PEPM Establishes New Track Dedicated to Central Banking and Financial Markets

Columbia SIPA has announced a new curricular track devoted to Central Banking and Financial Markets within its Program in Economic Policy Management, known as PEPM. Prospective students may apply to the one-year Master of Public Administration program and track until March 1, with an earlier deadline of February 5 for scholarship consideration; the newly admitted class will begin studies in late May.

Since 1992 the PEPM program has trained professionals and policymakers to effectively design and implement economic policy in market economies, with a strong emphasis on the economic problems of emerging markets. As PEPM prepares to admit its 25th class, the new track in Central Banking and Financial Markets (CBFM) offers focused training in a policy area of growing importance.

“Recent financial crises in emerging and developed market economies illustrate the necessity of deep understanding and clear thinking in the design and implementation of effective monetary and financial policy,” said Dean Merit E. Janow. “At central banks, finance ministries, and the companies that invest in capital markets, there is increasing interest in—and need for—the rigorous policy training around financial stability, monetary policy, and macroprudential regulation that SIPA provides.”

The new track’s instructors include leaders and scholars who remain active in policymaking dialogue—including heads of research and asset/liability management at global investment banks and current and former senior officials at the Federal Reserve, Japanese Ministry of Finance, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and other bodies. They will use real-world examples of policy success and failure to convey the practical lessons of macroprudential policymaking, financial stability, and financial market development. The CBFM curriculum will also emphasize new developments in the macroprudential arena via seminar-style case discussion with CBFM students.

“The PEPM program has long strived to introduce our students to cutting-edge theories regarding modern economies and the tools and techniques to manage them,” said Guillermo Calvo, program director and professor of international and public affairs. “The new track will be especially relevant for mid-career professionals working in central banks, regulatory agencies, and finance ministries, and will offer equally valuable lessons for those working in private banking and at multilateral agencies.”

As with PEPM’s existing tracks in Economic Policy Management and Global Energy Management and Policy, the course of study for CBFM is designed to allow mid-career professionals and policymakers to earn a Master of Public Administration degree in 12 months.