2023 Most Popular Economics Master's Degree Schools
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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Economics Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 236 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Economics program at each school on the list.
2023 Most Popular Economics Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the economics master's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.
Top 25 Most Popular Schools for a Master's in Economics
Our analysis found Johns Hopkins University to be the most popular school for economics students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Of the 292 students majoring in economics at Johns Hopkins, 55% are male and 45% are female.
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The in-demand master’s degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Madison helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular economics schools in the United States. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the city of Madison.
Women make up 48% of the economics majors at the school.
Read full report on Economics at University of Wisconsin - Madison
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Out of the 236 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Brandeis University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Brandeis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Waltham.
Women make up 57% of the economics majors at the school.
Full Economics at Brandeis University Report
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Out of the 236 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Boston University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston.
About 56% of the students majoring in economics at the school are women while 44% are male.
Read full report on Economics at Boston University
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Columbia University in the City of New York is a great place for economics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 131 students majoring in economics at Columbia, 52% are male and 48% are female.
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University of Southern California ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Economics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 118 students majoring in economics at USC, 44% are male and 56% are female.
Full Economics at University of Southern California Report
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Georgetown University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
About 58% of the students majoring in economics at the school are women while 42% are male.
Full Economics at Georgetown University Report
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Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree economics programs. Located in the midsize city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public school with a very large student population.
About 36% of the students majoring in economics at the school are women while 64% are male.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Economics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.
Women make up 48% of the economics majors at the school.
Full Economics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report
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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree economics programs. U-M is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor.
About 43% of the students majoring in economics at the school are women while 57% are male.
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New York University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
About 41% of the students majoring in economics at the school are women while 59% are male.
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Duke University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree economics programs. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
Of the 78 students majoring in economics at Duke, 58% are male and 42% are female.
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University of California - Los Angeles came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Economics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
About 49% of the students majoring in economics at the school are women while 51% are male.
Full Economics at University of California - Los Angeles Report
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Harvard University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree economics programs. Harvard is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge.
Of the 70 students majoring in economics at Harvard, 63% are male and 37% are female.
Full Economics at Harvard University Report
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George Washington University ranked #15 on this year’s Most Popular Economics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
Women make up 49% of the economics majors at the school.
Full Economics at George Washington University Report
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University of Chicago ranked #16 on this year’s Most Popular Economics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 43% of the economics majors at the school.
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George Mason University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Economics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public college with a fairly large student population.
About 28% of the students majoring in economics at the school are women while 72% are male.
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With a ranking of #18, Boston College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for economics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 40% of the economics majors at the school.
Read full report on Economics at Boston College
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The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the city of Austin.
Of the 65 students majoring in economics at UT Austin, 60% are male and 40% are female.
Full Economics at The University of Texas at Austin Report
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Northeastern University landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree economics programs. Located in the large city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Women make up 49% of the economics majors at the school.
Full Economics at Northeastern University Report
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University of Maryland - College Park landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree economics programs. Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public college with a very large student population.
Of the 58 students majoring in economics at UMCP, 66% are male and 34% are female.
Full Economics at University of Maryland - College Park Report
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With a ranking of #22, University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for economics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public school with a fairly large student population.
About 49% of the students majoring in economics at the school are women while 51% are male.
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Ohio University - Athens Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. OHIO Athens is a fairly large public school located in the town of Athens.
Women make up 54% of the economics majors at the school.
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Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. Purdue is a very large public school located in the city of West Lafayette.
Of the 48 students majoring in economics at Purdue, 69% are male and 31% are female.
Full Economics at Purdue University - Main Campus Report
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With a ranking of #25, Vanderbilt University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for economics students working on their master’s degree. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.
Women make up 60% of the economics majors at the school.
Full Economics at Vanderbilt University Report
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Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional popular schools for Economics students that almost earned our Most Popular Economics Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus, OH |
| 36 | Cornell University | Ithaca, NY |
| 36 | University of Missouri - Columbia | Columbia, MO |
| 36 | Northwestern University | Evanston, IL |
| 40 | Florida State University | Tallahassee, FL |
| 40 | University of Oregon | Eugene, OR |
| 42 | University of Florida | Gainesville, FL |
| 42 | University of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA |
| 42 | Colorado School of Mines | Golden, CO |
| 45 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 46 | Rice University | Houston, TX |
| 47 | University of California - San Diego | La Jolla, CA |
| 47 | Princeton University | Princeton, NJ |
| 47 | North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC |
Economics by Region
View the Most Popular 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 |
Majors Related to Economics
One of 12 majors within the area of study, economics has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related to Economics
| 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.
- 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.