Program: Business Economics, M.S. - Georgia State University

Apr 06, 2025

2022-2023 Graduate Catalog

Jon Mansfield, Program Director, 404-413-0151, jmansfield@gsu.edu

The Master of Science program is designed particularly for students who already have an undergraduate degree in business administration and wish to study one of the disciplines in which a major is offered in greater depth. Students who do not have an undergraduate background in business but have already established a career in a field related to one of the M.S. majors may find that the specialized degree can be tailored to fit career needs.

The requirements for each of these major fields of study are given in the following sections.

Degree Requirements

The mission of the business economics major in the Master of Science program is to prepare students to function successfully as professional economists in the corporate and business environment. More specifically, the program endeavors to:

build a solid background in micro and macroeconomic theory;
equip students with an extensive knowledge of analytical and statistical techniques;
provide expertise and practice in applying theory and quantitative tools to actual business problems; and
ensure that students are able to communicate this information both in a technical way to peers and in a more general way for decision-making by upper management.

Regulations for the Degree

All Master of Science students will complete the Business Communication Skills Requirement explained earlier in this chapter. The regulations, policies, and procedures given in the “Master’s Enrollment” and “Master’s Programs” sections of this chapter apply to the M.S./Bu.E. program. A maximum of six hours of transfer credit is permitted in this 30-hour program.

Course Requirements

The course requirements for the degree of Master of Science with a major in business economics and the format of the program follow. If prerequisites for the courses listed in each section have not been previously completed, they must be taken as additional hours. Consult the Course Descriptions chapter of this catalog for a listing of the prerequisites for each graduate course. Undergraduate foundation course descriptions and prerequisites are shown in the Georgia State University Undergraduate Catalog. This catalog is available on the web at catalog.gsu.edu.

Foundation Courses

The courses in this list are in addition to the 30 hours required for the degree. They are assigned as part of the admissions process based on a review of each student’s transcripts. They can be exempted if equivalent course work has been previously completed with grades of C or higher.

Accounting: Financial accounting principles (ACCT 2101).

Behavioral Science: Management principles (MGS 3400).

Economics: Intermediate macroeconomics (ECON 3900) and microeconomics (ECON 3910). Prerequisites are ECON 2105 and ECON 2106, respectively.

Mathematics: Calculus (ECON 6030 or MATH 1220).

Statistics: MATH 1070.

Required Courses (15 Hours)

Fifteen hours is the minimum amount of course work in this portion of the program. Any prerequisites for these courses that have not been previously satisfied must be taken as additional hours. Consult the Course Descriptions chapter of this catalog for a listing of the prerequisites for each of these required courses.

ECON 8100 - Applied Microeconomic Analysis 3 Credit Hours
ECON 8110 - Macroeconomic Analysis 3 Credit Hours
ECON 8430 - Theory of the Firm and Business Strategy 3 Credit Hours

Select two of the following four

MGT 8110 - Applied Regression Analysis 3 Credit Hours
ECON 8710 - Introduction to Statistical Foundations for Econometrics 3 Credit Hours
ECON 8740 - Applied Statistics and Econometrics 3 Credit Hours
ECON 8780 - Financial Econometrics 3 Credit Hours

Economics Electives (15 Hours)

Electives will be selected consistent with the student’s planned program. They must be approved in advance by the M.S./Bu.E. Program director, Dr. Jon Mansfield. The suggested electives are listed below (all courses are 3 credit hours):

ECON 8180 - Applied Economic Analysis 3 Credit Hours
ECON 8440 - Industrial Organization and Antitrust Economics 3 Credit Hours
ECON 8740 - Applied Statistics and Econometrics 3 Credit Hours
ECON 8840 - Applied Statistics and Econometrics II 3 Credit Hours
ECON 8860 - Economics of Global Finance 3 Credit Hours
FI 8000 - Valuation of Financial Assets 3 Credit Hours
FI 8020 - Financial Analysis and Loan Structuring 3 Credit Hours
FI 8040 - Survey of International Finance 3 Credit Hours
FI 8060 - Current Issues in Finance 1 to 6 Credit Hours
FI 8240 - Global Portfolio Management 3 Credit Hours
BCOM 8250 - Effective Executive Communication 3 Credit Hours
BCOM 8260 - Corporate Communication
MBA 8015 - Strategic Business Communication 3 Credit Hours
MBA 8025 - Financial Statement Analysis 3 Credit Hours
MBA 8135 - Corporate Finance 3 Credit Hours
IB 8090 - International Business Environment 3 Credit Hours
IB 8180 - Doing Business in Emerging Markets 3 Credit Hours
IB 8190 - Doing Business in World Regions 3 Credit Hours
MGT 8110 - Applied Regression Analysis 3 Credit Hours
MGT 8150 - Business Modeling 3 Credit Hours
MK 8200 - Marketing Research 3 Credit Hours

Program of Study

Each student’s program must be planned in consultation with the M.S./Bu.E. program director before a non-required course is taken. Students may contact the department (404-413-0141) or Dr. Mansfield (jmansfield@gsu.edu) to schedule an appointment. A copy of the program will be filed with the Office of Graduate Student Services for review and approval. Progress toward the degree, including clearance for graduation, cannot be confirmed without an approved program of study. Any changes in the program must be approved by the program director and a copy of the changes sent to the Office of Graduate Student Services. Students always must consult the Course Descriptions chapter of the current graduate catalog to determine if they have met the prerequisites for any course to be taken.

Time Limit

The time limit for completing the M.S./Bu.E. program is five years from the first semester a course in section B or C (above) is taken.