MSc in Business Economics

Our MSc Business Economics programme is offered by the College of Business & Law at University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland. It is an integrated course applying economics to the business environment. Designed in consultation with leaders from the business community and public sector organisations, this unique course equips you with the key skills for career development in the ever-changing business world. It also provides a good foundation for those interested in undertaking further study at PhD, DBA or professional development level.

The MSc Business Economics course is unique to UCC, incorporating both taught courses and action research, and using economic theory and analysis explicitly applied to business. Through the focused taught courses and conducting your own research, you learn how to explain and apply core theories, empirical methods and a range of analytical tools that are relevant and transferable to a range of fundamental business issues.

In this course you will develop a portfolio of skills required to support business analysis and managerial decision-making. These skills include communication skills (written and oral), analytical and evaluation skills and team-working skills. Our market research has indicated that such skills are very highly rated by employers.

The course places emphasis on:

• the preparation and presentation of quality business reports
• techniques of data analysis that include forecasting and scenario analysis and survey analysis
• team-working for assignments to enhance interpersonal relationships
• a problem-solving approach using case studies

Why Choose This Course

This innovative course aims to develop your skills for employment as a business or strategic analyst as well as provide foundations for undertaking further study.

Strong emphasis is placed on employment and career search through workshops on interview techniques, skills analysis, CV presentation, and job applications.

The quality of the course can be gauged from the fact that our graduates have won the Accenture Leader of Tomorrow (LOT) Award on two occasions. The Accenture award is open to all final-year and postgraduate students from across Ireland, and aims to identify innovative and entrepreneurial young talent in order to foster Ireland’s next generation of leaders.

The MSc programme comprises two parts:

• Part I consists of a combination of examinations and coursework in a set of specified taught modules to the value of 60 credits.
• Part II consists of researching and writing a Business Economics Report to the value of 30 credits.

Modules

Part I (60 credits)

• EC6617 Professional Business Skills
• EC6619 Advanced Quantitative Techniques for Business Research
• EC6620 Research Methods for Business Economics
• EC6621 Economics of Business Strategy
• EC6622 Business Relationships and Business Strategy
• EC6623 Analysing General Business Conditions
• EC6624 Macroeconomic Data Analysis for Strategic Decision-Making
• EC6625 Financial Economics and Business Strategy
• EC6626 Corporate Treasury Management
• EC6627 Fieldwork Methods for Business
• EC6628 Analysis of Business Survey Data

Part II (30 credits)

• EC6618 Business Economics Report (BER)

Further details on the content and modules are available on the College Calendar.

Skills developed on the MSc course include:

• leadership, organisational, interpersonal and team-working skills
• working to deadlines in producing analyses, reports and presentations to professional standards
• ability to interpret economic data and events
• ability to explain complex issues to non-specialists
• application of economic tools and concepts to the business world
• research project design, implementation and management

The course has an excellent employment track record and every year, our graduates pursue challenging careers in the private and public sectors. MSc graduates have obtained employment in a wide range of areas at home and abroad, including management consulting, the financial and banking sectors, private sector, public sector, research institutes, and the education sector.