Economics (MA/MS)

The New School is a progressive university in New York City where scholars, artists, and designers come together to challenge convention and create positive change . Founded in 1919, the university consists of Parsons School of Design, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, the College of Performing Arts, The New School for Social Research, and numerous renowned graduate programs. The New School’s rigorous, multidimensional approach to education gives students the academic freedom to shape their unique, individual paths of study for a complex and rapidly changing world.

About

The Department of Economics at The New School for Social Research offers a broad and critical approach to the study of economics, covering a wide range of schools of thought, including Keynesian and post-Keynesian economics; the classical political economy of Smith, Ricardo, and Marx; structuralist and institutionalist approaches to economics; and neoclassical economics.

The department’s courses of study emphasize the historical roots of economic ideas, their application to contemporary economic policy debates, and conflicting explanations and interpretations of economic phenomena, within the context of a rigorous training in the conceptual, mathematical, and statistical modeling techniques that are the common methodological basis of contemporary economic research. The department's work centers on the changing shape of the world economy, its financial markets and institutions, problems of regulating and guiding economic development in the advanced industrial world and in emerging markets, complexity in economic systems, labor markets, and the economic aspects of the class, gender, and ethnic divisions.

Faculty and students regularly participate in the research activities of The New School’s vibrant interdisciplinary institutes and centers , like the Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies . The Economics Department houses the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), to which economics faculty and students also contribute.

The aim of the Department of Economics is to put what Robert Heilbroner called "the worldly philosophy" — informed, critical, and passionate investigation of the economic foundations of contemporary society — at the heart of the educational and research enterprise. This engagement with the central unresolved dilemmas of modern society motivates the detailed analysis of concrete problems of economic policy and the explanations of economic phenomena that are the substance of the department's degree programs.

Program highlights

• Investigate the changing shape of the world economy, its financial markets and institutions, and the problems involved in regulating economic development.
• Deploy heterodox methodologies to delve into the systemic economic aspects of cultural phenomena like class, gender, and ethnic divisions.
• Explore multiple schools of thought, including Keynesian and post-Keynesian economics; Smith, Ricardo, and Marx; and neoclassical economics.
• Collaborate on the work of groundbreaking research institutes and centers, like the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis and the Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies.

About us

Discover a new kind of university in New York City, one where scholars, artists, and designers come together to challenge convention and create positive change. Our university takes full advantage of its location in one of the most vibrant and diverse cities in the world. Our colleges include Parsons School of Design, Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, the College of Performing Arts, The New School for Social Research, the Schools of Public Engagement, and Parsons Paris.

Since our founding in 1919, The New School has redrawn and redefined the boundaries of intellectual and creative thought as a preeminent academic center. Our rigorous, multidimensional approach to education dissolves walls between disciplines and helps nurture progressive minds. At our university, students have the academic freedom to shape their unique, individual paths for a complex and rapidly changing world.

With leading-edge faculty and world-renowned alumni, we are committed to developing students who will have an impact on the world and solve the most pressing social issues of our time.

Mission & Vision

The New School’s future will be shaped by the core values that have defined our past: academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation.

Mission

The New School prepares students to understand, contribute to, and succeed in a rapidly changing society, thus making the world a better and juster place. We will ensure that our students develop both the skills that a sound education provides and the competencies essential for success and leadership in the emerging creative economy. We will also lead in generating practical and theoretical knowledge that enables people to better understand our world and improve conditions for local and global communities.

Vision

We are and will be a university where design and social research drive approaches to studying issues of our time, such as democracy, urbanization, technological change, economic empowerment, sustainability, migration, and globalization. We will be the preeminent intellectual and creative center for effective engagement in a world that increasingly demands better-designed objects, communication, systems, and organizations to meet social needs.

Our vision aligns with shifts in the global economy, society, and environment, which animates our mission and our values:

• Creativity, innovation, and a desire to challenge the status quo will affect what and how we teach and the intellectual ambitions of the university itself.
• Social engagement should orient students' academic experiences to help them become critically engaged citizens, dedicated to solving problems and contributing to the public good.
• The New School must embrace these principles and innovate to address shifts in the global economy, society, and environment that require individuals to grapple with complex problems, pursue more fluid and flexible career pathways, and collaboratively create change.

Educational Approach

We will fulfill our mission by extending The New School's legacy as a nontraditional university and community, nimble and responsive to change, that:

• Focuses on and engages with critical contemporary issues
• Prioritizes humanity and culture in designing systems and environments to improve the human condition, an approach that draws on design thinking and the liberal, creative, and performing arts
• Places collaborative, project-based learning at the center of the educational experience
• Takes full advantage of our New York City location and connectivity to global urban centers

University leadership

The future of The New School will be shaped by the core values that have defined our past: academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. Our leadership team brings this mission to life.

With a commitment to providing excellent service to students and advancing a rigorous academic environment, the leaders of our university ensure that we adapt and respond to contemporary issues, create a more inclusive community, and foster creativity and collaboration among students.