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Academic catalog · 2026–2027

Master in Economics

The Master in Economics studies economic reasoning, institutions, and the history of economic thought in sustained conversation with the Catholic intellectual tradition. Microeconomic and macroeconomic analysis are joined to political economy and to questions of property, labor, capital, exchange, development, and poverty.

Program overview

The program treats efficiency and freedom as serious economic goods while examining their relation to justice, human dignity, solidarity, subsidiarity, stewardship, and the common good. Scholastic accounts of exchange and price, modern economic theory, Catholic social teaching, and contemporary empirical debates provide distinct but mutually critical sources for graduate inquiry.

Admission requirements

  • A bachelor’s degree or equivalent undergraduate qualification from an institution acceptable to PCU-USA.
  • Official transcripts from every postsecondary institution attended.
  • A curriculum vitae describing academic, professional, or research experience.
  • A statement of purpose explaining the applicant’s preparation and proposed field of graduate study.
  • A substantial academic writing sample demonstrating analytical ability.
  • Evidence of proficiency in the language of instruction.

Curriculum

  1. History of Economic Thought — 3 credits
  2. Microeconomic Reasoning — 3 credits
  3. Macroeconomic Reasoning and Institutions — 3 credits
  4. Political Economy and the Moral Order — 3 credits
  5. Scholastic Economic Thought and Natural Law — 3 credits
  6. Catholic Social Thought and Economic Life — 3 credits
  7. Property, Labor, and the Just Wage — 3 credits
  8. Markets, Capital, and the Common Good — 3 credits
  9. Poverty, Development, and Human Flourishing — 3 credits
  10. Economic Ethics and Public Policy — 3 credits
  11. Graduate Research Seminar in Economics — 3 credits
  12. Master’s Thesis in Economics — 3 credits

Learning outcomes

  • Analyze microeconomic and macroeconomic arguments with attention to their assumptions and institutional settings.
  • Interpret major schools in the history of economic thought, including scholastic contributions to economic reasoning.
  • Evaluate markets, property, labor, capital, and public policy in relation to human dignity and the common good.
  • Compare Catholic social thought with influential secular approaches to political economy.
  • Assess poverty and development through empirical evidence and the principle of integral human development.
  • Formulate economically informed arguments about subsidiarity, solidarity, distributive justice, and stewardship.
  • Conduct graduate research using appropriate economic, historical, and normative sources.

Assessment

  • Assessment includes problem-based economic analysis, interpretation of primary texts, policy memoranda, empirical critiques, seminar papers, and oral presentations. The supervised thesis requires a coherent economic argument, responsible use of evidence, and explicit engagement with the program’s moral and institutional questions.

Completion requirements

  • Earn all 36 required credits.
  • Pass every required course and remain in satisfactory academic standing.
  • Complete and obtain institutional approval of the master’s thesis or final scholarly project.
  • Resolve all academic-record and graduation requirements before conferral.