Postgraduate study
Edinburgh: Extraordinary futures await.

School: Economics

About the School

The University of Edinburgh was the first in the English-speaking world to teach economics as an independent subject. Two centuries later, our School of Economics is a growing, vibrant academic community with strengths right across a subject that is at the heart of understanding modern society.

Located less than a mile from the final resting place of Adam Smith, the School of Economics offers an inspiring and collegial environment to postgraduate students. Our internationally-renowned expertise includes research in nearly all areas of economics, with a third of our faculty having published in the top five economics journals. We are particularly strong in the study of microeconomic theory, labour and macroeconomics, and applied econometrics. Our postgraduate programmes benefit from a dynamism and energy that comes with being at the leading edge of discovery and scholarship

Unique to Edinburgh

Unique to our programmes is the Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics, which combines the teaching and research expertise of eight universities and is hosted here at the University of Edinburgh. Benefiting from a wealth of expertise from the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, St Andrews, Stirling, Strathclyde and Edinburgh, students are guaranteed to be lectured by experts in their fields, with a richness of option courses to match. There is nowhere else in the UK that students of economics can enjoy the breadth and depth of this learning experience within the supportive environment of a small school.

About 60-90 students from all over the world join us each year to study for our MSc Economics, Economics (Finance) or Economics (Econometrics).

The award of the MacCaLM grant allows the School to benefit from strong ties with multiple institutions and renowned researchers. We also host the Annual Conference and two-week seminar schedule dedicated to the grant research.

In 2016 the School of Economics was awarded the Athena SWAN Bronze Award, which recognises that the School is working to promote gender equality and to address challenges particular to the School and to the discipline of economics.

The School has its own experimental laboratory for economics analysis and policy that was established in 2013. The Behavioural Laboratory at the University of Edinburgh (BLUE) promotes research by social scientists and is supported by an active experimental research group of economists in the School.

Graduates for new global economies

There has never been a better time to study economics. The world needs new thinking and new processes to meet the challenges of the changing economic climate.

As a graduate of the University’s School of Economics you will be best placed to lead this innovation, and you will be in great demand by both national and international organisations. Your high-level transferable skills will make you an attractive recruit across many sectors, including manufacturing, transport, communications, banking, insurance and international investment, as well as in government agencies, consulting and charitable organisations.

Search the degree finder

Browse degrees by school

About our degrees

We offer a range of options for postgraduate study: from professional qualifications to independent research, on-campus taught programmes to part-time, online study. Find out which graduate study option is right for you: