Comparative Economics and Policy MA Handbook 2024/25

We are very pleased to welcome you to UCL SSEES.

UCL SSEES, founded in 1915, is one of the world’s leading specialist institutions and the largest national centre in the UK for the study of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Over seventy academic staff work in the School, teaching and conducting research in economics, business, politics, history, sociology, anthropology, culture, literature and language.

As part of SSEES and UCL, you will now have unrivalled access to various resources, for example the excellent UCL and SSEES libraries. We also pride ourselves for what goes on outside the classroom – be it the rich programme of high-profile international speakers, conferences, and seminars or various extracurricular opportunities for UCL students. This document provides you with some of the most important information about your time at SSEES.  

Please take your time also to read the SSEES STUDENT HANDBOOK ON SSEES STUDENT INFORMATION HUB (UCL Log in required) for more details and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Information about all the modules below can be found on the Module Catalogue.

Compulsory Units and Course Options
ALL STUDENTS MUST TAKE AND COMPLETE 180 CREDITS FOR THE AWARD OF AN MA. Students should normally register for 60 credits of taught modules in Term 1 and 60 credits of taught modules in Term 2.

Compulsory Courses – 120 credits
Students on this programme MUST take the following courses (120 credits).

SEES0114 International Macroeconomic Policy (30 credits; Term 2) (Non-condonable)
SEES0083 Quantitative Methods (15 credits; Term 1)
SEES0095 Advanced Quantitative Methods (15 credits; Term 2) (Non-condonable)
SEES0092 MA Dissertation Preparation (0 credits)
SEES0123 MA Dissertation (60 credits) (Non-condonable)

Compulsory Option – 30 credits
Students on this programme MUST take at least TWO of the following modules (30 credits in total). NB: Students may choose to take more than two of these modules as an elective – see below.

SEES0086 Trade and FDI Policy with Reference to Eastern Europe (15 credits; Term 2)
SEES0109 Public Choice – Private Interest (15 credits; Term 1)
SEES0156 Comparative Economics (15 credits, Term 2) - not offered in 24-25
SEES0155 Inequality Dynamics in Modern Capitalism

Elective Modules – 30 credits
A further 30 credits must be selected from the following modules. Subject to approval by the Programme Co-ordinator, up to 30 credits of study may be taken from SSEES language courses or up to 15 credits may be taken from courses offered by other departments within SSEES or UCL. And any Compulsory Option modules listed above if not already selected Language courses can only be taken from what is on offer in SSEES - 

Bulgarian, Czech, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian, Ukrainian or Slovene – beginners or intermediate level generally available. Check website or speak to SSEES student administration for more details. All courses are 30 credits and run for the whole year.

SEES0082 Political Economy of International Business (30 credits; Term 1)
SEES0128 Qualitative Methods (15 credits; Term 2)
SEES0097 Corporate Finance and Investment in Emerging Markets (15 credits; Term 1)
SEES0113 The Economics of Property Rights (15 credits; Term 2)

SEES0098 Financial Development (15 credits; Term 2)

SESS0084 Industrial Dynamics: Theory and Empirical Applications (15 credits, Term 2) - not offered in 24-25

UCL recognises that some students can experience serious difficulties and personal problems which affect their ability to complete an assessment such as a sudden, serious illness or the death of a close relative. Students need to make sure that they notify UCL of any circumstances which are unexpected, significantly disruptive and beyond their control, and which might have a significant impact on their performance at assessment. UCL can then put in place alternative arrangements, such as an extension or a deferral of assessment to a later date. The Extenuating Circumstances Panel will determine the nature and timing of the deferral, which may be offered with or without tuition/ attendance. 

More information can be found in the UCL Academic Manual.

You must notify SSEES, no matter which department teaches the module(s) concerned, You can make an EC claim through Portico. For intial enquiries regarding your EC requests should go to the Student Support Officer and sent to the email address ssees-extenuating-circumstances@ucl.ac.uk

You should attach appropriate supporting evidence. Forms of appropriate evidence are set out in the SSEES Documentary Evidence Requirements available on the Current Students website.

The same form should be used to apply for all forms of mitigation for short-term unexpected circumstances, including short extensions to coursework deadlines of up to one week, special assessment arrangements such as extra time in examinations, or other forms of mitigation, including longer extensions, or deferral of an examination to a later date.

Further information is available in the Grounds for Extenuating Circumstances.

Requests for extensions or other mitigations in examinations will only be considered where the circumstances meet the definition of an extenuating circumstance. Guidance is provided (Grounds for Extenuating Circumstances) to help you assess whether an EC claim might be considered – you are encouraged to review this guidance before submitting your claim. You will be contacted once a decision has been made about your request. Wherever possible such requests should be submitted well before the deadline. Please note that routine computer problems such as viruses, disk corruption, printer problems, and short term network problems are not acceptable grounds for an extension. You are expected to take proper precautions and make back-up copies of your work and allow enough time to produce your work in hard-copy.

If you do not present evidence your claim it is likely to be rejected.

Extensions cannot be granted retrospectively or by individual Course Tutors and must be submitted to ssees-extenuating-circumstances@ucl.ac.uk.

Reasonable Adjustments and Special Exam Arrangements. 

UCL will make Reasonable Adjustments to learning, teaching and assessment to ensure that students with a disability are not put at a disadvantage. UCL also provides Reasonable Adjustments for students who might not consider themselves to have a ‘disability’ but who nevertheless would benefit from additional support due to an ongoing medical or mental health condition. It is the responsibility of the student to request Reasonable Adjustments, and students are encouraged to make a request as early as possible. please see link above for more details. 

You can find further information about Reasonable Adjustments in the Academic Manual.

You should request Reasonable Adjustments via Disability Services. You can find futher information on Disability Services' website. 

Starting a course at a new university, possibly in a new city or even country can be a daunting experience for anyone, regardless of age or background. The most important thing to remember is that there are many sources of advice and support available for every aspect of your life at UCL from the moment you arrive until you graduate and beyond.

Full details of the support available to you can be found on the Support & Wellbeing pages.

You’ll also find some key links below. Your Personal Tutor will also be a key point of contact for you if you are experiencing any difficulties.

Students with physical or mental health concerns are encouraged to make contact with the available support services as early as possible so that UCL can put in place reasonable adjustments to support them throughout their studies. However there may be occasions when a student’s physical or mental health, wellbeing or behaviour is having a detrimental effect on their ability to meet the requirements of their programme, or is impacting on the wellbeing, rights, safety and security of other students and staff. In such cases UCL may need to take action under the Fitness to Study Procedure.

Further Information

• Support to Study Policy
• Fitness to Study Procedure
• Student Disability Services
• Student Psychological Services
• Student Support and Wellbeing
• UCL Union
• UCLU Advice Service
• Student Enquries Centre
• Cultural Consultation Service

For all the above Masters Programmes the final Award is calculated using an Overall Average Mark.  Individual Modules are weighted according to their credited value and the overall mark represents the mean average of the 180 credits undertaken. (Credit-weighted mean average rounded to two decimals.)

In a Student does not meet the above requirements they will be considered for an interim Qualification if they meet the required learning outcomes and credits. Please see the Academic Manual for more details. 

Consequences of Failure of a Module

Students who obtain a mark below the condoned mark range will be required to re-enter that examination at the next normal occasion. Students with no (EC) Extenuating Circumstances will be permitted one re-assessment opportunity.

Students awarded the degree or who have passed a module will not be permitted to repeat assessment of that module.

The examinations period is provisionally scheduled from the start of Term 3 until the second week of June. Students must be available to attend examinations throughout this entire period. 

All modules registrations must be completed on Portico by the end of the second week of teaching. From this point students must not change the registration of Term 1 modules. The registration of Term 2-only modules may be changed until the end of Reading Week of Term 1.

All students are required to reply to any request, whether from their department or from UCL Registry (via Portico) to confirm their module registration as correct.

The SSEES MA (Umbrella) Board of Examiners decides on the class of degree you receive.

Information on Condonement

Condonement allows a student to progress from one year to the next and/or to be awarded a qualification where they are carrying a small amount of failure, as long as their overall performance is of a good standard and the requirements of any relevant Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Bodies are met.  Students who meet the Condonement Criteria will not be reassessed.

A student’s eligibility for Condonement in any given module is determined by the programme on which they are enrolled - some modules may be ‘Non-Condonable’ i.e. students must pass them. The following courses must be passed (and cannot be condoned) in order to be awarded MA Comparative Economic Policy: Advanced Quantitative Methods (15 Credits), International Macroeconomic Policy (30 Credits). Condonement applies to module marks falling within a certain range, and students will need to meet defined criteria to be eligible for Condonement.

Interim Qualifications

Where a student does not meet the requirements for a MA in Comparative Business Economics, the Board of Examiners may award an interim qualification if the student meets or surpasses defined learning outcomes and credit requirements.

An award of MA Comparative Social Studies may be awarded if the student otherwise meets the criteria for an MA in Comparative Economics and Policy but has had a mark in the 40-49% range condoned in either SEES0114 International Macroeconomics or SEES0095 Advanced Quantitative Methods.

1.A student who is unable to meet the minimum requirements for a Masters Degree may be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) if they have: a) Met the standard or programme-defined PG Cert Progression and Award Requirements, AND b) Met or surpassed the standard or programme-defined Interim Qualification outcomes for a PG Dip.

2.Credits from a Masters Dissertation/ Research Project may be used towards a PG Dip if the Programme Board of Examiners is satisfied that the student has met or surpassed the standard or programme-defined PG Dip Interim Qualification Learning Outcomes.

3.A student who is unable to meet the minimum requirements for a Masters Degree or a Postgraduate Diploma may be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) if they have: a) Met the standard or programme-defined PG Dip Progression and Award Requirements, AND b) Met or surpassed the standard or programme-defined Interim Qualification outcomes for a PG Cert.

4.Credits from a Masters Dissertation/Research Project may be used towards a PG Cert if they Programme Board of Examiners is satisfied that the student has met or surpassed the standard or programme-defined PG Cert Interim Qualification Learning Outcomes.

Please follow this link  https://www.ucl.ac.uk/academic-manual/chapters/chapter-4-assessment-framework-taught-programmes/section-6-progression-award  for full criteria.

Plagiarism 

Make sure you do not plagiarise anyone elses work, even accidentally, as the consequences can be severe. Plagiarism is defined as the presentation of another person's thoughts or words or artefacts or software as though they were your own. Any quotation from the published or unpublished works of other persons must, therefore, be clearly identified as such by being placed inside quotation marks, and you should identify your sources as accurately and fully as possible.

You can find more about plagerim and how to avoid it on the Current Student pages.