Economic Sciences

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

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M.Sc. Program

The Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Economics program

Beginning in the academic year 2023-24, the Department of Economic Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur will offer a two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) program in Economics. The curriculum for the program has been designed to not only equip students to acquire core competencies as professional economists but also to leverage the unique combination of expertise at the frontiers of economics and technology at IIT-K to impart cutting-edge skills in emerging interdisciplinary areas. The program has a significant thrust on applying theoretical concepts in economics to solving real world problems such as designing auctions, pricing in energy markets and causal evaluation of government policies. Emphasis will be laid on hands-on training in analysing economic data using modern statistical packages such as STATA and R and on quantitative economic modelling using computing languages such as Python and MATLAB.

Program structure

Students will have to take a total of 20 courses accounting for approximately 180 credits. There will be a total of 11 compulsory courses and 9 elective courses. The compulsory courses include courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, mathematical methods in economics, applied probability and statistics, econometrics, game theory and computational methods in economics. The elective courses would include both courses offered by the department as well as from other departments. Students who maintain a CPI above a certain threshold may opt for thesis credits in the final year.

Admissions

Students from both Economics and non-Economics backgrounds will be admitted into the program. The minimum eligibility criterion is first class in the applicant's undergraduate degree.* Applicants who satisfy this criterion will have to first take the GATE or JAM examination either in economics (GATE-HSS (Economics) or JAM-Economics) or in any other discipline. The initial shortlisting of students will be done based on their GATE/JAM scores. Thus to apply for the M.Sc. in Economics program starting in 2024, applicants should appear for GATE/JAM 2024. Candidates who meet a percentile-based cut-off will be invited to appear for a written examination to be conducted by the Department. Further details about the written examination can be found below.

Apply here: https://www.iitk.ac.in/doaa/pgadmission/apply-online2024-25I.php

The last date to apply for the 2024-25 academic year has passed. The list of shortlisted candidates will be posted soon.

* Those in the final year of their undergraduate program are welcome to apply, but their admission would be contingent on satisfying the minimum eligibility criterion.

Details of the second round written test

The detailed syllabus and recommended readings for the written test can be found below. A sample question paper with the answer key is available here.

The question paper and answer key for the 2024-25 exam is available here

If any candidate wishes to dispute the answer key, they may write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with complete details of the query/dispute in a pdf file. The last date to do so is 10th June, 12pm. After this time, no emails regarding the answer key will be answered.

The question paper and answer key for the 2023-24 exam is available here

The list of shortlisted candidates for MSc round 2 written test is available here

Addendum to the list of shortlisted candidates for MSc round 2 written test is available here

FAQ regarding MSc second round written test is available here

The 2024 written test will be held on June 7 at IIT Kanpur.

Part (a): Mathematics and Statistics [College level]

  1. Algebra: Binomial Theorem, AP and GP Series, Permutations and combinations.
  2. Linear Algebra: Matrix representations and elementary operations, Determinants, Systems of linear equations.
  3. Calculus: Functions, Limits, Continuity, Differentiation of functions of one or more variables, Unconstrained Optimization, Definite and Indefinite Integrals, Constrained optimization of functions of not more than two variables.
  4. Elementary Statistics: Measures of Central tendency, Dispersion, Basic probability theory, Standard distributions: Binomial, Poisson, and Normal.

Part (b): English language and logical reasoning skills

  1. Grammar
  2. TOEFL/IETLS type academic reading type questions
  3. Logical reasoning

Part (c): Introductory Economics [CBSE Class XII level]

  1. Microeconomics: Indifference curve and consumer’s optimization problem, demand function, production function, short run cost curves, perfectly competitive market
  2. Macroeconomics: National income accounting: Circular flow of income, Methods of calculating national income, Price index numbers, Inflation, Nominal vs. Real GDP
  3. Indian economy in post-liberalization era: Basic/general knowledge

Recommended readings:

Part (a):

  1. Alpha Chiang and Kevin Wainwright. Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics.
  2. Irwin Miller & Marylees Miller. John E. Freund’s Mathematical Statistics with applications.
  3. Gilbert Strang. Linear Algebra and its Applications.
  4. George B. Thomas, Joel Hass, Christopher Heil, Maurice D. Weir. Thomas’ Calculus.
  5. Joseph Blitzstein and Jessica Hwang. Introduction to Probability. Available at https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/stat110/home
  6. Martin J. Osborne. Mathematical Methods for Economic Theory. Available
    https://mjo.osborne.economics.utoronto.ca/index.php/tutorial/index/1/int/i

Part (c):

National Council of Educational Research & Training textbooks “Introductory Microeconomics” and “Introductory Macroeconomics”

Last Updated on: May 16, 2024