Student Diary

My Week in Oxford for the Fundamentals of Graduate Economics Summer School

Ellen Lac

By Ellen Lac

This July, I attended the Fundamentals of Graduate Economics summer school programme at Oxford University. I wanted to share my experience of the course for anyone considering applying next summer!

A Quick Overview

The Fundamentals of Graduate Economics course acts as a bridge between undergraduate economics and Master’s Economics. It covers everything that you might not be taught at the undergraduate level that you will be expected to know at the graduate level. However, the course is not exclusive to Economics students; it’s available to anyone. The website has information on the exact specifics of the content of the course. Click the link here to find out more.

The students on the course ranged from first-year engineering students to young professionals. Many of the students didn’t come from Economics but were simply interested in pursuing it. Some students were professionals who wanted to better understand Econometrics so they could apply it to their work life. Many students just wanted to see if the MPhil was for them! By explaining what the course entails, I hope you find out if this course is for you!

Preparatory Reading

Before the course even started, we received a full reading list to help us prepare for the content covered. The preparatory reading allowed each student to be on the same page when we began, so was no need to worry about the course being too different from our academic backgrounds. I referred back to these notes throughout the course when I needed a refresher.

Overview of the class content

Professor Ines Moreno de Barreda taught us the first half of the course, which introduced us to graduate Economic Maths. For some of us, our universities don’t focus on dedicated math courses for Economics, so this is a great chance to get acquainted with it. I have never done any of the Maths before, so this was new territory for me. However, Ines made abstract concepts feel intuitive. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of the economic theories we study, and understanding the mechanisms behind it allows for a more nuanced appreciation of what you do as an Economist. Ines encouraged us to ask questions about the content, which made the grasping of the concepts that much quicker.

Prior to this course, I was completely oblivious to the level of mathematics required for the master’s. I thought we had covered everything I needed to know at the undergraduate level. Therefore, I highly recommend completing this course if you haven’t done any dedicated Maths courses in your degree. This part of the course bridged the undergraduate Maths with some of the more advanced topics we would be seeing in the MPhil. I will definitely be investing some time in reviewing this part of the course again.

The second half of the course is taught by Professor James Duffy, and it covers all the basics of Econometrics you need before starting the MPhil programme. From my understanding, only Economics courses cover Econometrics, with many not covering the more advanced topics. Econometrics is an essential tool for any Economist. It allows researchers to answer questions such as “What happens to household spending on education when a woman’s income is raised?” This may seem like a simple question to answer at face value, but it is not as simple as this! Studying Econometrics will allow you to understand why we can’t just compare households where women earn more to ones where the women earn less! Such naïve comparisons are littered with flaws and will greatly affect the reliability of your results. Understanding Econometrics will allow you to be able to critically evaluate economic research and use Econometric techniques to answer many pressing questions! This is essential for all those preparing for their Economics dissertations and those wanting to pursue Economics but have no prior experience with the course.

Professor James taught this brilliantly, as I found the second half of the course to be wonderfully insightful. The skills I gained will certainly be applied to my dissertation this year. The pace of the course was said to be similar to that of the Economics MPhil programme. If you want to know what is expected from you at Oxford, here is where you can find out!

Overall, I have gained a lot from the course. I now have a clear understanding of what is expected in the master’s programme, allowing me to prepare in advance. The course has significantly improved my research skills, which I hope I can use to enhance the quality of all my future research.

Tutorials and Teaching Style

Every day after our lectures and lunch, we had an hour of independent study. This gave us a chance to take in everything we had covered in class and to quickly revise any content we weren’t sure of. This hour was also used to complete our tutorial questions. Every two lectures we had were accompanied by a corresponding question sheet. I found this helped solidify my understanding but also helped me pick up on any weak areas. After independent study, we had an hour’s tutorial where Professor Ines or Professor James would cover the problem sets. If you’re not familiar with tutorials, these are when a tutor or lecturer goes over a problem set with the class. This gives students the chance to actively engage in their learning. This was a great opportunity to ask questions about any areas we weren’t sure of from lectures. At Oxford, tutorials are part of the course, and this is the kind of teaching style you can expect of the MPhil programme. I found the blend of interactive and independent study helped solidify my understanding of the subjects.

Academic Activities, Career Insights, And Student Talks

Throughout the course, we got many opportunities to speak to students about their experiences with the MPhil programme. This was also a great chance to network. On our first day, we had a chat with a current student who told us about what life is like at Oxford. We also spoke to two former students who were now pursuing careers outside of academia. One in a civil service position and another with their own start-up. We also met a current PhD student who has pursued academia further. It was a great chance to see where the MPhil could take us, and I liked the fact that everyone had taken a unique direction with it. I found this part of the trip extremely useful as we got a lot of advice from these students on how to follow our own paths.

The academics were just one part of the course, so here are all the bits I enjoyed outside of the teaching!

Pizza from the White Rabbit

An honourable mention for the lunchtimes.

We were provided a taste of Oxford every lunchtime, like pizza from The White Rabbit and sandwiches from Taylors.

It was a nice touch to the course, which made it feel like a true Oxford student experience.

Evenings in Oxford

Every evening, an activity had been prepared for us. Whilst some of these included career insights or student talks, we also had some less academic ones, like a walking tour and punting!

All Souls College

Oxford Walking Tour

One of my favourite activities of the trip had to be the walking tour. We were led by a former student who provided us with so many interesting stories about his time at Oxford. It was so nice being able to chat with someone who knows the city inside out. Stories of the past were brought to life as we were led through Oxford’s cobbled streets. I really could imagine Tolkien, staring up at All Souls’ College and gaining the inspiration for the Two Towers novel. Or seeing the door that gave C.S Lewis his lightbulb moment for creating the character Mr. Tumnus. But it’s not just literature that Oxford has helped contribute to. Many of the university colleges are instantly recognizable as they’ve frequently visited our TV screens. Much of the Harry Potter series has been filmed there, so it’s hard not to imagine you’re studying at Hogwarts as you walk past the colleges. By the end of the tour, you’re left feeling inspired by the legacy of the many remarkable names who have walked through Oxford’s halls. It certainly gives you something to aim for!

Dinner at Merton College

One evening, we sat down and had a formal dinner at Merton College. Formal dinners are a regular event at Oxford, and only a few of the older universities in the UK do them. You dress up and have a three-course dinner with your fellow classmates and lecturers over wine. I found that this was a great chance to get to know my classmates better outside of the academics. I liked that the course provided the whole student experience, and the dinner was an integral part of that. After dinner, a few of us decided that the night was still young, and we could do with a bit of exploring the local pub scene. We ventured out into the night in hopes of finding a good pub and happened upon one instantly! I believe, as with many of the pubs in Oxford, that this one was also featured in Harry Potter. The Turf Tavern was great fun, and it was here that I felt like I really got to know my classmates as friends. I recommend grabbing a drink here if you're planning on visiting Oxford for one of its summer schools.

Punting on the River Thames

Punting

The trip saw us off with the famous Oxford tradition of punting. This is where you boat down the river Thames using a punt pole (a big stick). Despite my initial fears of going onto the boat, it was actually an extremely relaxing way to end the trip. The sun was shining down as we bobbed past all the pretty buildings, giving me a chance to reflect on everything that had happened that week. Most of us even tried our hands at using the punting pole! I, for one, enjoyed just being pushed around. Maybe, you could find a new love for punting here if you decide to come one summer.

It was a lovely way to say goodbye to Oxford, and I can’t wait to visit again and maybe get some punting in!

My Final Reflections

I think I have gained a lot from this experience. I applied to the course because I was in awe of the researchers I had read about, who had come up with creative ways to tackle seemingly unanswerable questions. I wanted to learn how to be like them. My aim going into the course was to gain a sense of the creativity that goes into being an economist. I came out with a deeper understanding of that but also so much more.

Academically, I have increased my skill set, which I have no doubts will be useful in tackling this upcoming year. However, I was also inspired by everyone I met whilst there.

My classmates were not afraid of a challenge.  During the tutorials, I was surprised at the number of students jumping at the chance to present their answers to the class. I, for one, have never loved public speaking and found the idea daunting. When I asked them about it, they confirmed it was scary, but they wanted to challenge themselves. They encouraged me to do the same, and on the last day, I actually did answer a few questions! Afterwards, all my classmates came to give me a big congratulations for overcoming my fear! It was very sweet, and I will take their advice home with me. Every single one of the MPhil students were so passionate about what they did; it was contagious, so of course, I want to be more like them. I think being driven is a massive component of what makes them great students! The professors, Ines and James, were incredibly intelligent! Their knowledge of their subjects was extensive. I actually felt like they might just know everything.

That inspiration, I feel, will be used to challenge myself more and push myself harder. I think that is a huge gain from this trip. I’m sure I’ll get a lifelong benefit from it. The professors, the students, and my classmates were an integral part in making the course experience what it was. If you can see yourself enjoying this or wanting to challenge yourself academically, you should apply. You might also come out with a renewed sense of determination! Who knows?

Thank you so much to Ines, James, Alice, and everyone who helped organise the course. It was such a pleasure to receive a scholarship, and I am very grateful for this opportunity.

Summer School Group 2024