A one-year master's program at UPV/EHU training the next generation of applied economists and policy evaluators. Rigorous methods. Real-world data. Taught entirely in English.
We train economists who can identify causal effects, handle large datasets, and translate findings into actionable policy recommendations.
The backbone of the program. Understand when and why standard regression fails, and master the identification strategies that produce credible answers to policy questions.
Econometrics, time-series analysis, and microeconometrics. Build the statistical foundations required for advanced applied research.
Hands-on work with R, STATA, and Matlab. From data wrangling and visualization to machine learning for prediction and heterogeneous treatment effects.
Labor markets, environmental policy, health economics, energy, gender inequality. Apply your methods to domains where the stakes are real.
The common thread among our strongest students is not a degree in economics — it is comfort with quantitative reasoning. The economics you don't yet know, we will teach you.
You have strong formal training but little exposure to economics. The methods here will feel familiar; the applications are new. Many of our alumni come from exactly this background.
You know the theory. This program gives you the empirical toolkit to put it to work — causal identification, microeconometrics, and the programming skills increasingly expected in research and policy roles.
Sociology, political science, psychology — if your undergraduate work involved statistics, research design, or data analysis, the transition is shorter than you might think. What matters is the quantitative orientation, not the label on your degree.
A progressive curriculum that takes you from foundations to independent research in one intensive year.
UPV/EHU is the leading research university in the Basque Country, with a faculty whose work appears in top-tier journals. Bilbao offers a high quality of life at a fraction of the cost of other European cities.
Our alumni work as data analysts, policy evaluators, and economic consultants in both the private and public sectors. Many continue to PhD programs in economics and finance.
Strong performance in the master grants access to the inter-university PhD in Quantitative Finance and Economics, or to a second year at KU Leuven's Master of Economics. Several alumni hold faculty positions or are completing doctoral dissertations.
"The rigorous focus on causal inference set me apart during interviews. Recruiters were impressed that I didn't just know how to run a regression in R, but understood the identification strategy behind it."
"A rigorous program that prepared me perfectly for my PhD. The transition from theory to empirical application was seamless."
Have questions about the program, student life, or career prospects? These graduates have volunteered to share their experience.
22 places. One academic year.