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2023 Best Economics Master's Degree Schools

194 Colleges

Finding the Best Economics Master's Degree School for You

In <nil>, 47,809 economics students received their degrees and certificates, making the major the #6 most popular in the country.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for business students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Business Degree Central has developed this Best Economics Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 194 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for business students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the United States

Check out the economics master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 25 Top Schools for a Master's in Economics

#1

Duke University

Durham, NC

Our analysis found Duke University to be the best school for economics students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full Economics at Duke University Report

#2

Rice University

Houston, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Rice University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that economics majors at Rice take out while working on their Master's Degree is $54,337.

Full Economics at Rice University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Teachers College at Columbia University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools list. Teachers College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

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#4

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Princeton University is a great place for economics students working on their master’s degree. Princeton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Princeton.

Read full report on Economics at Princeton University

#5

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Johns Hopkins University is a great place for economics students working on their master’s degree. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Baltimore.

On average, economics graduates from Johns Hopkins take out $37,727 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

Read full report on Economics at Johns Hopkins University

Colorado School of Mines landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree economics programs. Located in the suburb of Golden, Mines is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Economics at Colorado School of Mines Report

#7

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Yale University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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#8

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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The Graduate Center, CUNY came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Economics at The Graduate Center, CUNY

#10

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

With a ranking of #10, Harvard University did quite well on this year’s best schools for economics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Economics at Harvard University

#11

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree economics programs. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

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#12

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

Read full report on Economics at Carnegie Mellon University

#13

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

University of Notre Dame did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#14

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Cornell University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Economics at Cornell University

#15

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

Read full report on Economics at Stanford University

#16

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#17

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree economics programs. Brown is a large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Providence.

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University of California - Berkeley came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Economics at University of California - Berkeley Report

#19

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.

Full Economics at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Economics at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Report

#21

Tufts University

Medford, MA

With a ranking of #21, Tufts University did quite well on this year’s best schools for economics students working on their master’s degree. Tufts is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Medford.

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#22

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago ranked #22 on this year’s Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools list. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Read full report on Economics at University of Chicago

Washington University in St Louis ranked #23 on this year’s Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools list. WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

Full Economics at Washington University in St Louis Report

Columbia University in the City of New York ranked #24 on this year’s Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools list. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

Read More…

#25

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

Georgetown University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.

On average, economics graduates from Georgetown take out $76,897 in student loans while working on their Master's Degree.

Read full report on Economics at Georgetown University

Rest of the Top Best Economics Master's Degree Schools

#26

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA
#27

Emory University

Atlanta, GA
#28

University of Rochester

Rochester, NY

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Economics Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
30 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
31 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
32 University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
33 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
34 Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Atlanta, GA
35 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
36 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
37 University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA
38 University of Delaware Newark, DE

Economics by Region

View the Best Economics Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

Economics Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Economics 25,066
Econometrics & Quantitative Economics 21,078
Applied Economics 550
Development Economics & International Development 535
International Economics 305
Other Economics 275

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to pixabay.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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