Madras School of Economics M.Sc Review By Abhinayaa

The Madras School of Economics started in 1993, as an institution for higher studies and research in the field of Economics. It received the status of "Institution of Special Importance" in 2021 through the MSE Act 2020, by the Government of Tamil Nadu. It is currently among the top 10 institutions in the country for Economics just after DU and ISI. Originally, it began as a college for post-graduation and Ph.D. But in 2022 it introduced the 3-year B.A. Economics (Hons.) program. I chose this college because it had always been my first choice. I get to study with like-minded Economic enthusiasts like me, that too from highly esteemed faculties. There is complete freedom here to voice out opinions, address concerns, to dress the way you want and have loads of fun rather than just studying day in and day out. Learning goes beyond the classrooms, you get to learn a lot from your seniors who are specialized in various streams and by working as Research Assistants for your Doctorate Professors. The cherry-on-the-top is that our Chairman, Dr. C. Rangarajan was the ex-RBI Governor and part of the Advisory Council for the Prime Minister's Cabinet. We get to attend various seminars of our Chairman. Choosing this college has been my best decision so far. I have studied here for 2 years and can assure you that this place will provide both academic and personal development.

The B.A. Economics (Hons.) is a 3- year program with a variety of courses that will equip you for the real-world economic scenarios. Some of the important courses here are Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Game Theory, Econometrics, etc. This course accepts only Mathematics students, both Standard and Business Math. A great part of this course depends on Algebra and Calculus. Hence, if you don't like Math then you would find this program really hard. The course also emphasizes on Data Science. We are taught MS Excel and other programming languages like Python. Admissions are purely merit-based through the MSEET. Other requirements include at least 65% in class 12th exams and one should be less than 22 years in age when you enroll. Maximum seats available are 80 and there are also reservations for students from Tamil Nadu, SC/ST, defense and NRI. I was from the General category and I can assure you that scoring above 60 out of 100 marks will definitely get you in.

The faculties here are exceptional. All of them have doctorates either from the IITs or other esteemed universities from both India and abroad. Their teaching is of very high quality and in par with the colleges in DU. I would say that sometimes it is even more advanced, we study at par with our PG seniors. Teaching is usually done through PPTs. The books used are the ones written by reputed international authors. We use advanced books like Hal Varian, Pindyck, Gregory Mankiw, etc. One can also write research papers right from their 1st year, the faculty here will support and guide you thoroughly.

Yes, we do have a placement committee here. They focus more on the PG students, who get placed in companies like EXL, Citi Bank, Accenture, Wells & Fargo, etc. For the UG students, they focus on getting us internships for our summer vacations as Research Assistants or interns in other Economic institutes, private and financial companies. My advice for the students would be not to depend too much on them and start looking for opportunities as a few PG students are dissatisfied with their placements. Be active on LinkedIn and visit internship fairs.

We have 4 different hostel blocks, 3 for girls and 1 for boys. They are separated by gates only during the night. There is a kitchen, mess facility, dining hall, reading room, library facilities, television and telephone facilities. There is also Wi-Fi connection provided to all the hostellers. The food in the mess is actually pretty decent compared to other colleges. Special menus are served during festivals. At MSE we have a cultural committee that celebrates all festivals with great food. The curfew is at 9:30 p.m. for both girls and boys. You can extend it twice or thrice a month by getting permission. There is water available at all times and a separate lounge for visitors and parents to stay.

We have a beautiful lush-green campus that is away from the traffic and pollution of the city. Even though the college is located in Kotturpuram, which is the heart of the city. There are several different blocks for the PG, PG diploma, UG students and Ph.D. scholars. All the classrooms are air-conditioned and super spacious. We have a big 2-storey library with computers and almost all books related to Economics. We have several reading rooms that are open unto midnight during exam times. One great advantage is that the Govt. Anna Library is just the next building and it is the biggest library in Chennai. There is Wi-Fi connectivity available for day-scholars too. The hostels are situated very close to the academic blocks making it easy for the hostellers.

The campus life at MSE is absolutely amazing. The classes are very flexible, there's a lot of free time for students to participate in other extra-curricular. Since the campus is attached to the Anna University, you get to use their facilities too for swimming, basketball, tennis, etc. We have a cultural committee that plans and celebrates almost all festivals to accommodate the interests of all the students from all over India. Festivals are celebrated with amazing food, performances and DJ nights. There are also a variety of clubs that have been started by the UG students in the past 2 years like literary, media, computer, policy and eco clubs. The college provides complete freedom for its students to take up any of the activities. There are a lot of cafes and restaurants nearby to get amazing food. There are parks, malls and other prominent places to explore in Chennai that are very near the campus. If you are a hosteller, you will get to have the most fun.