Master of Arts - Political Economy

Over the last three decades, political economy has been one of the fastest growing approaches in the social sciences. At the University of Essex, they are primarily interested in the scientific study of political institutions and how they might determine economic variables. If students are interested in how institutions shape the behaviour of political actors and how political decisions influence markets and vice versa, then they will profit from this course.

Students will have a great deal of choice for their optional modules as they will be selected from both the Department of Government and Department of Economics. Essex's MA Political Economy covers all aspects of modern political economy, including: market failure, environmental policies, the quality of governance, and monetary policy choices.

All Essex politics graduates have the distinction of a qualification from one of the world’s leading politics departments. This course is a good choice for students who wish to maintain the flexibility of pursuing a career at an international organization, a government organization, a private enterprise or as a political consultant. Students will develop key employability skills including analytical reasoning, research, problem-solving, and essay-writing.

Recent graduates have gone on to work for the following high-profile organizations: the Civil Service, local government, the World Bank, the United Nations, NATO, YouGov and YouGov America.

Essex's academic reputation is illustrated by the fact that many of their graduates now teach or research at universities, colleges of higher education and schools. For example, recent graduates are now research fellows and academic staff at: Mannheim, Germany; ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Duke University, USA; NATO/SHAPE, Belgium; and University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.