LSE MSc in Economics + MBA

[Tbomb]

Hi all,

I was just accepted to the LSE MSc in Economics (1 year) and I'm having trouble making a decision. This site, and all the posts have been very helpful (and helpful more if I knew about them earlier!) and I thought someone might be able to shed some light for me.

I applied to LSE this year after receiving poor results applying to top U.S. Econ PhD programs (I was only accepted to BU, UCSB, and Yale Masters). LSE seemed like a good way to improve my credentials for PhD re-application, receive solid econ training, and provide a safety net if, in the end, I decided not to continue on with a PhD (i.e., I would stand a relatively good chance of securing a state-side job with just the MSc from LSE).

The issue I've run in to, is I'm now not sure if I'll want to re-apply to PhD programs this fall for entry in Fall '11. Instead I've started to consider the MBA & Master's in Science dual degree programs such as the Yale MBA - FES dual degree as I'm interested in natural resources/energy and development grounded by a strong economics framework. So given that, I was interested if someone had some insight into following:

- If I went the MBA-Master's dual degree route does it make sense, at all, to spend the year (and $$) to get my MSc from LSE? Is there any value-added? Similarly, is there any value to getting the MSc degree and then going to pursue a straight MBA degree?

- Assuming I had ~top marks, would the MSc degree from LSE help me get into a better state-side PhD program? Would it help me get into a top tier state-side MBA program?

Any help you can provide would be helpful.

Thanks for the help, the forums have proven invaluable for me!