M.Sc. in Business Economics
Options
This programme offers two options for its applicants and the details are presented under Option A and Option B.
Option A
This option is offered for the candidates who wish to pursue an international career, an academic career, or who wish to pursue further studies in their specialization area. In the Year I, the students will undergo a thorough training in theoretical aspects and its applications. In the Year II, students are allowed to select a specialized area out of four major specialization areas offered by the Department. Under this option, a greater priority will be given to the research component in the Second Year. The specialization areas are stated below along with their descriptions.
Specialization Area: Development Studies (DS)
This is an interdisciplinary study area, which trains the students to understand the complex processes of economic development and to solve development problems. It deals with theoretical, empirical, as well as practical dimensions of economic development. The students who specialize in this area will be equipped with the skills of policy studies, policy making, analysis and evaluation. Moreover, this study programme offers many options at the postgraduate level for students who are willing to engage in advanced studies. The employment opportunities are also numerous at many local and international institutions such as the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank and United Nations.
Specialization Area: Policy Analysis (PA)
The Policy Analysis programme encompasses areas that deal with methodical evaluation of the alternative approaches to solve economic issues, both in microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives. The students, who specialize in this area will be equipped with the skills of policy evaluation, project evaluation and programme evaluation. In addition, this course provides students a comprehensive training in quantitative application of various econometric applications to determine the effectiveness of policy outcomes. Additionally, this study programme offers many options at the Postgraduate Level for the students who are willing to engage in advanced studies. The employment opportunities are also numerous, in particular, at international institutions such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank and United Nations.
Specialization Area: Women’s Studies (WS)
Women’s Studies take an interdisciplinary approach to the field of gender. The students, who specialize in this specialization area, in the course of their inquiry, will learn the ways that women function as a key organizing element in all societies and cultures. They will learn not only to view gender as a category of investigation, but also reflect on the different manifestations of gender in their own day-to-day lives. The Women’s Studies course will keep the students informed about, and sensitive to, issues concerning women, women in the work place, and issues that one faces in their day to day lives. These courses will help the students to understand them; understand how knowledge and value take multiplicity of forms depending on a variety of social variables. The programme is specially designed for women, however, men, who recognise the importance of women in today’s economy, are thus encouraged to apply.
Specialization Area: Banking (BNK)
This study area encompasses a range of disciplines in bank management, central banking, monetary policy analysis and financial system analysis. At the end of this study programme, students should be able to gain the expertise to manage a firm mitigating the risks in the financial system. The specialized nature of this area will enable the students to hold top level management positions at institutions, especially in the banking and finance sector such as the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Security and Exchange Commission, commercial banks and other financial institutions.
Option B
This option is offered as a general programme in the M.Sc. programme and it caters mainly to the employees of the corporate sector and the public sector. This option enables the students to participate in workshops and guest lectures conducted by world class leaders and practitioners in the business world during the Second Year of the programme. Guest lectures and domestic workshops will be based on current economic affairs and application of economics into the real world. At the same time, the students would receive first-hand experience in organizing and running projects by implementing an individual project in the Second Year of the programme.