[校友答疑] 关于Boston University Econ MA的一些信息 [复制链接]

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发表于 2014-3-19 07:34:11 |显示全部楼层

昨天楼主发信问了Karen关于他们家MA的一些信息，总结起来是三个方面的问题
其一是，MA项目选高级课程、为博士做准备的情况
其二是，关于MAEP项目的实习以及MA job placement的情况
其三是，如果楼主想选一些统计及编程的课程以便之后可以申finance，情况如何

具体如下，希望能够给大家提供一些有用的信息：

1、
楼主： I have gone through your university's website regarding the course structure in the MA program (http://www.bu.edu/econ/gradprgms/ma/resources/macourses/), and it appears to me that students in the MA program could not get access to those courses that could presumably facilitate their future application to a PhD program. Namely, advanced microeconomics, advanced macroeconomics, advanced econometrics, and other math courses like real analysis, stochastic process, dynamic optimization and so on. Since it is stated on your university's website that some of students in the MA program have decent placement in their future graduate school application, I am wondering whether it is because the courses presented on the website is enough to strengthen our background or it is possible for MA students to enroll those advanced courses that I stated above?

Karen：No, master’s students cannot register for PhD level courses. We do have students that want to pursue a PhD and some have been successful after completing our program. The MA program is a terminal program. Less than 5% of our MA graduates immediately go on to doctoral studies. The MA degree is primarily intended as a terminal degree leading to careers as economic analysts, researchers, and decision makers in the private and public sectors.  While we have accepted students who completed this Department's MA program into our PhD program, the number of students who apply and who are admitted is small.

2、
楼主：In my personal statement, I stated that I would like to advance my study in economics after the completion of a MA degree. However, I am not sure whether I am eligible to pursue such plan since my foundation in mathematics and economics is not that strong. In fact, MAEP attract me for it being more career oriented and students in these program could conduct internship to earn credits. My question is, in case I switch to the MAEP program, will Boston University assist my seeking for an internship? Or is it guaranteed that every students in the MAEP program could find an internship if they intend to do so? Besides, it will also be very kind of you if you could provide me with some information regarding what proportion of Chinese students in your program successfully find a job in US after graduation from the MA program.

Karen:
We do not give out detailed placement information but we have career information meetings for students in our program. The most common starting positions for our master's graduates are as economic analysts or research associates in the consulting and financial industries.

4.    Some of our current alumni have informed us of their placements:

5.    Investment Banking Analyst for JPMorgan Energy Consultant for Stone and Webster Financial Analyst at Citigroup Inc.

6.    Associate at Global Insight Consulting

7.    Attending Harvard Law School

8.    Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of Foreign Labor Analysis Group Consultant Deutsche Bank Associate INTEL Corp.

9.    Federal Reserve Bank

10.  World Bank

11.  IADB.

The MAEP does have an internship, which is unpaid, during the summer. It costs approximately USD 15,000. Very few MAEP students have done it as it is expensive.

3、
楼主：A third option of mine, after the completion of a MA degree in economics, is that I could pursue a more practical degree, such as finance, with the intention to find a job in the US. In such circumstances, it will be beneficial for me to get access to more courses in statistics and computer programming. According to your university's website, however, there are few courses in these fields (except for two core courses in statistics and econometrics). Thus, could you please inform me whether courses in those fields (like statistics, computer science) are available to me to strengthen my background in quantitative analysis?

Karen: Some students have been allowed to register for no more than two non-economics courses in our department and many have chosen finance courses upon prior approval from the advisor.

总的来看，Boston University的MA并不太能够满足楼主的要求，不能修高级课程、MAEP的实习很水且placement的情况不明朗、选修其他院系的课程的弹性也不足。但是楼主还是认为boston的项目应该是优于georgetown的，原因在于GT只有一年，且选课的自由度可能更小。

综上，BU仍是楼主目前能去的最好的项目，但是如果UMich MAE转正了的话我会更倾向于UMich。