International Economics

• A comprehensive and rigorous education in economic analysis, with a strong emphasis on international policy issues.
   

• The focus on international and development policy issues makes the department unique in the global panorama.
   

• We train our student fort successful career as a policy-oriented economist.
   

• Our professors are recognised for their academic and policy expertise, with many actively engaged in high-level policy discussions.
   

• The Department’s strong connections with major international financial institutions facilitate job placements, internships, and enrich the educational environment.
   

• A supportive, collaborative learning environment. The high professor-student ratio, the small class sizes, and the highly diverse student body create a collegial, stimulating, and friendly atmosphere.
   

• While our focus is on practical policy applications rather than purely academic preparation, our graduates pursuing academic careers have also achieved notable success.
   

• Located in an international hub with access to myriad policy organisations, we offer unique opportunities for students to engage directly with international policy-making. Our department maintains strong ties with major international bodies such as the Asian Development Bank, the Bank for International Settlements, the European Central Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank.
   

• We offer innovative programs, such as the Master in Advanced Studies in Sustainable Finance and Development, positioning the Department as a leader in sustainability and development economics. 
   

• In the Master Programme, Students can choose their courses by following one of the four tracks offered by the department (International Finance and Macroeconomics, International Trade, Development Economics, Sustainable Finance and Development)  or design a path that fits their own interests and preferences.
   

• Our Phd in Economics is structured around the training program of the Gerzensee Study Center for the compulsory core courses, as well as specialized courses focussing on Macroeconomics, Trade, Development Economics, Econometrics and Environment.
   

  

A supportive, collaborative learning environment

The high professor-student ratio, the small class sizes, and the highly diverse student body create a collegial, stimulating, and friendly atmosphere. As Julieta Contreras, a Master student from Mexico who graduated in 2020 put it: “there is an environment of collaboration where you can develop skills together with your classmates. There is solidarity and friendship .” 

A critical part of the training stems from constant interactions with bright, open and diverse minds from all over the world. Interdisciplinarity is a core principle of the Graduate Institute so you will be networking with students of international law, international history, international relations, social anthropology, and international development. 

Located physically at the centre of Geneva’s numerous international organisations, the Graduate Institute is a global hub for policy-relevant research in international relations in general and international economics in particular. Talks, debates and events are held virtually every evening in the Graduate Institutes ultra-modern building (the ‘Maison de la Paix’). The Graduate Institute has also a close link with the London-based Centre for Economic Research (CEPR), the premier network of economists in Europe: the President of CEPR, one of its vice presidents and the editor in chief of VoxEU (CEPR’s policy portal) are all professors at the Graduate Institute and our students benefit from joint events organized by the CEPR and the Graduate Institute. 

A one-off applied course taught every two years by department’s alumni holding senior positions in international organizations, provides our students a unique opportunity to better understand how economics is used in policymaking and to get to know personally senior staff at organizations such as the IMF, the World Bank and the OECD.

Beyond academics, living in Geneva exposes our students to a diverse, cosmopolitan environment, where you cannot help but broaden your horizons while picking up some French. The Graduate Institute is bilingual (English and French), but all economics courses are taught in English.