Program Details

The MAE program consists of 5 required content courses, 3 required Applied English Skills courses, and 5-6 elective courses. Studying full-time, you finish the program in less than 12 months.The MAE program is career-oriented as an applied program and it is also academically demanding. Graduates leave the program confident in the skills they have mastered through our careful attention to quality teaching.

• Academic Calendar
• Course Schedule
• Specializations and Electives
• Fall Semester
• Spring Semester
• Summer Semester
• Thesis
• Graduation Requirements
• Preparatory Semester
• Faculty

Academic Calendar

The exact calendar is announced each year, but this is an indication of the typical calendar in the MAE program:

Course Schedule

Electives are chosen and designed to qualify each student for a particular Specialization. The exact electives offered each semester depends in part on enrollment and student interest.

You will be asked before the start of study what your interests are so we can best provide the right combination of electives during the year.

Each course meets twice a week for 90 minutes each. Courses often also have an additional 90-minute exercise session. If possible, no classes are scheduled on Fridays and afternoon classes are preferred.

Sample Weekly Schedules

Fall Semester

Spring Semester

Specializations and Electives

Below are some examples of the Specializations we can offer. You won't necessarily take all the electives listed under the chosen Specialization and new Specializations can be created according to your interest.  The specialization is in addition to the Masters of Applied Economics degree. Usually a Specialization is granted if a student takes at least three of the courses listed under the Specialization

Financial Economics

• Financial Econometrics
• Banking and the International Financial System
• Corporate Finance and Valuation
• Investments and Asset Pricing
• International Finance

Public Policy

• Public Economics
• Program Evaluation
• Labor Market Economics
• Environmental and Resource Economics
• Health Economics
• Education Economics
• Human Resource Economics

Macroeconomics and Forecasting

• Time Series Econometrics
• Monetary Theory and Policy
• Banking and Financial Markets
• Economic Forecasting

Corporate Economics

• Law and Economics
• Industrial Organization
• Corporate Finance and Valuation
• Corporate Governance
• International Finance

Quantitative Methods

• Program Evaluation
• Time Series Econometrics
• Financial Econometrics

Fall Semester

The MAE program starts with the Fall Semester (mid September – mid December). All students take the same set of four courses. The Fall Semester includes courses in Macroeconomic Policy Analysis, Applied Microeconomic Analysis, and the first of a two-course Quantitative Methods series that teaches students important, practical, quantitative research skills. Students also attend the first course of Applied English Skills series to both increase their general knowledge and ability in English and to better perform on high-level professional tasks in English.

Spring Semester

Students finish the two-part Quantitative Methods series and continue with the second Applied English Skills course in the Spring Semester (mid January – beginning of April). Students also enroll in three electives, usually directed towards a certain specialization. Typically a wide variety of electives is offered each Spring Semester. However, the electives offered can vary from semester to semester. The offer also depends on student interest and enrollment.

Summer Semester

In the Summer Semester (mid April – mid July), the student takes another two-to-three electives. Required courses include the Project Seminar and the last of the Applied English Skills series. The Project is a “capstone” text that should reflect some of the student’s best work in the MAE program, and should use much of the knowledge and skills gained in the other MAE courses. The Project should show how a student can respond to a specific applied-Economics task. In this way it shows what most students will be doing after graduation, when they have a professional position as an analyst, economist, or consultant. Typically a wide variety of electives is offered each Summer Semester. However, the electives offered can vary from semester to semester. The offer also depends on student interest and enrollment.

Thesis

Completing a thesis is not required to gain the MAE degree, and normally is not part of the program. A student may choose to do a thesis if the student wants a more research-intensive degree program or if the student is afraid the degree will not be nostrified without a thesis.

The requirements and procedure for completing the thesis are agreed upon for each student’s individual needs. The student will need to have a faculty supervisor, and the Program Director has to approve the study plan.

The thesis is always completed after all other courses are finished. A student who completes a thesis still has to complete the Project Seminar and write the Project.

Students are not required to be resident in Prague when they are doing their theses. It is possible to graduate with the MAE degree and receive the diploma and complete the thesis after.

Graduation Requirements

The graduate economics program consists of 5 required content courses (including the Project Seminar), 3 required Applied English Skills courses, and 5-6 elective courses. Students are required to pass all the required courses to gain the MAE degree. Courses are evaluated on the American letter-grade scale: A, B, C, D, F, with “+” or “–" possible for each grade except F. A passing grade is any grade except F.

Students must also pass all the courses within four calendar years from the start of the program. For example, if a student starts in September 2012, the student must pass all courses by the end of August 2016.

If a student fails a course, it is possible to make up the course to gain the necessary passing grade. Students must pay additional tuition for the make-up course. If a student fails an elective course, the student can replace that grade with a passing grade in another elective course for the purposes of graduation.

If a student does not follow the payment schedule, their student status will be terminated, and their possibility of completing the program and gaining the MAE degree will be canceled.

Grades in the Preparatory Semester are not officially recorded, so it is not included in the Graduation Requirements.

Preparatory Semester

MAE students take Preparatory Semester courses before the beginning of the MAE program. The goal of the Preparatory Semester is to make sure all admitted students are prepared to succeed in the MAE program from the very beginning. The Preparatory Semester courses are not officially recorded for the MAE degree program.

Dates: July 4 – August 26, 2012

The Preparatory Semester runs for eight weeks from the beginning of July to the end of August. It is designed as part-time study, so if you are still working or studying during this time, it is not a problem. It does not take much time to complete for applicants who are already well prepared. For less-prepared students, the Preparatory Semester helps become more familiar with principles in Economics and get more practice in English so that they can succeed in the MAE program.

Students who receive an admissions offer before June 15th are required to attend the Preparatory Semester. Applications later than this face two possible complications:

1. Later applications might not be accepted because the program might be full by that time.

2. If the program is not full, admissions standards are somewhat higher after June 15th, since the student has to succeed in MAE courses from the Fall Semester, without the preparation of the Preparatory Semester.

Options: On-line or in Prague

The Preparatory Semester is offered in an on-line format. You also have the opportunity to come for the Preparatory Semester in Prague [link to pdf flyer]. If you come to Prague, you do not have to complete the on-line courses. The classes in Prague are scheduled Monday through Thursday. You spend 12 hours in class per week and have an opportunity to meet your future classmates, explore Prague, and travel to other European locations during the weekends.

Preparatory Semester courses:

• Mathematics for Economics
• Applied Economics
• Applied English Skills.

Faculty

We have an international faculty, and all CERGE-EI Economics faculty have PhDs from U.S. or Western European universities.

Professors teaching in the CERGE-EI MAE program are selected from the permanent and visiting faculty of CERGE-EI and professional adjunct faculty working in the field.

The faculty in our unique Academic Skills Center ensure the quality of the Applied English Skills course sequence, and often teach those courses.

Quality teaching is highly valued in the MAE program. Teachers are monitored closely and student evaluations are taken seriously.