The Rome Master in Economics (RoME) shows its worth as a gateway to the best international PhD programs

The coming June marks the end of the first edition of the Rome Masters in Economics (RoME), a two-year MSc (Laurea Magistrale) program jointly managed by the LUISS Department of Economics and Finance and EIEF (a research institution sponsored by the Bank of Italy with outstanding international academic reputation). RoME is an honors program for a small number of driven and talented students, selected from all over the world. It is challenging and interactive, with emphasis on quantitative and methodological aspects, and is intended to prepare students for successfully applying to high-level international PhD programs in Economics and Finance or for a well-qualified career in the private sector and policy institutions. More information on RoME can be obtained on its website.

The first cohort of students, who will graduate in June, is composed of 9 students, of which 5 foreigners (from Russia, South America and the United Kingdom), 6 females. The second cohort, who started in 2018, is composed of 16 students, about half of them foreigners. Class size will remain small with no more than twenty students admitted to the program to guarantee fruitful interactions among excellent students as well as intense and personalized tutoring by the teachers.

The placement of the first cohort of RoME students has been so far successful. Students in search of admission to a PhD program in the US received offers from University of Chicago, Princeton University, Columbia University, MIT Sloan, Kellogg School of Management, University of Pennsylvania, University of Minnesota, Boston University, University of California at Los Angeles, University of California at San Diego, Boston College, Cornell University, and Brown University. Students who restricted their search to European PhD programs received offers of admission from University College London, European University Institute, Imperial College, Swiss Finance Institute, University of Mannheim, and Bocconi University. Two students opted for a career in the private sector and received a job offer from Oliver Wyman, an international consulting firm where they worked as intern during the summer between their first and second year.

The two students below will graduate this year and are sharing their experience at RoME.

Mercedes Ponce de Leon is from Montevideo, Uruguay, where she obtained her B.A. in Economics from the Universidad de Montevideo, with a top GPA. Mercedes was admitted to Cornell and Brown.

South Ruairidh is from Chesterfield, England. He got his B.A. at the University of Oxford, Hertford College in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, as a First Class Honours. Ruairidh has received offers of admission from Chicago, Columbia and Princeton.