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 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.

All students in the Fifth-Year Master’s Degree Program: BS/MS in Economics are required to write a Master's Thesis. Note that it is not possible to combine the BA/BS in Quantitative Economics degree with the one-year course-based Master's of Science degree.

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 the research-based MS in Economics.
  • Up to two courses may be used in the fulfillment of both programs. 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. 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.
  • 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 adviser. Please contact the Co-Directors of the MS Program in Economics, Enrico Spolaore or Alan Finkelstein Shapiro