The Status of Master's Programs in Economics
基于1985年对美国221所高校的调查，报告了经济学硕士项目的内容与结构，包括课程要求、综合考试、硕士论文等，并探讨了其作为“安慰学位”的角色。
It is the purpose of this article to report the results of a recent survey which we undertook concerning the content and structure of master's programs in economics. During the fall of 1985, questionnaires were sent to the 221 United States colleges and universities listed in Peterson's Graduate Programs in the Humanities and Social Sciences (1985) as having graduate programs in economics. One hundred sixty-nine responses were received from master's program directors, a response rate of 76 percent. We have attempted to judge the composite picture of the current master's degree in economics that emerges from our survey results. We discuss program numbers and admissions prerequisites; course requirements; comprehensive examinations; the master's thesis; time spent and post-masters's pursuits; and the master's degree as a “consolation degree.”