Master of Science in Economics

This unique Master’s program for future economic leaders provides students with analytical frameworks and formal tools needed for addressing key economic challenges faced by firms, governments, and societies. Graduates will bridge theory with practice to solve real-world problems in an evidence-based manner. In addition to taking formal coursework, students conduct a supervised final project in which they apply their new knowledge to real-world problems in their local contexts.

NYU's Global Network

NYU Abu Dhabi is part of a larger NYU Global Network, with sites in over a dozen cities. We will leverage this by offering students a visit to New York or one of the other international sites where they will engage with faculty members and their cutting-edge research, meet industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and policy makers, and visit leading institutions.

Local Research

Locally, at NYUAD, students can participate in activities in our research centers such as the Center for Behavioral Institutional Design (C-BID), the Center for Interacting Urban Networks (CITIES), and the Development Laboratory (DevLab). Students will also find opportunities to engage in hands-on economic experiments at the Social Science Experimental Laboratory (SSEL). Throughout the program, we will foster interactions with key economic leaders from different fields through seminars, guest lectures, and international visits.

Those with economics training, as well as those with quantitative training in other fields, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Program Structure

As needed, students will take preparatory courses before starting the program. Students will complete 5 methods courses, 4 special topics courses and a supervised research project. Students will also participate in an international field trips to another NYU Global Campus.

The order of courses is subject to change. 

Examples of special topic courses:

• The Economics of Artificial Intelligence 
• Evidence Based Policy Design and Evaluation 
• The UAE Economy: Local and Global Context 
• The Economics of Negotiations 
• Strategic Defense Economics 
• The Network Economy 
• Behavioral Economics 
• Market and Institutional Design

More than a Degree

With all these resources, students in the master’s program gain more than a degree, they join an international community of scholars and practitioners and have unique opportunities to learn directly from faculty and visiting experts at the cutting edge of economics.

Program Faculty

The Economics program at NYUAD comprises more than 30 faculty members whose research and teaching span a wide range of fields, including macroeconomics, microeconomics, political economy, labor economics, international trade, public economics, development economics, and behavioral economics. Situated within the Social Science Division, alongside disciplines such as political science, sociology, and business, students will be able to develop an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing complex social and economic phenomena.