Tom Traill
Charles River Associates
I chose the MSc in Economic Policy having worked for an economic competition consultancy (Charles River Associates) for two years (who encouraged me to apply for the course). Having applied my economics in the work place for two years, I realised that a more in depth understanding of the techniques and theories was important. However, I didn’t want a course which gave you a foundation for a PhD; rather I wanted to know more about how to apply a wide range of modern economic thought to reality. As far as I know, the UCL Economic Policy course is the only well respected UK course which offers this.
For anyone in my situation I think the UCL course was superb. The core subjects for Economic Policy are tailored to be informative and of practical use (my notes are still a useful reference in the work place). Added to that, there is a wide variety of high quality options, taught by leading academics, which one can make full use of on the Policy course . It’s a very busy year but you gain a huge amount.
UCL as an institution is also an exciting place to be. Whilst I studied here, the student union were actively engaged in the protests at student fees. I helped lead a charity called FoodCycle during my masters and the UCL Volunteering Union was extremely helpful, and is always extremely active. UCL is strongly rooted in the city which, having personally come from a much smaller town, was very engaging.
I think that for anyone who wants a grounded, realistic and interesting year, both from an economic perspective in their course and from a practical sense living in an enormous, exciting city, studying for the Economic Policy masters should be considered.
