Addis Ababa University College of Economics

The department of Economics is one of the core departments of the College of Business and Economics and is located on the second floor of the main building of the college at sadist kilo about a hundred meters away from the Main Campus of the university. The Department was opened in 1953 and is committed to excellence in the core activities of teaching and research in the field of economics. It is one of the largest departments both in terms of faculty size and student intake. It is home to 34 Economists who are members of the academic staff of the University engaged in the core activities of teaching and research.
At present, the Department runs the following programs:

• BA in Economics(Regular and Extension)
• MSc in Economics
• MA in Applied Macro Economic Forecasting and Modelling
• PhD in Economics

Addis Ababa University College of Economics Vision & Mission of the Department
Vision
The vision of the department is to be one of the top departments in Africa by 2020 through the provision of quality education, research and consultancy service in economics.
Mission
The mission of the department is enhancing the intellectual and economic validity of Ethiopia through our academic programs, research and community outreach activities.

1. BA in Economics

Currently there are 578 students enrolled in both regular and extension programs pursuing their studies towards the Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. The aim of the program is to produce high level professionals in Economics who will serve to contribute to the country’s effort to realize sustainable economic development. The program provides students with a comprehensive basis for professional development and further education in economics through courses and thesis work. The BA degree program in economics requires three years of study for full time regular students and four to five years for part time (extension) students. Since 2012/13 the Department has been implementing the nationally Harmonized Modular Curriculum.

2. MSc in Economics

Program overview, content and structure
The department started running a graduate program at the master’s level1979, and launched a new program in September 1992. The MSc in Economics is a two-year program of study involving course work and a year-long thesis project. Among the core courses offered in the first year of the MSc program are: Advanced Microeconomics I, Advanced Microeconomics II, Advanced Macroeconomics I, Advanced Macroeconomics II, Mathematics for Economists, Research Methods and Applied Econometrics, and Econometrics. In addition, during any one year, one or more of the following six courses are offered as special areas of focus: Economic Policy Analysis, Human Resource Economics, International Economics, Econometrics, Natural Resource and Environmental Economics, and Development Economics. MSc students are also required to take two common courses during the first semester of the second year of their study. These methodology courses are Impact Evaluation and Multi-sectoral Approaches to Modeling and Policy Analysis. In addition, the second year is devoted to a thesis project..
Addis Ababa University College of Economics
The Department of Economics is one of the four departments of “category-C” status in the collaborative MA in Economics Program (CMAP) for Anglophone Africa in which 21 universities are participating. The CMAP for Anglophone Africa is a scheme of inter-university collaboration in graduate training in economics including the setting of common standards in curricular content and examination of core courses and the sharing of a Joint Facility for Electives (JFE) for master’s programs in the region. Until 2011, the Department was of “category B” status capable of offering the core courses on its own but benefiting from the Joint Facility for Electives (JFE) for masters’ programs in “category-B” universities in the region. The JFE brings together all students of “category-B” universities for a three-month period during the summer to take two elective courses. The designation and upgrading of the AAU as a “category-C” university in the CMAP means the MSc in Economics in the university is at the moment one of the best in the region capable of providing core and elective courses on its own by the standards of the collaboration. It also means that the Department of Economics at the Addis Ababa University is eligible for accepting students on CMAP scholarships in support of staff development schemes of universities in the region not yet designated to be of category-C status. At Present, the program has 40 active students.
Admission Requirements
An applicant for admission to the M.Sc. in Economics must meet the following academic requirements:

• The applicant must have:
• a bachelor degree majoring in economics, or
• a bachelor degree minoring in economics including Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Calculus, Statistics, and Econometrics or a bachelor degree with the equivalent of a minor in economics, i.e. not formally minoring in economics but has taken such basic courses as Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Calculus, Statistics and Econometrics; and
• The applicant must satisfactorily pass an entrance examination to be administered by the Department. Foreign applicants may, in lieu of sitting for entrance examination, submit the results of GRE or equivalent examinations.
• Applicants must also meet non-academic criteria, as may be laid down by the School of Graduate Studies of the Addis Ababa University regarding age, work experience, etc.

1. MA in Applied Macro Economic Forecasting and Modeling

In addition to its regular MSc in Economics, the Department has been collaborating with various government ministries to offer tailor made masters’ programs. These include MA in Economics (Applied Trade Policy Analysis and Competition Policy and Regulatory Economics) with the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) in 2006/7. In 2012, a five year long initiative of MA in Applied Macro Economic Forecasting and Modeling was launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED).

2. PhD in Economics

Program overview, content and structure
 
The Department launched the Doctoral Program in Economics in 2010. Currently, it has 18 students enrolled for the degree. The general objective of the PhD Program in Economics is to generate qualified economists with the capacity to educate in institutions of higher learning, engage in independent economic research, and contribute to economic analysis and policy formulation. Apart from the CMAP, the Department of Economics is on the verge of joining the CPP (Collaborative PhD program) of AERC.
The PhD degree in Economics is a 4-year study program. At least, two of these years must be spent in campus and constitute the residence requirement of the program. The Program consists of courses in advanced economics taken sequentially over a two-year period. Students are expected to pass the examinations of these courses at the required grade. The courses are divided into two groups. The first group consists of the core courses: (i) Microeconomics, (ii) Macroeconomics, and (iii) Quantitative Methods in Economics (Mathematical Economics and Econometrics). The second group is a set-up of a couple of seminar courses in specialized fields (and are categorized as field courses), which are normally taken after the completion of the core courses.
Currently, the elective courses are focused on Agricultural Economics, Development Economics, Economic Policy, Industrial Economics, International Economics, Labor Economics, Public Sector Economics, Resource and Environmental Economics, Monetary Economics, and Financial Economics. The other major component of the Ph.D. Program is the Ph.D. Dissertation. The third and fourth years of the Program will be devoted to research and it is expected that this process will end with the production and distribution of the Dissertation.
Admission Requirements
 
Students are admitted into the Ph.D. Program on the basis of achievements in the Masters Program at Addis Ababa University or on the basis of qualifications in equivalent programs elsewhere. The Department of Economics, upon receiving the application documents of the applicants from the Registrar Office, short lists students with their performances at the Masters Degree level of relevant programs. The short-listed applicants are then requested to submit a short concept note about their future research area and also take entrance exam on some core courses. The concept notes will be used to evaluate whether the applicants have the writing skill required at this level of study while the entrance exam will evaluate their mastery of economic theories and quantitative skills that are assumed as pre-requisites for the program.
Research and Community Services
The Department and its staff members are engaged in a number of research activities within and outside the University. The Department has long years of experience in conducting, managing, and coordinating large scale household and firm level surveys. The major surveys include Ethiopian Rural Household Survey with Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC); Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA); United States Agency for International Development (USAID); and the World Bank; Ethiopian Urban Socioeconomic Survey, Gothenburg University of Sweden and World Bank; Customer satisfaction survey with Ethio-Telecom Corporation; Microfinance loan survey with Gothenburg University; Businesses tax compliance survey with World Bank; Satisfaction survey with Ethiopian Shipping lines, Establishment and decent wok survey with Addis Ababa City Administration.