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Best Economics Master's Degree Schools

2023 Best Economics Master's Degree Schools

194 Colleges
$65,318 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Economics Master's Degree School for You

Economics is the #19 most popular major in the country with 49,055 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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, Course Advisor 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 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 2023 rankings named Duke University the best school in the United States for economics students working on their master’s degree. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

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#2

Rice University

Houston, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rice University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools list. Rice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Houston.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Teachers College at Columbia University is a great place for economics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of New York, Teachers College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#4

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

The excellent master’s degree programs at Princeton University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best economics schools in the United States. Located in the small city of Princeton, Princeton is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

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#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. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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Colorado School of Mines landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree economics programs. Mines is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Golden.

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#7

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Yale University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of New Haven.

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#8

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree economics programs. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.

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The Graduate Center, CUNY ranked #9 on this year’s Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools list. The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of New York.

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#10

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree economics programs. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cambridge.

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#11

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

With a ranking of #11, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s best schools for economics students working on their master’s degree. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

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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. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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#13

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

University of Notre Dame ranked #13 on this year’s Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools list. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.

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#14

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

With a ranking of #14, Cornell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for economics students working on their master’s degree. Cornell is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Ithaca.

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#15

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree economics programs. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#16

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree economics programs. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

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#17

Brown University

Providence, RI

With a ranking of #17, Brown 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 Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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University of California - Berkeley landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree economics programs. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.

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#19

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

University of Virginia - Main Campus ranked #19 on this year’s Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor 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 #20 on the list. U-M is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.

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#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. Located in the suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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#22

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago 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 #22 on the list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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With a ranking of #23, Washington University in St Louis did quite well on this year’s best schools for economics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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With a ranking of #24, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on this year’s best schools for economics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

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#25

Georgetown University

Washington, DC

With a ranking of #25, Georgetown University did quite well on this year’s best schools for economics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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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

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Economics students that almost earned our 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
Great Lakes

One of 12 majors within the area of study, economics has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 49,282
Sociology 38,475
General Social Sciences 18,997
International Relations & National Security 14,306
Anthropology 11,415

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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