered for financial aid and tuition waiver, please make sure that that your application file is complete by May 1 for fall admissions and by November 1 for spring admissions.

Other Financial Aid Awards:

A number of other financial aid and student loan programs are also offered by the University. For more information, please see:
http://www.fullerton.edu/financialaid/

For more information about the costs of attending CSUF, please see:
http://www.fullerton.edu/financialaid/calculator/

Graduate Awards

Outstanding Graduate Academic Performance Award ($750)

This is awarded annually in May to a graduate student in Economics who has the highest GPA above 3.75 in all the 500-level core courses in the M.A. in Economics program. Students will be contacted by the graduate advisor to apply for the award. The applicant with the highest GPA will receive the award.

Outstanding Graduate Scholarly Research Award ($750)

This is awarded annually in May to a graduate student with the best graduate research paper, project, or thesis. The instructor or the first thesis committee member of the student will email the graduate advisor a recommendation letter and a copy of the thesis, research paper, or project. The Graduate Studies Committee makes the final decision.

Advanced Graduate Studies Award ($500)

This is awarded annually in November to a graduate student applying for a Ph.D. program, with the best overall performance. The Graduate Studies Committee makes the final decision. 

Placement

Our alumni have been placed in prestigious positions in the private and the public sectors. Others have continued their graduate education in top-ranked universities including in the top 25 Ph.D. granting universities in the United States. This is a list of placement for some of our students in the last decade:

Accenture

Arlon

Bank of America

Beacon Economics

Brave New Foundation

California Community Foundation

California Council on Economic Education

CarFinance.com

City of Irvine

Competitive Analytics

Cushman & Wakefield

Deloitte Consulting LLP

DIRECTV

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Edu

F1rst Team Real Estate

Federal Trade Commission

First American Trust, FSB

Fullerton College; RSM US LLP

HF&H Consultants, LLC

ING Bank Turkey

KPMG

Michigan State University

Motion Picture Association

Newport Beach Finance Events

Ninah Consulting

Orange County Registrar of Voters

Orange County Treasury

PIMCO

Playano Investments, Inc

PWC

RAPP

Security Mortgage Funding C

Southern California Edison

St. Matthias High School

Telesis Academy

The Irvine Company

The San Clemente Cellar/Becker Professional Education

The Walt Disney Company

Townley Capital Management

United Pacific Industries

University of California, Irvine

University of Caolorado Boulder

University of Houston

University of Iowa

University of New Mexico

Verra

Wells Fargo

Wilshire Associates Inc.

Zodiac Aerospace

Recon Research Corporation

University of California, Los Angeles

North Carolina State University

University of California, Sant Cruz

Florida International University

Penn State University

Oregon State University

MIT

 

Useful Links

Office of Graduate Studies

CBE Graduate Programs