The University of Maryland Masters in Applied Economics program has been up to some great things recently and I thought it would be nice to update everyone on the progress being made over at College Park. The program is still relatively new, but the recent class has shown strong placements and it continues to get better. The flexibility of the program makes is also a huge plus and anyone who is currently working or looking to study in the Washington D.C. / Baltimore area.
Placements
The program reports nearly 100% placements (with one student not working while they study for the bar exam). Hiring firms are listed below:
- Abt Associates
- Bozman Group
- CoStar
- Deloitte Consulting
- Fannie Mae
- Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)
- Grant Thornton
- Inter-American Development Bank
- Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc.
- International Monetrary Fund
- JD Powers and Associates
- KPMG Consulting
- MCM Capital Partners/ BSI Financial
- Members First Credit Union
- Navigant Consulting
- NDP Analytics
- Optimal Solutions Group
- Pricewaterhouse Cooper
- SBA Group – District Communications
- Social Security Advisory Board
- US African Development Foundation
- US Air Force
- US Bureau of Economic Analysis
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics
- US Census Bureau
- US Coast Guard
- US Department of Agriculture
- US Department of Defense
- US Department of Health and Human Services
- US Federal Trade Commission
- US National Institutes of Health
- US Office of Management and Budget
- US Treasury
- World Bank
You can read more about the what is behind these placements in a recent article published by the Washington Post titled A Higher Degree of Learning, With Flexibility in Mind.
Admissions
Another great thing about this program is the holistic view when it comes to admissions. No mandated GRE or GMAT test and admissions is flexible with candidates, looking at their work experience or last two years of school in the case of students with a lower GPA. This is a huge selling point for anyone who has some work experience under their belt, but maybe had some issues early in their college life. I’ve also never been a huge fan of the GMAT or GRE so it is nice that neither of these are required.
Cost
This is a factor in everyones decision and goes into someones ROI calculation. Maryland’s program is more cost effective than other competing programs in the Washington D.C. area. Cost is currently $3,150 per course with 10 courses required for graduation. That comes out to a $31,500 price tag, making this one of the lowest costing masters out there.
Maryland’s econ department is well ranked per recent publications and the program makes an effort to compare itself well with other relevant competitors. In all my conversations with the school it strikes me as a program that is well focused on teaching relevant materials and helping students find meaningful employment.
Information Session
Maryland will be hosting Information Sessions for potential applicants on Wednesday, November 16th and on Tuesday, December 6th. The sessions will will take place in the same building as the Washington, DC classroom suite: 1400 16th Street, NW – near DuPont Circle. (Programs are offered in 2 different physical locations – DC and also on Campus in College Park.) The Information Sessions will feature a short presentation and opportunities to meet with with representatives from the University of Maryland’s Department of Economics. Light refreshments will be served.
Please RSVP: DCmasters@econ.umd.edu
Keep checking back for more information!
Here is a link to the University of Maryland Masters in Applied Economics
