School of Arts and Sciences
Department of Economics

Fifth-Year Master’s Degree Program: BS/MS in Economics

The Economics Department offers exceptional Tufts undergraduate Economics majors the Fifth-Year Master’s Degree Program: BS/MS in Economics. This program allows students to finish the Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Economics and either the course-based or the research-based Master's of Science degree in five years.

Graduates of the Fifth-Year Master’s Degree Program: BS/MS in Economics receive both a bachelor's degree and a master’s degree from Tufts, and each degree is awarded upon completion of requirements for each portion. In other words, you would graduate with an undergraduate degree with your undergraduate class and graduate with a master's with your master’s cohort once your graduate requirements are met.

Students in the Fifth-Year Master’s Degree Program can pursue the course-based MS track or the research-based MS track. Students who choose to pursue the research-based MS track are required to write a Master's Thesis. Students who choose to pursue a course-based MS track are encouraged (but not required) to write an undergraduate senior honors thesis. 

The Fifth-Year Master’s Degree Program: BS/MS in Economics is analytically challenging. Students will need to have a strong quantitative background prior to taking the master's-level courses. For this reason, we require that students major in Quantitative Economics. An important criterion for acceptance into the Fifth-Year Master’s Degree Program: BS/MS in Economics is strong performances in Math 34 and 70, and Economics 16, 18, and 107. For application deadlines and more information, please see the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences' Combined Degree information.

Program Requirements and Policies

  • The candidates for the Fifth-Year Master’s Degree Program: BS/MS in Economics must satisfy all the requirements of the BA/BS in Quantitative Economics and either the course-based MS in Economics or the research-based MS in Economics.
  • Each candidate's academic plan will have to be approved by the student's academic advisor and by the co-directors of the MS Program.
  • Up to two courses, pending department faculty approval, may be used in the fulfillment of both programs. In addition, up to two courses taken by the candidate as an undergraduate may be reserved towards the graduate component of the program (such reserved courses cannot be used to satisfy any undergraduate degree requirements) and must be reviewed and approved by department faculty. Any graduate elective course taken prior to entering the Fifth-Year Master’s Degree Program: BS/MS in Economics will only count toward the requirements if the course was specifically designated as an approved graduate elective during the semester in which the course was completed and the student passed the course with a grade of B- or higher. Courses specifically designated for graduate credit are listed in the master's program course offerings.
  • Any graduate elective requiring approval through elective petition must be taken after acceptance into the program to count as a valid elective.
  • Graduate residence requirement: Irrespective of how many graduate courses are taken by the candidate as an undergraduate, the candidate must enroll in two semesters of graduate study as a matriculated graduate student.
  • There is flexibility in how the requirements can be met so as to minimize the overlap in material taught in the courses taken by students enrolled in the Fifth-Year Master’s Degree Program: BS/MS in Economics. Details can be arranged, in consultation with the applicant's academic advisor. Please contact the Co-Directors of the MS Program in Economics.
  • In exceptional circumstances, AS&E undergraduate students who are not majoring in Quantitative Economics but have a strong background in mathematics and economics may be admitted to the Fifth Year Master’s Degree Program on an ad-hoc basis, provided that their plan of study is approved by their academic advisors and by the co-directors of the MS in Economics Program.