ENSAE Paris - École d'ingénieurs pour l'économie, la data science, la finance et l'actuariat

MS Quantitative Methods for Economic Decision Making

The Advanced Master in Quantitative Methods for Economic Decision-Making (QMED) trains quantitative economists capable of applying advanced econometric methods to a wide variety of macroeconomic or microeconomic problems.
MS Quantitative Methods for Economic Decision Making

This program is at the level of Bac+6, and is intended for candidates who already have a Bac+5 (more information on admission).

By choosing to specialize in applied macroeconomics, students can train in the analysis and forecasting of economic conditions, and in the evaluation of economic policies (monetary, fiscal, employment, environmental, redistribution, development, etc.).

Students who prefer to specialize in microeconomics will put their market expertise to work for businesses and regulators. In their professional lives, these graduates will combine the most recent methods of data science with their knowledge of industrial economics and corporate finance to evaluate and optimize the strategies of companies in the markets.

Two orientations, a range of opportunities 

Students who specialize in applied macroeconomics will find a variety of career opportunities in the economic administration (General Treasury Department, ministerial statistical services, INSEE, Banque de France), business cycle institutes (OFCE, Rexecode), economic and financial research departments of banks, and even international organizations (ECB).

The public and private sector professions are not compartmentalized. On the contrary, experience acquired in the public sector by a graduate under a private law contract is often highly valued in banks, economic research institutes, and even specialized departments of large companies. Moreover, the versatility of economics-finance opens up career opportunities that combine economic analysis, forecasting and asset management. It is therefore possible to move within banks towards finance after having held a position as an economist.

Microeconomics specialists will find opportunities in companies, public organizations and research or consulting firms. Due to the digitization of their activities, economic actors have increasing volumes of data that they need to exploit to improve their performance. Graduates of the MS will occupy all types of positions at the interface of data and strategy, whether it be competitive market analysis, quantitative marketing, pricing and revenue management, financial strategy, etc. Graduates will be able to aspire to high-level responsibilities in the economic and financial departments of large industrial and service companies, financial organizations, specialized consultants, national administrations and market regulatory authorities.

The training

The courses listed below are for informational purposes only, and are provisional. They correspond to the official curriculum for the 2024-25 academic year.

You can find this curriculum in PDF format on the ENSAE intranet: Scolarité => Mastères Spécialisés => Choix des cours: Maquette_CC_MS_MQDE_2024_2025

  • 420 hours of teaching (45 ECTS)
  • An internship of 4 to 6 months (30 ECTS)

The courses in the harmonization block constitute a refresher of fundamental knowledge. Students must take the microeconomics course if they wish to choose the Business and Markets major and the macroeconomics course if they wish to choose the Macroeconomics major.

The training begins at the end of August with a 5-week full-time harmonization block. The courses are then grouped on 3 days of the week from October to mid-May, followed by the end-of-study internship from May to the end of September. It is also possible to start the internship early by alternating between two days a week (Mondays and Thursdays), except for review and exam weeks.

Approximately 35% of the courses are taught by permanent teachers, 10% by external teachers and 55% by professionals (Banque de France, Veltys, INSEE, Accuracy, Alsis Conseil, EDF, Air France, Catawiki, Ministry of the Environment, AFD, ECB, CEPII, OFCE, Yves Rocher, BPCE, Banque de France, Société Générale, Capgemini, Direction Générale du Trésor, Canal+, Elaia, etc.).

  • The Advanced Master's program ends with a 4 to 6 month internship starting in mid-May (minimum 16 weeks for the Specialized Master's program, and 6 months to present a thesis to the Institute of Actuaries). This internship can be started in advance on Mondays and Thursdays, as a part-time internship, in agreement with the ENSAE internship service. In this case, it is advisable to remain vigilant about the workload; it is not advisable to start this part-time internship before February for the MS-Actuarial Science, as the requirements for validation of the curriculum for the Institute of Actuaries require significant personal work throughout the year.

Who is the MS MQDE for?


The standard recruitment corresponds to students or professionals with a Bac+5 (Master 2 or equivalent) who wish to acquire a complementary training allowing them to be competitive on the job market. It is recommended to have a M1 or M2 level in applied mathematics, statistics, economics, econometrics or mathematical finance, or an engineering or business school degree with a substantial mathematical or statistical content, as well as knowledge in economics.

A harmonization block at the beginning of the program (end of August to beginning of October) aims to consolidate the knowledge base necessary to follow the courses shared with the third year of the engineering program. You can find more information on the course of study here.

This program can also accept students who have completed their initial training at the Bac+5 level, and who come from educational backgrounds in which economics is not necessarily central, and who wish to acquire additional training in economics to enable them to be competitive on the job market.

Read the testimonies of those who have followed the training on this page.

Tuition fees 

The cost of the training is fixed at :

  • 14 000€ for professionals, companies or administrations;
  • 9 500€ for students continuing their studies or job seekers.