Barcelona Graduate School of Economics

Broozer

Hi all,

Thinking of going back to do a masters at some stage
(undergrad economics & spanish) and came across this. I'd be interested in some of the courses offered on their website.

Has anybody been/know anybody who has? is it well respected internationally? any other info about costs etc. would be great

Thanks.

Time Magazine

Barcelona is one of the top 10 places in Europe for economics. It's highly respected and admission is competitive. The courses are taught in English. The fees are on the website.

I think you have sit an entrance exam once you are offered a place so beware of that. It catches a few people out each year.

Good school though.

BarcelonaGSE

Deleted User wrote: »

I think you have sit an entrance exam once you are offered a place so beware of that. It catches a few people out each year.

Good school though.

There is no entrance exam for Barcelona GSE master programs. Admission criteria are listed here: http://www.barcelonagse.eu/Application_and_Requirements.html

You can talk to program alumni in the GSE Facebook group or read the Barcelona GSE Admissions Blog for the latest info about the application process.

Poor_old_gill

Time Magazine wrote: »

Barcelona is one of the top 10 places in Europe for economics. It's highly respected and admission is competitive. The courses are taught in English. The fees are on the website.

Where could I get access to these rankings??

Time Magazine

The real rankings only exist in people's heads tbh. However about as good as a guide you can get is here. There is also a differential between research ranking and PhD ranking. For example, a Barcelona PhD is held in higher regard than one from Stockholm.

Poor_old_gill

Time Magazine wrote: »

The real rankings only exist in people's heads tbh. However about as good as a guide you can get is here. There is also a differential between research ranking and PhD ranking. For example, a Barcelona PhD is held in higher regard than one from Stockholm.

Whats the chances of getting into a Phd in a high ranking college with a 1:1 masters from an Irish uni?

Slippers 2

Time Magazine wrote: »

There is also a differential between research ranking and PhD ranking. For example, a Barcelona PhD is held in higher regard than one from Stockholm.

Is there any way to tell which PhDs are held in relatively higher regard other than talking to lots of people about it? Like a ranking for PhDs instead of research.

Time Magazine

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

Whats the chances of getting into a Phd in a high ranking college with a 1:1 masters from an Irish uni?

Depends on how you define high ranking, and the full profile of the candidate.

"High ranking" to my mind means roughly somewhere in the top 30 in the world. Certainly there are Irish students studying in that tier. There are young Irish people who got their 1:1 in their MA/MSc and are now doing/have done PhDs in Duke, UC Santa Barbara, Michigan, Wisconsin and UCL.

But these things are almost useless unless the person has the other prerequisites. They're not going anywhere unless they have a very good GRE; research experience really helps; good letters of reference are needed etc. Off the top of my head I think think of recent Irish students who went straight from undergrad to Harvard, UC San Diego, Warwick and Cambridge.

Basically, a first in a masters in UCD/TCD can get you places but it's not the case that it necessarily will. It's also important to point out that conditional on being smart, you can do a lot with a PhD from Ireland. I think the chances of your reaching your full potential are higher in the top 30 in the world, but the PhD programme here can still open doors.

Slippers 2 wrote: »

Is there any way to tell which PhDs are held in relatively higher regard other than talking to lots of people about it? Like a ranking for PhDs instead of research.

Not really. It basically follows the research ranking. In my head the rankings look like this:

Top 2: Harvard, MIT
Rest of the Top 10: Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Columbia, UPenn (with the first five there being slightly above the other 3)
Rest of the Top 30: See here
Top 50: See the link above, but click through a few pages
Everywhere else.

Using that tier system eliminates most of the ambiguity about exactly how good a department is. For European institutions, I would put LSE as borderline Top 10, UCL, Oxford and Cambridge in the Top 30, Warwick somewhere between Top 30 and Top 50, Toulouse near LSE and Barcelona somewhere near Warwick. Trinity and UCD would be a little bit outside the Top 50.

For a lot of reasons (some well justified, others less so) the profession generally considers Top 30 as the cut-off point for "highly ranked". Most of the faculty employed in Ireland got their PhDs in these institutions - due at least in part to selection but also due to realising their potential. Obviously there are some people who have done very well without doing their PhD in the Top 30.

Poor_old_gill

Time Magazine wrote: »

Depends on how you define high ranking, and the full profile of the candidate.

"High ranking" to my mind means roughly somewhere in the top 30 in the world. Certainly there are Irish students studying in that tier. There are young Irish people who got their 1:1 in their MA/MSc and are now doing/have done PhDs in Duke, UC Santa Barbara, Michigan, Wisconsin and UCL.

But these things are almost useless unless the person has the other prerequisites. They're not going anywhere unless they have a very good GRE; research experience really helps; good letters of reference are needed etc. Off the top of my head I think think of recent Irish students who went straight from undergrad to Harvard, UC San Diego, Warwick and Cambridge.

Basically, a first in a masters in UCD/TCD can get you places but it's not the case that it necessarily will. It's also important to point out that conditional on being smart, you can do a lot with a PhD from Ireland. I think the chances of your reaching your full potential are higher in the top 30 in the world, but the PhD programme here can still open doors.



Not really. It basically follows the research ranking. In my head the rankings look like this:

Top 2: Harvard, MIT
Rest of the Top 10: Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Northwestern, Columbia, UPenn (with the first five there being slightly above the other 3)
Rest of the Top 30: See here
Top 50: See the link above, but click through a few pages
Everywhere else.

Using that tier system eliminates most of the ambiguity about exactly how good a department is. For European institutions, I would put LSE as borderline Top 10, UCL, Oxford and Cambridge in the Top 30, Warwick somewhere between Top 30 and Top 50, Toulouse near LSE and Barcelona somewhere near Warwick. Trinity and UCD would be a little bit outside the Top 50.

For a lot of reasons (some well justified, others less so) the profession generally considers Top 30 as the cut-off point for "highly ranked". Most of the faculty employed in Ireland got their PhDs in these institutions - due at least in part to selection but also due to realising their potential. Obviously there are some people who have done very well without doing their PhD in the Top 30.

Have very good references and would be confident of a good GRE- but how would I get research experience? I am undertaking a taught masters

Économiste Monétaire

A good GRE is ~800 in the quants section. Excellent grades in quantitative modules would help. Research experience would include any internships, RA positions, publications, etc.

Time's list looks about right.

Time Magazine

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

but how would I get research experience?

The obvious answer is to work in the ESRI for a while. Some lecturers will also hire research assistants. Make sure your thesis is good.

Slippers 2

Thanks for the comprehensive reply.

edit:

Time Magazine wrote: »

It's also important to point out that conditional on being smart, you can do a lot with a PhD from Ireland.

Is it not a given that someone being awarded a PhD in economics in Ireland is smart?

Time Magazine wrote: »

I think the chances of your reaching your full potential are higher in the top 30 in the world, but the PhD programme here can still open doors.

What sort of doors? I found a PhD student called Yvonne McCarthy who, I think, went from UCD to the Central Bank, although I could have the timing backwards.

Re the Rankings, I went to Warwick as from there I had the options of working with Marcus Miller, Lucio Sarno (now in Cass) and Mark Taylor, guys are who are pretty much top of their field in Europe in International / Macro. Warwick's econometrics courses are pretty good as well. Normally, the better the school the more of, and the better the 'experts' you can work with, a friend is in Duke and working for Craig Burnside for example.

If there is someone who you want to work with or get exposure to, that is a good reason to go to the school. Different schools have different a different focus, some are micro based, some are macro, some are pretty niche in certain areas. If you like a topic, see where the leading guys in that field are based and go for that.

If you want a 'general' masters, then LSE/UCL/OxBridge/Warwick are good bets. I'd rank LSE and UCL above OxB and Warwick but all of them are excellent choices.

Slippers 2

Slippers 2 wrote: »

Is it not a given that someone being awarded a PhD in economics in Ireland is smart?

Smart is relative.
Unfortunately, a PhD from Ireland, unless you follow it with some first class cutting edge research, isn't going to be that well respected. There are exceptions of course, Liam Delaney being an excellent example and some of Philip Lane's recent grads are doing very well for themselves, but people from higher up the rankings will tend to look down at an Irish PhD unless you've published in an A list journal like the AER, QJE, etc.

Time Magazine

Slippers 2 wrote: »

Is it not a given that someone being awarded a PhD in economics in Ireland is smart?

Sorry, it was a casual language. Obviously they're smart. What I meant was if their research was of sufficient calibre to be published in good journals. I could have said "if they're really, really smart" but that sounds dismissive of Irish PhDs, as if only the next Samuelson could do anything useful coming out of UCD. That's not true, nor was it what I wanted to imply.

Broozer

Hi all,

thanks for the on topic replies. just wondering, I've been accepted into the masters programme but there's another programme that I've been looking at on the website in international trade, development and finance that may interest me more.

the degree title is a MSC in specialized economic analysis.

Could anybody tell me, in terms of regard, value etc. would this be on a par with the straight economics masters?or would it be more to do with the msc from the school itself that matters? Does anybody know much about it? I think it's a relatively new programme.

once again thanks for the help

Anonymous1987

In general it is the reputation of the school that matters over the program. I don't know about this specific masters but if you are torn between two masters then examine the choice of classes available on either masters and factor this into your decision.

I had a quick look there and it seems you can still take classes in international economics and finance on the general economics masters. In terms of employability and a rounded education I would think the general masters offers more opportunities. The general masters would not go against you if you did decide to go into research, work or further study in the area of international trade, development or finance or any other area of economics while the specialised masters may close or at least reduce opportunities to a degree. Then again if you do decide to work in the area of international trade, development and finance then having a specialised masters is likely to showcase your interest and knowledge to prospective employers.

[Jackass]

Time Magazine wrote: »

The real rankings only exist in people's heads tbh. However about as good as a guide you can get is here. There is also a differential between research ranking and PhD ranking. For example, a Barcelona PhD is held in higher regard than one from Stockholm.

Wow, cheers for that.

I didn't realise that so many masters programmes existed abroad that are all thought through English.

The Paris School of Economics is very appealing to me, and the fees seem non-existant, and even oppertunity for a paid grant to study a Masters whilst there?? Am I understanding that correctly?

http://www.parisschoolofeconomics.eu/

What universities are these schools associated with, and typically, how competetive are they for entrance?

For example, a 2.1 degree in Economics from UCD or a 2.1 degree in Business Studies from DCU, would these cut the grade or way off the mark? Would it have to be a first class honours from an NUI or UCD / DCU / Trinity?

I'm not ready for a masters yet, but the option of studying in France / Spain / Italy through English is very appealing to me. Just curious about the entrance criteria, and surely the programme fees can't be so inexpensive?? (like all registration fees under 1k? - In Toulouse & Paris anyway...)

[Jackass]

Also, would Paris & Toulouse rate as good if not better than Barcelona internationally? (as my interest in international schooling is because I intend to be working internationally and not settled in Ireland..)

Poor_old_gill

What would be the best schools to do a PhD in environmental economics in?

Anonymous1987

[Jackass] wrote: »

Also, would Paris & Toulouse rate as good if not better than Barcelona internationally? (as my interest in international schooling is because I intend to be working internationally and not settled in Ireland..)

Poor_old_gill wrote: »

What would be the best schools to do a PhD in environmental economics in?

International rankings of institutions here and rankings in the field of environmental economics here. Don't really know much beyond that. Toulouse ranks highly in both though.

ledmanroy

Which MSc in Ireland would be held in highest regard aborad NUIG/UCD/TCD?

and what course would best for achieving a phd position in paris/barcelona/florence/amsterdam (any of the high regarded european institiutes)???

Slippers

This has been posted before, it has lots of good advice and is up-to-date:
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~mkolesar/advice.pdf

It covers masters courses.

The author went from a degree here to the PhD programme in Harvard in 2008. His CV:
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~mkolesar/cv.pdf