Global Economic Affairs | University of Denver

The MA degree in Global Economic Affairs is housed in the highly-ranked Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. The program emphasizes political economy broadly defined--from orthodox theory to a wide range of critical and heterodox approaches while providing training in quantitative and qualitative skills.

How does the programme provide content to ensure students achieve an understanding of a reasonably diverse set of perspectives on understanding economies?

This is not your grandparents' economics program! The program is deeply interdisiciplinary, including political economics, political science, law, and philosophy. Our faculty is heterodox, drawing on work from Polanyi, Marx, Keynes, feminist political economists, social economists, and beyond. We combing training in standard economics with a broad range of critical perspectives. Even courses like international trade and finance include contributions from a range of disciplines. Courses are policy-focused, and  reach far beyond standard economic topics. From Great Books in Political Economy, to international political economy, to social entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility and risk analysis, the curriculum targets training that students need to be able to promote social betterment in their post-graduate careers.

How does the programme ensure students understand the interaction between economic and ecological systems?

The Josef Korbel School now offers Masters programs in sustainability--the Master of Arts in Global Environmental Sustainability, and the Global Environmental Change and Adaptation (GECA) certificate. Korbel's faculty includes leaders on ecological issues. Students completing the MA in Global Economic Affairs can complete the GECA certificate, an intensive program in environmental sustainability, while earning their MA degree. 

How does the programme ensure students understand how to critically explore real-world evidence, both qualitative and quantitative?

GEA students study statistics and econometrics, but can then pursue a wide range of other quantitative and qualitative methods--including political risk analysis, time series analysis, forecasting, social entrepreneurship, project management and project assessment, microfinance, data analysis for development, python, data visualization, and much more. The Korbel School is equally committed to qualitative and quantitative methods. 

What pedagogical approaches does the programme use to ensure that students examine the historical context, assumptions and values in all economic thinking?

GEA courses explore the historical debates within political economy and economic history, along with intensive examination of the contemporary global economy. We are committed to the view that we many contributors to political economy in the past generated insights and critiques that are just as powerful today as when they were first introduced. In the Great Books seminar we examine instiuttional, Marxian, Austrian, and feminist political economy, and the political economy of race. Our faculty draw extensivley in their reseach on historical figures in the field, especially the work of iconoclasts who emphasized the intersection of values/ethics and economcs, and who sought to promote economic justice, equality, and sustainability. 

How does the department ensure that the teaching culture and capacity to deliver economic pluralism are continually improving?

We emphasize the ability to teach political economy in our hiring; we continually look to incorporate non-economists into the curriculum; and we encourage our students to take courses at Korbel offered by our many non-economist colleagues who teach in areas such as human rights, corporate social responsibility, development, public health, humanitarian assistance, sustainability, and more. At the same time, we continually update our qualitative and quantitative methods so that our students can compete for the opportunities they seek upon graduation.