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Why Pursue a Economics Master's Degree

An economics degree is considered a high-value area of study with an excellent return on investment. Job candidates with a master’s degree in economics earned an average annual wage of $91,860 in 2012. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics). And economics is ranked the 10th best master’s degree for jobs. (Source: Forbes)

This program can also to lay the groundwork for students who wish to pursue a PhD degree.

A Flexible Curriculum that is Highly Marketable

There are three concentrations that were designed based on the input of professionals in various industries:

  • General Economics
  • Financial Economics
  • Business Data Analysis & Forecasting.

The General Economics concentration allows students to take 21 credits of electives from a large inventory of courses. Students in the Financial Economics and Business Data Analysis & Forecasting concentrations can choose 6 credits of electives.

Admission & Application Requirements

Applications are submitted through the UTSA Graduate Application. Please upload all required documents (listed below) on your UTSA Graduate Application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure completion and submission of the application, a nonrefundable application fee, and all required supporting documents are on file with UTSA by the appropriate application deadline.

Economics (MA)
  Required Degree Bachelor's Degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States or have proof of equivalent training at a foreign institution.
  Minimum GPA 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) Departments may consider GPA of last 60 semester credit hours
  Coursework 18 credit hours in an area related to this graduate degree and at least 12 hours must be at the upper-division level.
  Transcripts* Required from all institutions attended; international transcripts must be recorded/translated to English
  Credential Evaluation Required if you have earned university-level credit from foreign institutions. Submit an evaluation of your transcripts from Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) directly from the graduate admission application platform
  GRE/GMAT Required scores not older than five years. Scores are currently waived for this program through the 2023-24 academic year.
  TOEFL/IELTS Score 550 TOEFL Paper / 79 TOEFL Internet / 6.5 IELTS scores for International applicants (exempt countries). Scores are currently waived for this program for the 2022-23 academic year.
  Purpose Statement Required
  Letters of Recommendation 1 demonstrating your academic and personal attributes for success in this program (you will request these through the Graduate Admissions Application; let your recommenders know of your deadline to ensure submissions are on time) (letter should be from a university professor or instructor; optional 2 letters of recommendation can be submitted)
*Unofficial transcripts will be taken into consideration for admissions; however, if admitted into the program, you must submit official transcripts to the University.
Apply using 2021-22 Graduate Application Apply using 2022-23 Graduate Application

Admission Deadlines

Applicants are encouraged to have their admission file completed as early as possible. All applications, required documents and letters of recommendation, if applicable, must be submitted by 5:00 PM U.S. Central Time on the day of the deadline. Deadlines are subject to change.

Economics (MA)
Completed applications will be reviewed for admission on a rolling basis. Decisions generally will be made and sent to applicants within 4 to 6 weeks of receiving the application.
  Fall Spring Summer
Priority April 1 October 1 Not Available
International June 1 November 1 Not Available
Domestic July 15 December 1 Not Available

Funding Opportunities

Resources Assistantships

Career Options

UTSA prepares you for future careers that are in demand. The possible careers below is data pulled by a third-party tool called Emsi, which pulls information from sources like the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, online job postings, other government databases and more to give you regional and national career outlook related to this academic program.


"When the Federal Reserve hires analysts, it looks for candidates with strong technical skills who are adept at gathering and analyzing large amounts of data using R, SAS, and Python. The program at UTSA produces those types of candidates."
Keith Phillips, PhD · Assistant Vice President and Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
  • Andeavor
  • AT&T
  • BBVA
  • Capital Asset Exchange and Trading, LLC
  • Federal Reserve Bank
  • Frost Bank
  • Goldman Sachs
  • H-E-B
  • JPMorgan Chase
  • Marathon Petroleum
  • Oracle
  • SWBC
  • USAA
  • Valero Energy Corporation

Program Manager

Molly Miller

210-458-7301

molly.miller@utsa.edu