Admissions status:
Open. The current round closes on October 15, 2025.| Course Details | Description |
|---|---|
| Level | Postgraduate |
| Degree | MA |
| Length | 6 terms (2 years) |
| Department | Department of Economics |
| US degree credits | 60 |
| Austrian degree ECTS credits | 120 |
Program Description
The two-year MA in Economics, Data, and Policy program equips students with a set of skills and specializations that are highly relevant for practitioners and academics in the fields of economics and public policy. This degree emphasizes applied social and economic data science training to meet the demand for a data-based approach in the public and private sectors.
In addition, the program places a significant emphasis on developing the writing and presentation skills necessary for effectively communicating complex issues to a wide audience in any field. The goal of this training is to support students in learning how to translate complex concepts into clear and actionable recommendations.
Your learning path will be tailored to your academic and career goals through four specialization tracks that offer distinct sets of skills suitable for your choice of future profession. With interdisciplinarity at the core of CEU’s teaching, you will select courses from a list of electives to gain exposure to various perspectives, enhancing your overall educational experience.
By the end of this program, you will have the necessary training and know-how to think critically, analyze large volumes of data and develop impactful recommendations for the global policy challenges of the 21st century.
How the Two-Year MA in Economics, Data, and Policy Degree Works
The program is structured as a two-step learning path: you will build your knowledge foundation in the first year and follow up with specialized training in the second year. In your first year at CEU, you will focus on mastering the basic data science methods and tools. You will attend classes in microeconomics and macroeconomics and explore statistics for econometrics. You will also choose electives that cover some of the core subjects on the economic agenda in depth, such as game theory, sustainable finance, big data, entrepreneurship and innovation.
As part of the experiential teaching style, you will attend seminars on current economic issues discussed in academic literature, policy circles and the media. You will be encouraged to consider real-life challenges to economic policy from the perspective of an interdisciplinary economist and learn to ask the right questions when debating multifaceted issues.
In the second year, you will choose one of the four specialization tracks to begin honing your subject matter expertise:
- The Data Science track provides students with cutting-edge data science skills to analyze and correctly interpret economic data. It prepares you to be a business intelligence analyst, data scientist, data engineer or business consultant.
- The Finance track gives a detailed view of the financial system based on the principles of economics. You will understand how finance can serve society, preparing you for analyst jobs in central banks, commercial banks and consulting firms.
- The Global Economic Policy track provides a broad view of the economy and a deep understanding of the economic policy process. This track suits students looking to work in government, international organizations or the private sector.
- The Research (pre-PhD) track emphasizes quantitative skills and exposes you to the frontiers of economic research. This track prepares you for a PhD or technical research job in the public and private sectors. If you decide to pursue a PhD in Economics at CEU, most of your coursework will be counted toward it.
Expanding Your Expertise with Advanced Certificates
Advanced Certificates are student-only programs that enable you to dive deep into different subject areas through highly specialized training. This unique option offers you the possibility to tailor your learning experience at CEU according to your future academic and professional career.
The following certificates are available for students of the two-year MA in Economics, Data, and Policy:
Who Is This Program For
The two-year MA in Economics, Data, and Policy program is designed for individuals who aspire to develop a strong foundation in economics, data analysis and policymaking. It is ideal for those who are eager to gain advanced skills in quantitative analysis, research methods and data science, preparing them for further academic studies or careers in public policy, government, international organizations, consulting or the private sector.
The flexible interdisciplinary curriculum offers the unique possibility of tailoring your learning experience to fit your professional and academic goals. You will choose your elective subjects and specialization to focus on gaining the core competencies relevant to your future pursuits.
Check If You Meet the Eligibility Criteria
To apply to this program, you must possess a bachelor’s degree or be enrolled in the last year of university studies. Successful applicants come from a variety of vocational and educational backgrounds. Given the program's flexibility, a previous degree in economics is not required.
Eligibility criteria for master’s degrees at CEU.
If you have already covered economics courses at an intermediate level in your previous degrees and have at least four years of university education, you might consider the one-year version of the MA in Economics, Data, and Policy program with two specialization tracks: Research and Global Economic Policy.
Program-Specific Requirements
In addition to meeting the general CEU admissions requirements, you must provide a 500-word essay (motivational letter) introducing your academic and professional background and explaining how further studies at CEU would help you achieve your future career goals. If you are considering the Research (pre-PhD) track, please outline a research topic you would like to work on.
What Awaits You
In the first year, you will build a solid foundation with core courses in quantitative methods, data analysis, microeconomics, macroeconomics, coding and academic writing. In the second year, you will choose a specialization track, allowing you to tailor your studies to your career interests and gain practical experience.
In the Spring term of the second year, students of all tracks participate in a Thesis Seminar and write their thesis.
Program Overview
Program Overview
Pre-Term:
- Pre-Session in Mathematics (advanced)
- Pre-session in Mathematics (basic)
Fall Term:
- Academic Writing for Econ
- Coding for Economists
- Data Analysis 1: Exploration (EDP)
- Data Analysis 2: Finding Patterns with Regressions - Business Analytics track
- Data Analysis 2: Finding Patterns with Regressions (EDP)
- Microeconomics
- Scientific Python
- Courses from the list of electives
Winter Term:
- Current Economic Issues Seminar
- Data Analysis 4: Causal Analysis (basic)
- Data Analysis 4: Causal Analysis (advanced)
- Macroeconomics
- PhD Research Seminar 2
- Courses from the list of electives
Spring Term:
- Courses from the list of electives
Fall Term:
- Courses from the list of specialization tracks
- Courses from the list of electives
Winter Term:
- Courses from the list of specialization tracks
- Courses from the list of electives
Spring Term:
- Courses from the list of specialization tracks
- Courses from the list of electives
- Advanced Impact Evaluation
- Banking IT and Fintech: Bank to the Future
- Big Data for Public Policy
- Coding 3: Introduction to R
- Company Valuation
- Corruption and Global Governance
- Data Analysis with AI for EDP
- Data and Network Visualization
- Data Mining and Big Data Analytics
- Designing Markets that Work
- Discovering Discrimination with Data
- ECEC: Ecological Economics
- EM: Energy Markets
- Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- EU Industrial Policy in a Global Economy
- Game Theory and Asymmetric Information
- Impact Evaluation: Policy Applications with R
- International Economic Integration
- International Finance
- Introduction to Geospatial Data Science
- Labor Economics
- Macroeconomic Policy and Global Financial Markets - Case Studies
- Prediction with Machine Learning for Economists
- Private Equity and Venture Capital
- Scientific Python
- Sustainable Finance
- The Economics of Underdevelopment
- Time Series Econometrics
- Time Series Forecasting
- Transformations of Work and Politics
Specialization Tracks
Specialization Tracks
Required courses:
- Data Analysis 3: Prediction and Introduction to Machine Learning
- Data Engineering 1: SQL and the Different Shapes of Data
- Date Engineering 2: Cloud Computing
Mandatory electives:
- Data Science: Machine Learning Tools
- Machine Learning for Natural Language Processing 1
- Machine Learning for Natural Language Processing 2: Deep Learning
- Theory and Practice of Economic Forecasting
- Statistics for Econometrics
- Research Internship
- Advanced Econometrics 1
- Advanced Econometrics 2
Required courses:
- Financial Management
- Trading and Portfolio Theory
- Corporate Finance and Risk Management
Mandatory electives:
- Asset Pricing
- Banking and Financial Institutions
- Fixed Income Analysis
- Financial Reporting and Control
- Games and Asymmetric Information
Required courses:
- Global Economy: Emergence and Current Issues
- International Economic Policy
- Economic Policy Seminar Series
Mandatory electives:
- Policy Internship
- Economic Policy and Global Strategy
- International Economic Integration
- Fiscal Policy in Practice
- Development Economics
- Impact Evaluation: Policy Applications with R
- Theory and Practice of Economic Forecasting
Required courses:
- Game Theory and Asymmetric Information
- Statistics for Econometrics
Mandatory electives:
- Advanced Econometrics 1 & 2
- Advanced Microeconomics
- Advanced Macroeconomics
- Research Internship
- PhD-level research electives. If you took Advanced level core courses in your first year, you may take more research electives in your second year.
This program overview is provided as an example based on previous years' curricula. It is for informational purposes only and subject to change. Course offerings, schedules and content may be updated or modified at any time without prior notice. Please refer to official sources or contact the relevant department for the most current program details.
Program Accreditation
The two-year MA in Economics, Data, and Policy at CEU is registered with the New York State Education Department in the United States and accredited by AQ Austria in Austria. CEU is accredited in the United States by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE).
Find out more about accreditation at CEU.
Your Instructors
After Graduation
Your Career Aspects
The two-year MA in Economics, Data, and Policy will equip you with a solid foundation in economics and quantitative methodology and the ability to interpret data and link them to economic and social processes. In recent years, graduating students have:
- Continued their studies in highly ranked PhD programs at Boston University, Duke University, CEU, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Switzerland), UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and University of Michigan.
- Engaged in policy and research work in the public sector, at international organizations or think tanks such as the European Commission, European Investment Bank, ECB, International Monetary Fund (IMF), RAND Corporation, United Nations (UN) and World Bank.
- Embarked on banking, finance, or consulting careers at BlackRock, Boston Consulting Group, Citi, Ernst & Young, KPMG, Morgan Stanley, McKinsey, PWC and Raiffeisen.
5 Reasons to Apply to the MA in Economics, Data, and Policy at CEU
- Dual degree: Earn both an American and Austrian degree and expand your doctoral training prospects internationally.
- Scholarships: Top applicants will be offered a full tuition waiver and a 10,000-euro scholarship per year; additional substantial tuition waivers and smaller stipends are also available.
- Develop a data-driven mindset through hands-on training: Increase your employability skills by gainingdata analysis and econometrics competencies, which are considered essential in the toolkit of a modern economist.
- Flexible curriculum that fuels your ambitions: Your learning path will be tailored to your academic and career goals through four specialization tracks that offer distinct sets of skills suitable for your choice of future profession.
- Study in Vienna: For the duration of the program, you will be based in Vienna, which was named the world's most livable city for the third consecutive year in the Global Liveability Ranking by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
