Master of Arts in Business/Managerial Economics

The Graduate Program in Economics at Virginia State University includes three concentrations:  pure economics, public administration, and project management.

The pure economics concentration focuses on the study of the overall performance of the economy, as measured by national production and income, earned each year and by fluctuations in income, purchases, employment, and level of prices, and it affects our everyday lives. It examines the aggregate behavior of the economy, the whole picture which is greater than the sum of its components.

The public administration concentration is structured to integrate broad principles of decision-making criteria, cost-benefit analysis, and planning functions with problems pertinent to Public Administration. The courses in this concentration are designed to permit an overall view of both policy and applications of economic principles to the functional requirements of public administrators. Public Administration Theory is a requirement for the concentration. 

The project management concentration focuses on students’ analytical skills in economics and includes instruction on all the quantitative and qualitative tools that a consultant or project manager needs to know. Students specializing in Economics and Project Management generally seek careers in the jobs associated with large multinational corporations, in addition to firms that provide consultancy services for both the private and the public sector. They will often be sought after by diverse organizations that rely on sound economic analyses.

Admission Policy

Unconditional Admission

  • An applicant is admitted unconditionally if the student has met all the general requirements of the Graduate College.
  • Has taken and passed the following courses:
    • Principles of microeconomics,
    • Principles of macroeconomics, and
    • College algebra (or calculus).

Conditional Admission

An applicant is admitted on conditional status if the applicant has not met any of the requirements above but shows promise of being able to do the work. Once admitted, the student must complete all the deficiencies within the first semester of entrance to the program.

Program Requirements

A minimum of 30 semester hours of credit are required for completion of the M.A. degree program. Up to 9 of the 30 hours may be taken in related fields outside of

Economics, in 400-level courses, or transfer graduate credits subject to the approval of the graduate advisor in Economics and the College of Graduate Studies. For Pure Economics and Public Administration the core curriculum, which all majors are required to complete, includes the following courses: 

  • ECON 510-ADVANCED MICROECONOMICS
  • ECON 520-ADVANCED MACROECONOMICS
  • ECON 530-QUANTITATIVE METHODS
  • ECON 590-RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

For Project Management the core curriculum, which all majors are required to complete, includes the following courses:

  • PMGT 509 – PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
  • ECON 510-ADVANCED MICROECONOMICS
  • ECON 520-ADVANCED MACROECONOMICS
  • PMGT 521 – ESTIMATING AND COST MANAGEMENT

1. The candidate must successfully complete 12 semesters hours of core course works in Advanced Microeconomics (ECON 510), Advanced Macroeconomics (ECON 520), Quantitative Methods (ECON 530), Research Methodology (ECON 590)

2.  The candidates must successfully complete the requirements in either a non-thesis option or thesis option track.

  • Non-thesis option:  A student must complete a minimum of 30 semester hours of acceptable course work. In addition to the four core courses, candidates in the non-thesis option track must successfully complete eight elective courses (see list below) and pass a comprehensive examination. The comprehensive examination will be based on the material covered under the four core courses.  
  • Thesis option: A minimum of 30 semester hours of credit are required for completion of the M.A. degree program. In addition to the four core courses, candidates in the thesis option track must successfully complete four elective courses (see list below) and two semesters of ECON 590 – Research Methodology and Thesis course (ECON 599) in accordance with the policy stated in the University’s graduate catalog by writing a master’s thesis on research topic chosen by the candidate and approved by the candidate’s advisor.