

Madras School of Economics is a private institute located in Chennai, India. It was founded in 1993. MSE was declared an ‘institution of special importance’ on 1 April 2021 through the Madras School of Economics Act 2020. It is also mentioned in the list of institutions established under the state legislature Act by the UGC. Its M.A. degree program is affiliated with Central University of Tamil Nadu and AICTE-approved, and its PhD programs are affiliated with the University of Madras. It is also recognised by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry as a centre for excellence in environmental economics.
It is a postgraduate institution that offers various courses under the Department of Commerce, Economics, Science and Management. From the academic session of 2023, it has started offering the undergraduate course BA Economics. It offers courses at the postgraduate and doctoral levels. The programs offered by MSE are MBA, MA in general economics, MA in financial economics, MA in applied quantitative finance, MA in actuarial economics, MA in environmental economics, PGDM in finance, PGDM in research and business analytics, MSc in data science and PhD in economics.
The campus of Madras School of Economics has a well-maintained campus, with smart classrooms, an auditorium, a computer centre, a library and hostels for both boys and girls.
The placement cell of MSE has a good placement record and a 100% internship record. The highest CTC in MSE was INR 23.14 LPA, the median CTC was INR 11.42 LPA, and the mean CTC was INR 12.30 LPA. The past recruiters in MSE have been Barclays, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, JP Morgan Chase & Co. and many more.
Particular | Details |
Institute Name | Madras School of Economics |
Mode of Education | Regular (Full-time)/Part-time |
Departments | Management, economics, commerce and science |
Courses Offered | PGDM, MA, IMA, BA, msc, phd, MBA |
Popular Courses | PGDM, ma, msc, MBA |
Specialisations | Economics, data science, research, finance and business analytics, |
Mode of Admission | Entrance-based/Merit-based |
Application Form Release Date for XAT | 10 July 2025 |
Admission Date | February 2026 (Tentatively) |
Approval & Affiliations | AICTE & the Central University of Tamil Nadu |
Selection Criteria | Entrance exam scores |
Top Recruiters | Deloitte, EY, Accenture, Infosys, etc |
University Type | Private |
University Website |
Madras School of Economics provides programs at the postgraduate and doctoral levels. Since the academic session of 2022-2023, the institute has started offering an undergraduate program, BA (Hons) in economics. For admission to various programs, MSE takes its own entrance test, MSEET-2025. This is a 2-hour duration test, with a total of 100 No. of questions.
For other courses like MBA & PGDM, the entrance exam for management, like CAT/XAT/MAT, will have to be given. The application form for XAT is open from 10 July 2025, and the deadline for filling out that form is 5 December 2025. The students who want to take admission in the PGDM & MBA in MSE can give the XAT entrance exam on 4 January 2026.
The eligibility criteria for these courses are different. The students who want to pursue a masters should have an undergraduate degree with 55% marks if in the general category. If the student belongs to the OBC category, then the minimum requirement is 50% and 45% for SC/ST/PWD categories.
The students who want to apply for the bachelor's course BA Hons Economics should have passed class 12th . The students in their last year of school can apply as well, provided they submit all the required documents before the deadline set by the institute. The admission to this program will be done on the basis of the entrance exam MSEET. The total intake of this program is 80, with a 35% quota for Tamil Nadu residents.
The fees for pursuing these programs are in the range of INR 66,000 to INR 12,00,000. The students will also have to pay a one-time admission fee of INR 5000 to apply to this program.
These are some of the important dates and events for admission to the MBA program of MSE.
Dates | Events |
CAT Registration Start Date | 1 Aug 2025 |
CAT Registration Last Date | 20 September 2025 |
CAT Admit Card Downloads | 5 November 2025 |
CAT Test Date | 30 Nov 2025 |
Madras School of Economics has various criteria for providing admission to its courses. It offers courses under the department of management, commerce, and economics.
For the bachelor's courses, the student should have cleared their class 12th in any subject combination in their first attempt itself. To be eligible for the courses, students should have scored 65% of marks if they belong to the general category. Students who belong to the OBC should score 60% marks, while students from SC/ST/PWD categories should have 50% marks. The student should not be older than 22 years of age at the time of admission, and compulsory should have studied maths at any level, like applied, standard and business in their 12th class.
The application fee would be 1200 for the general category and 1000 for the SC/ST category. Students who want to take this course would have to appear in the entrance test of the institute, MSEET.
The students who want to apply for the master's program in MSE would be eligible for admission when they have a graduate degree in any stream. The general category students must have scored 55% marks in their undergraduate level. For the OBC & SC/ST/PWD category students, the minimum score should be 50% and 45% respectively. It is also compulsory for the student to have studied mathematics at the plus two level or mathematical economics at undergraduate level.
The students should pay INR 1200 for the general category and INR 1000 for the SC/ST category.
PhD is offered at both full-time and part-time levels. For the eligibility criteria for getting admission in this program, the student should have a master's degree in economics, finance, management sciences or a STEM discipline from an approved institution. The marks obtained in the master's should be 55% marks. 5% relaxation is for reserved category students. The student should also have cleared one of the entrance exams, including UGC-JRF, UGC-NET, or GATE, in economics. If the student has none of the scores, the student is required to take the entrance test of MSE one day before the interview.
The placement cell of MSE provides its students with practical skills and industrial training. It also provides its students with internship support to give them exposure to how things work in the real-world environment. The highest CTC students received were 21.14 LPA, the median CTC was 11.42 LPA, and the mean CTC was 12.30 LPA. The top recruiters in MSE are Deloitte, EY, KPMG, Accenture, Infosys, TCS, Citi and Kotak Mahindra Bank, to name a few.
Madras School of Economics doesn't offer any direct scholarships, fee waivers or special discounts for students currently enrolled, although students who are in need of financial help or assistance may reach out to the office of the MSE for any kind of assistance required or information regarding availing the education loans.

