Methods & Concepts of Political Economy (Graduate Minor)

Overview

The Methods and Concepts of Political Economy graduate minor is offered through the Department of Economics at The New School for Social Research.

This minor introduces students to the contemporary tools of economic analysis and provides a background in the historical development of these tools. It equips students to better engage with discussion of economic issues as they appear in the media, and so better understand the causes and consequences of contemporary economic issues. The minor is also of value to graduate students seeking to better develop their quantitative literacy as a transferable skill post-graduation.

Curriculum

This graduate minor requires successful completion of 9 credits via courses chosen from the chart below. One course must be chosen from each subject area. The course in economic theory should be taken before the course in applied economics, but the course in intellectual history can be taken at any time.

Course availability may vary from semester to semester. Some courses may be in development and offered at a later time. Students seeking to pursue alternative coursework in other subject areas to fulfill the minor should consult with their advisors.

Learning Outcomes

A student who has completed this graduate minor should be able to:

• Analyze the factors that motivate and constrain household-level decision makers (economy "in the small") as well as the objectives that they focus on.
• Analyze how the economy operates "in the large"; this includes analyzing the causes and consequences of macroeconomic pathologies such as unemployment, inflation, and crises in the real and financial sectors.
• Interpret and evaluate the history of the ideas explored in 1 and 2, together with the "real world" events and developments in other disciplines in which their emergence and subsequent application has been situated.
• Explain the scope of public policy intervention in the economy and evaluate its limitations.
• Explain how quantitative tools can be applied to the analysis of social material and will be able to apply this understanding to new contexts.

Faculty

Paulo dos Santos, Associate Professor of Economics
Teresa Ghilarducci, Schwartz Professor of Economics and Policy Analysis and Chair of Economics
William Milberg, Arnhold Professor of International Cooperation and Development and Professor of Economics
Mark Setterfield, Model Professor of Economics

Eligibility

The Methods and Concepts of Political Economy graduate minor is available to graduate degree students across The New School, with the exception of students enrolled in programs in the Economics Department (MA Economics, MS Economics, MA Global Political Economy and Finance, PhD in Economics).

The Methods and Concepts of Political Economy graduate minor requires an application for admission.

Students can retroactively apply successfully completed courses toward a minor upon declaring or applying. After a student successfully completes a minor's requirements, the minor will appear on the student's academic transcript at graduation.

For questions regarding this minor please contact Paulo dos Santos, Associate Professor of Economics, at dossantp@newschool.edu, and Teresa Ghilarducci, Schwartz Professor of Economics and Policy Analysis and Chair of Economics, at ghilardt@newschool.edu.

How to Declare, Change, or Apply to a Minor

Current students can declare or change a minor by logging in to my.newschool.edu, clicking on the Academics tab, and then clicking on the link to Major/Minor Declarations. Students can access the application for this minor by filling out the declaration form. 

Students in one-year programs should declare a minor by the end of their first semester of study, ideally before registering for their final term. Students in programs whose duration is greater than one year should declare a minor by the end of their first year of study.