密歇根大學安娜堡分校的MAE項目(MA in Economics)對其適應性做了一定的說明，我們可以從中一窺美國高校經濟學碩士項目的適應性。

The MAE program addresses itself to the needs of three kinds of students: (1) those who want advanced training in economics in order to qualify for jobs in government or private organizations that require greater expertise than is provided by an undergraduate degree, (2) those who wish to study economics as a complement to their work in another field, and (3) those who need further background in economics, math, or statistics, or who need to certify their ability to do graduate work in economics, in order to gain admission to a Ph.D. program. For the second group, dual programs, including in some cases dual degrees, can combine economics with public health, social work, law, natural resources, demography, industrial relations, statistics, business administration, and other fields.

密歇根大學安娜堡分校的經濟學項目主要適合三種人：一、為了將來工作需要想要接受進一步的經濟學訓練的;二、以前沒有過而現在想要系統性地完整地學習經濟學的;三、為了進一步的學術研究，攻讀PhD而進行經濟學專業背景上的準備。

杜克大學也對其MAE的適用性做了一定的說明。

The Duke Economics MA is designed to be one of the most quantitative of all North American masters’ programs. It aims for a narrow segment of the market:

Students preparing for PhD programs, either by taking advanced mathematics, statistics, and theory, or gaining intuition and exposure to economic issues;

Students preparing for careers in technical financial analysis;

Mid-career research economists seeking to brush up on econometric and modeling skills, and to undertake a research sabbatical;

Aspiring lawyers who want to gain a solid grounding in game theory, microeconomics, econometrics, and cost-benefit analysis; and

Aspiring policy analysts seeking to gain modeling and econometric skills prior to embarking on a career in government, think-tanks, or consulting.

杜克大學的經濟學項目主要適合五種人

為了攻讀PhD而想要接受數理方面的系統訓練;

想要從事金融工程分析性工作的學生;

想要提高計量和建模能力的經濟學家;

想要獲得博弈論，微觀經濟和計量經濟綜合背景的律師;

想要獲得政府職位、參謀和顧問職位而接受建模和計量方面訓練的政策分析者。