Barbara Treude is a first-year student of Economics. She is pursuing the Master of Science degree.
What made you choose this degree programme?
I wanted to understand the way “the world” – our global economy and society – works, what keeps it together, by which rules it is governed.
In which respect have or haven’t your expectations been fulfilled?
When pursuing the degree in Economics (VWL), you learn how individual decisions are founded (microeconomics) as well as how individual decisions merge into one large entity, namely political economics and how political economies interact with each other (macroeconomics). Several models are used for this purpose, all of which are based on assumptions. Because these assumptions are often much simplified, they can provide only a partial image of reality. In order to close this gap, much effort has been poured into empirical research lately. Therefore, Economics (VWL) has been increasingly approaching the questions of how people decide and how political economies work, but it has not yet found a clear-cut solution – such as I had expected before I enrolled in the degree programme.
Which aspect of your degree programme do you enjoy most?
As political economist, you must have a deep love for theories and abstract thinking. If that's not the case, you should approach the same issues from a different perspective, for example by studying social sciences. I enjoyed making assumptions, using them to set up a model and to draw consistent conclusions from my model. It is rather like solving puzzles. What I like about empirical courses is that research closely follows reality. To me, the correlation between a theoretical model and its empirical verification is what political science is truly all about. Here, I believe I have the tools – or very nearly have the tools – for understanding and describing how people behave in a certain situation.
What has been your biggest challenge to date?
The Economics degree programme requires students to completely penetrate a model – theoretically or empirically. This takes time and stamina, because a lot is abstract and, therefore, seems much more complicated than it really is. Moreover, you need good maths skills. You don't necessarily have to acquire them at school (I only attended a basic class), but you mustn't be afraid of maths and must be willing to immerse yourself in mathematics.
What would you like to become after completing your degree?
Seeing as I'm also a Sinologist, I am particularly interested in the (sustainable) development of China. I am planning to write my PhD thesis in this subject and to pursue an academic career. However, many career paths are open to a political economist, and I'm not averse to taking other opportunities, either.
Which advice would you like to give to students who consider enrolling in this degree programme?
It is very important to familiarise oneself with the difference between Management and Economics with focus on Management (BWL) and Management and Economics with focus on Economics (VWL) – simple Internet research will suffice. The RUB offers the option of combining both, or to combine one of the degree programmes with a different discipline (Bachelor). Then, try to find out what your goals are. Economics is the more theoretical, more abstract and more intangible discipline. Management prepares you for specific duties within a corporation, whereas Economics provides you with tools that may be applied in various contexts. If you want to understand and learn how to model human decision-making and/or (supra) national interrelations, Economics is the right discipline for you.
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