Student Testimonials

George Sakyi 

MA U of S (2019)

Program Analyst, SK Ministry of Social Services 

Jide Raheem

MA U of S (2018)

Data Analyst, Sobeys Western Canada 

Home Town: Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State in Nigeria 

Why study MA Economics at U of S? 

One of the greatest challenges economists face in policy and public debates is in communicating economics to audiences beyond the ivory tower. The realization of a room to improve in this regard, coupled with the need to advance my knowledge in application of analytical methods and techniques to data in different research areas, motivated my decision to pursue an MA degree in Economics. 

I was easily drawn to the U of S MA Economics program because it matched my billings for a postgraduate Economics program, i.e., one that builds industry leaders and future policy makers through its rigorous academic culture, resourceful and supportive faculty, regular academic seminars and a strong alumni network. For me, the program’s “dual-flexibility” was a major selling point. One is the opportunity for summer internships, which afforded me a brilliant opportunity to intern as a Summer Research Associate at Legado Capital, a search fund based in Calgary. The second, and most critical for me, was the program’s multidisciplinarity. Offered a plate of electives from the Johnson Shoyama School of Public Policy and the Edwards School of Business, I decided to enroll for “Public Finance in Canada” at the Public Policy School during the Spring term. My choice derived from wanting to explore a different, but related, area, having already had some finance industry experience. That elective exposed me to the real-world policy applications and implications of the economic theories, principles and techniques I had learned in the MA Economics program. Drawing on the insights from another discipline has since strengthened my ability to dimension economic issues more broadly, while asking relevant questions in policy debates. 

Further, the program is designed to develop students’ critical and conceptual abilities to analyze information and understand arguments, form ideas and build on them. Thanks to its research-intensive coursework, the training and feedback from faculty members who are alumni members of top ranking Economics departments across the world, I am able to develop original ideas, hypothesis and write original compositions. No doubt, the academic rigor and resources equip graduate students with a foundational prerequisite to excel, be it in a PhD program or in the corporate industry career post-graduation.  

Joshua Thomas

MA U of S (2018)

Associate, Finance Development Program Royal Bank of Canada

The M.A. program in Economics at the University of Saskatchewan has allowed me to grow academically and professionally through interesting and challenging coursework, meaningful and applicable research, and opportunities to follow a wide range of interests!

I decided to pursue an M.A. to gain a more in-depth understanding of the economics discipline. I certainly experienced challenging material very early on in the coursework section of the program, but never felt alone or in despair thanks to a very approachable faculty and a strong unity with fellow classmates, which naturally develops due to the structure of the program.

Thanks to the supportive faculty, I was fortunate to gain valuable experience in a diverse set of economic areas and a vast amount of knowledge through the program’s coursework. I completed my research project in the Health Economics space, investigating treatment effects of community water fluoridation on pre-school dental health in Saskatchewan communities. Further, during my time in the program, I completed an internship at British Columbia Investments, a pension fund, performing macroeconomic and country risk analysis. Upon completion of the M.A. program, I started full-time employment at RBC, in a finance rotational program at Toronto’s head offices, working in the financial markets in areas such as capital markets, corporate strategy, performance management, etc. The M.A. program certainly does an excellent job of preparing students for their chosen career path.  

The M.A. program in Economics at U of S is a challenging and rewarding one, in which the faculty and fellow students truly want to see you succeed. I am fortunate and proud to have completed my M.A. degree here!

Mohsen Bakhshi Moghaddam

MA U of S (2015)

PhD Student, Queen's University

What I have learned in the graduate program of economics in the U of S is how to enjoy learning new   materials while fighting deadlines! The first term of the program provided me with the set of abstract and complicated economic theories while the second term, gave me a great opportunity to do more applied work on the courses I selected based on my research interest. The pressure of the program  may bring me a hard period of time, but at the end, I am sure it will give me more self confidence in dealing with difficult issues and also help me to enhance my research ability as well as in-depth understanding of economic theories.