Master's Programmes (2026)

The master's programme follows on from the honours programme with the option of a full thesis or coursework with a minor dissertation.

For the coursework master's option, a minimum period of one year of residence is required, although some students take two years to meet the requirements.The programme covers the fields of economic theory and policy on an advanced level. The taught master's programme is intended for students who aspire to become professional economists with a sound grasp of analytic techniques and a capacity for research. Special attention is also given to the development of writing skills, quantitative econometric skills and the preparation of research reports. The objective of the programme is to train competent professional economists for a working environment typically found in developing countries. The programme is policy-oriented and suited to the needs of private firms, public corporations, government agencies and non-governmental organisations. In addition to the course work, candidates must write a research assignment on a topic selected in consultation with the Department. The course work, evaluated through essays and written examinations, accounts for 67 per cent of the required credits and the research assignment for 33 per cent.

A select number of students may register for a joint collaborative degree coursework programme between Stellenbosch (MCom in Economics) and Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany (MA in Development Economics). Further details about this programme follow at the bottom of this page.

For the full thesis option, a minimum period of one year of residence is required, although some students take two years to meet the requirements. A thesis of independent research has to be submitted on a topic approved by the Department and supervised by lecturers in the Department. A detailed research proposal has to be prepared by the candidate and approved by the Department. While the originality of the research and its contribution may enhance the grade awarded, it is not regarded as a requirement.

 

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MCom (Economics): Full thesis option

Admission requirements

An honours degree with Economics as the major component with an average mark of 60%. Admission is subject to selection and a minimum mark of 70% for the Honours research assignment is a selection prerequisite.

A Mathematics mark in the National Senior Certificate (Grade 12) of at least 60% or have passed a university-accredited mathematical module approved by the Department of Economics.

Duration

A minimum of 12 months.

Credits

180 credits.

Assessment

A student must submit a thesis resulting from independent research plus supplementary work that may be required by the Department.

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MCom (Economics) coursework option

Admission requirements

An honours degree with Economics as the major component with an average mark of 60%. A minimum of 60% in the intensive statistics course that precedes the formal programme.

A Mathematics mark in the National Senior Certificate (Grade 12) of at least 60% or have passed a university-accredited mathematical module approved by the Department of Economics.

Selection

Selection of students in accordance with the University's official selection policy may be unavoidable due to the limited number of students that can be accommodated on the programme.

Duration

12 months. Programme must be completed within 3 years of date of first registration. If not, the compulsory modules need to be redone.

Credits

A minimum of 180 credits of which 60 credits must be earned through a research assignment and 120 credits earned from fields of study as determined by the Department. A maximum of 20 credits may be earned from a related and approved field of study.

Assessment

Examinations are written at the end of the first semester in June and at the end of the second semester in November. Examination results are supplemented by the assessment of coursework, including a relatively large number of essays and the research assignment. 

Medium of instruction

English.

Closing date for applications

Applications for a specific year must be received by 30 September of the previous year (international applicants) and by 31 October of the previous year (South African applicants). Applications must be completed and submitted on SUNStudent.

Commencement of programme

Early January.

Programme content

Compulsory modules (credits in parentheses):

Research Assignment (60 credits)

Macroeconomics (20 credits)

Microeconomics (20 credits)

Econometrics (20 credits) (preceded by a 3 week intensive statistics course)

Mathematical Methods for Economics (14 credits) must be taken if a similar module was not passed as part of an honours programme and will extend the programme with six months. This is because this module is preceded by an intensive three-week mathematics course which runs concurrently with the intensive three-week statistics course which feeds into the Econometrics module. 

Electives (at least 60 credits):

If Mathematical Methods for Economics is taken, at least 50 elective credits must be taken. All the modules are not necessarily presented every year.

2026
Semester 1	Semester 2
Advanced Development Economics	Economics of Education I
Development Economics	Advanced Cross-section Econometrics **
Economic History	Advanced Time-series Econometrics **
Public Economics	Advanced Macroeconomic Policy **
Data Science for Economics and Finance	Industrial Organisation
	Monetary Economics
	Behavioural Economics
	International Finance
	Financial Econometrics *
	International Trade Theory and Policy
Elective modules not offered every year
	Institutional Economics
Elective modules offered again in 2027
Economics of Exclusion	Health Economics
	Labour Economics

All elective modules count for 10 credits, except those indicated with **, which count for 20 credits.

*For admission to this module, a student needs to obtain at least 60% in the Time Series component of the compulsory Econometrics module. Financial Economics or any second year Finance/Investment Management module is strongly recommended.

The taught master's programme involves advanced study in macro- and microeconomic theory, applied economics and policy analysis. In addition, special attention is given to research methodology and research skills, including econometric analysis.

 

Joint degree Master's programme in Economics (with Georg-August-University Göttingen)

Students spend the first 6 months in Stellenbosch, completing a prescribed minimum credits, whereafter they travel to Göttingen to also complete a prescribed minimum credits (medium of instruction English) in the next 12 months. Thereafter they return to Stellenbosch for the final 6 months, completing a prescribed minimum credits. The research assignment is supervised and evaluated jointly by both universities.

Admission requirements

An honours degree with Economics as the major component with an average mark of 65%, a minimum of 65% for the Honours research assignment and a postgraduate exposure to Development Economics.

A minimum of 60% in the intensive statistics course that precedes the formal programme.

A Mathematics mark in the National Senior Certificate (Grade 12) of at least 60% or have passed a university-accredited mathematical module approved by the Department of Economics.

Programme content 

Stellenbosch University (SU) requires at least 90 SU module credits, i.e. three compulsory modules of 20 credits each (Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Econometrics) and a further 30 elective module credits (most electives are 10 credits, but there are also a number of 20 credit electives). Göttingen requires 60 module credits (the equivalent of 180 SU credits), 10 modules of 6 credits each. Of the 10 modules, 3-5 are compulsory, depending on whether the SU Development Economics modules are taken. 

Selection

Selection of students (maximum of five per annum) in accordance with the double degree cooperation agreement between Stellenbosch University and Göttingen University.

Information on assessment, closing date for application and commencement of programme  is available from the Department.