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Economic Development and Growth – Master’s programme

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid | University of Groningen | Lund University | 2 years | 120 ECTS credits

People in movment on a train station

The Master’s in Economic Development and Growth (MEDEG) trains the next generation of analysts, researchers and professionals in the field of development and growth. The programme combines the expertise of three highly ranked European universities into a common platform with leading scholars in economics, economic history and demography.

The combined expertise of three highly ranked European universities

In this double degree programme you spend the first year studying development and international economics, statistics and long run development at either Universidad Carlos III de Madrid or University of Groningen. Conditional on successful completion of the first year, you spend the second year at Lund University specialising in in economic history, with a focus on development, institutional change, inequality, sustainability and energy transition, innovation and human capital, related to issues such as  institutions and inequality and equality, sustainability and energy, innovation and human capital.

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid combines high-level economics, economic history and economic development and has a special focus on Latin America. University of Groningen is a top-class institution at international level in the field of economics, econometrics, development economics and economic history and hosts the Groningen Growth and Development Centre, a research institute that is famous for its study on long-term economic growth and productivity analysis worldwide. Lund University is specialized in economic history and development in the long run with focus on Asia, Africa and Latin America besides Europe. This mix could hardly be achieved by one single higher education institution in Europe. Ultimately, the programme philosophy is based on critical thinking, and the multitude of experiences among students and teachers will offer a platform for reflection and communication in this vein.

Key concepts of the programme

Becoming a trained expert in the field of development requires a wide variety of skills. You will need the necessary theoretical and quantitative tools to grasp major debates in economics and other social sciences. At the same time, the complexity of development problems demands deep, specialised understanding of context, institutions, and historical legacies in developing economies.

The programme provides rigorous training in economics and quantitative methods. It also offers a variety of electives as shown in the overview of the programme structure.

A hallmark of the Master's in Economic Development and Growth is the emphasis on the personal contact between professors and students, achieved by small classes. You will, in close supervision of highly qualified faculty member, complete two independent research projects (theses) both at the end of year 1 and year 2 of the programme. In the process, you will develop your ability to organize and express your own ideas and research in written form, while you will have the opportunity to improve your presentational skills in workshops with other students and faculty members.

Application and admission is administrated by Universidad Carlos III Madrid and University of Groningen respectively depending on where you want to study your first year. To increase your chance of admission, you are welcome to apply to both universities.

Students admitted to the Master’s in Economic Development and Growth in either Madrid or Groningen who complete the first year and are selected for the second year, will automatically be admitted to Lund.

For detailed information about key dates amd deadlines, requirements and application, please visit:

Selection

The selection process will be based on the Bachelor Degree and study record, motivation letter, language skills, quality of home university, and a few other criteria. The committee will take all criteria into account in order to rank the applicants according to their merits.

Notification

Admitted, reserve and rejected students will be notified by by e-mail. In the notification letter you will find detailed information about the selection process to allow understanding and transparency of the process.

Rejected and reserve students have the right to object to the Committee’s decision and ask for a revision of your application. For that purpose you will have to appeal to the Selection Committee, explain your objections to the scores received and highlight the merits (academic, professional, other) that in your opinion qualify your application for a revision. The Selection Committee will notify its decision to either confirm or revise the appealing student’s scores and rank within 15 days from the appeal’s submission.

Contact

Programme coordinator Lund University

Håkan Lobell
E-mail: medeg [at] ekh [dot] lu [dot] se (medeg[at]ekh[dot]lu[dot]se)

Programme Directors


Universidad Carlos III Madrid

Dácil Juif
djuif [at] clio [dot] uc3m [dot] es (djuif[at]clio[dot]uc3m[dot]es)

University of Groningen

Jutta Bolt
j [dot] bolt [at] rug [dot] nl (j[dot]bolt[at]rug[dot]nl)

Lund University

Andrés Palacio
andres [dot] palacio [at] ekh [dot] lu [dot] se (andres[dot]palacio[at]ekh[dot]lu[dot]se)​​​​​​​

Admisson Requirements

Academic qualifications

You must have, or expect to obtain, an undergraduate degree (BA/BSc etc) with a major in Economics or the equivalent. A solid background of Mathematics, Statistics and Econometrics is recommended.

MEDEG was previously an Erasmus Mundus programme funded by the EU, with Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, University of Warwick and Lund University as partners.
 
From the 2015 intake, University of Groningen replaces University of Warwick. The first five years of the programme have provided lessons for making a top master programme even sharper!

The analytical and critical skills that I developed have helped me a lot. I found that many development topics and courses such as econometrics and all its derivatives have been helpful in order to conduct research.

Bardo Flores, Metropolitan Development of the State of Mexico
 

I am thankful to the programme that gave me the opportunity to learn a great set of quantitative and qualitative tools for academic research and policy evaluation. I took various courses in different topics within development economics, which contributed to a better understanding of development in its multiple dimensions.

Ricardo Meilman, Research assistant at The World Bank in Washington, DC

The programme has helped me to have a global understanding of many issues and how to be effective and efficient whilst managing tight deadlines.

Andrés Mella, Development Advisor in the More Income and Employment in Rural Areas Programme (MIERA)

This programme provide you with plenty of career opportunities in institutions all over the world addressing economic development, such as the EU, OECD, ILO, World Bank, UNESCO, WTO, CEPAL, IADB (Inter-American Development Bank), NGOs, governments and central banks, think tanks, multinational companies and consulting firms.

You will also obtain the advanced skills required to carry out research in the fields of development economics, economic history, applied economics and international economics. Lund University School of Economics and Management, University of Groningen and Universidad Carlos III Madrid, offer talented students oriented towards an academic career, the possibility to continue your postgraduate education in one of our PhD programmes.


Programme requirements

Admisson Requirements

Academic qualifications

You must have, or expect to obtain, an undergraduate degree (BA/BSc etc) with a major in Economics or the equivalent. A solid background of Mathematics, Statistics and Econometrics is recommended.

Exceptions

In particular cases, the Selection Committee can admit students with a Bachelor's degree in other disciplines which include a comprehensive and advanced training in economics, mathematics and quantitative methods.

Final year Bachelor's student?

If you do not yet have your Bachelor's degree certificate, you may still be able to apply. Applicants who expect to obtain their BA/BSc or equivalent degree before the start of the programme, should enclose an official certificate issued by your university where the expected date of graduation is explicitly stated. In case of successful application, you will be pre-admitted and required to show the official certificate of graduation in the beginning of autumn semester.

English Proficiency

If your native language is not English but you hold a first degree from universities based in an English-speaking country, you don’t need to provide any certificate of language proficiency. The same applies if you have obtained your degree from universities in non-English speaking countries but with courses taught in English, in which case you must enclose an official document issued by your university that certifies that English is the medium of instruction.

All other applicants are required to certify a satisfactory command of both spoken and written English at Level B2 or higher of the CEFR-Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

For detailed information about requirements and application, please visit: