Checklist for the start of your studies
Before the first day of your education, you need to take some important steps.
1.Your offer
You have been admitted. If you want to keep your place (seat), you do not have to reply to your offer.
If you do not want to keep your place you should decline your offer by logging in to 'My pages' on universityadmissions.se, and follow the instructions. You should click "I wish to decline this offer" next to the course or programme you want to decline.
If you see "Reserve" next to your course or programme in the Notification of selection results, this means that you've been placed on a waiting list for that course/programme.
2.Activate your user account and MFA
As a new student, you need to activate your user account (your UMU-id) approximately two weeks prior to the start of the semester.
With your user account you can:
- register for courses
- access the internet in computer labs and the university's wireless network
- submit assignments and verify your study results
- access your student e-mail
If you are a new student, you will automatically receive a user account when you are admitted, but you will need to activate it for it to function properly. You will not be able to activate it until approximately two weeks prior to the start of the semester.
Exchange student or tuition fee paying student
If you are an exchange student or tuition fee paying student, you will receive an email with instructions on how to activate your account.
Install MFA for a more secure login
To increase security and reduce the risk of unauthorised access to your information or account, students must enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) to log in to various systems, such as Canvas and the Student Web.
I want to activate my user account and install MFA
Help! It´s not working
If you are having problems activating your account or logging in, please contact our Servicedesk. You will find answers to common questions, and can submit enquiries.
3.Programme registration
Registration is conducted on campus during the first week of the semester. Please note that if you do not register within this time period, you will not be able to attend the programme. The first course is Mathematical Economics I D7. The course starts on August 31.
While early arrival is recommeded, the latest acceptable arrival date is Monday, 7 September 2026 , by 16.30 (4.30 pm).
If you have any questions contact André Gyllenram
4.Programme start
2026-08-31
On Campus Umeå
The schedule is preliminary until four weeks before the programme startsprogramme start
Starting the autumn semester in Umeå
The autumn semester begins with lectures on 31 August 2026 on Umeå campus. You register for the programme on the first lecture.
Recommended arrival time
You are recommeded to arrive in Umeå at least one week before lectures begin to be able to take part in all introductory activities.
USBE Welcome meeting
A separate Welcome Meeting for all Master’s Programme students at USBE will be held the week before the programme start. This is a great opportunity to meet your fellow students and get useful information about your studies.
Exact date and more information will come later.
Orientation for new international students
Umeå University’s International Office will host an orientation for international students:
- 19 August: Online pre-arrival webinar
- 26 August: In-person session on Campus Umeå
All international students are encouraged to attend.
The full schedule for the Orientation course is available online.
"Inspark" (Kick-Off)
The student association HHUS is organizing a fun and informal Kick-Off for all new USBE students starting one week before the programme start. This event is optional but highly recommended. It’s a great way to meet other students at USBE (from all levels of study), explore Umeå, and get to know the university.
More information and an invitation will come later.
Late arrival
While early arrival is recommeded, the latest acceptable arrival date is Monday, 7 September 2026 , by 16.30 (4.30 pm).
Keep in mind, arriving a week after the start of lectures will mean you have missed a notable part of the first module.
If you arrive later than the latest acceptable arrival date, you will lose your place in the programme and must return home. If you anticipate any delays, please stay in contact with your Programme advisor.
About the programme
For more information about the Master's Programme in Economics, please refer to the programme pages and the programme syllabus.
First semester in Umeå
You can find a lot of information for your first semester on the UMU student web. Once registered on the programme, log in to access personalized information relevant to your studies at USBE.
During the first semester of the programme you will study three courses Mathematical Economics I D7, Econometrics I D12 and Microeconomic Analysis and Applications.
Required knowledge
We strongly encourage you to review what you learned at the bachelor level before you start the programme.
Below are some problems in mathematics, microeconomics, and macroeconomics. These examples illustrate the types of problems you are expected to be able to solve — in other words, some examples of what the program’s prerequisites mean in practice.
Mathematics:
1. Solve the equation: x(x + 3) = 2x(x − 2)
2. Sketch the graph of the function: f(x) = ln(1 + x)
3. Solve the equation: 5e²ˣ = 20
4. Find the derivative of the function:
f(x) = (x² + 1) / (x − 3)
5. Find the derivative of the function:
f(x) = ln(1 + e⁻ˣ²)
6. Determine where the function is increasing or decreasing:
f(x) = x² e⁻ˣ
7. Find and classify the stationary points of the function:
f(x) = x⁴ − 4x³ + 4x²
8. Find the first and second order partial derivatives of:
f(x, y) = ln(x² + y² + 1)
9. Find the stationary point of the function:
f(x, y) = x² + y² − 4x + 6y
10. Solve the constrained optimization problem:
Maximize f(x, y) = xy
subject to x² + y² = 8
Econometrics:
For econometrics you are expected to be familiar with the material in chapters 1-15 of Stock and Watson, Introduction to Econometrics, 4th edition (with the exception of Chapter 10 on Panel data).
Microeconomics
Q1
Rita and Nils both have a utility function given by:
u = (x − 10)⁰·³ y⁰·⁷
where x is food and y is schoolbooks. They maximize utility by spending their entire budgets (income) on these two goods. The price of food is pₓ and the price of schoolbooks is pᵧ.
a. Set up the Lagrange equation and derive the first-order conditions. Derive the demand functions for food and schoolbooks. Are food and schoolbooks substitutes or complements? Explain!
b. Suppose that pₓ = pᵧ = 2, that Rita has a budget of 40 and that Nils has a budget of 60. What share of the budget will Rita spend on food and what share will Nils spend on food? What do you conclude regarding how budget shares change with income? Is this reasonable regarding consumption patterns of food items in general?
Q2
The continuous version of the Slutsky equation for good 1 is written as:
∂x₁/∂p₁ = (∂x₁ˢ/∂p₁) − (∂x₁ᵐ/∂m) x₁
a. Interpret this formula verbally. Be careful to name the different terms involved and their expected qualitative signs (−, +, or ?).
b. What is the law of demand?
c. Explain how the formula above must be changed in order to incorporate endowment income effects
Macroeconomics
The Solow model
The four equations that summarize the Solow model, in per capita terms, are:
(1) yₜ = Aₜ kₜᵅ
(2) yₜ = cₜ + iₜ
(3) kₜ₊₁ = (1 − δ)kₜ + iₜ
(4) iₜ = syₜ
where yₜ is output per capita, kₜ the capital stock per capita, Aₜ total factor productivity, cₜ consumption per capita, iₜ investment per capita, δ capital depreciation rate, and s the marginal propensity to save out of income.
1. Derive the expression for the steady state capital stock.
2. Show mathematically and explain the economic intuition to how an increase in the depreciation rate changes the steady state capital stock.
Say we have a representative firm, operating under perfect competition, that produces output yₜ
in the economy. We normalize the price of the good to one. Its profit maximization problem is:
max AₜKₜᵅNₜ⁽¹⁻ᵅ⁾ − wNₜ − (r + δ)Kₜ
where w and r are the wage and real interest rates.
1. Solve for the first order conditions for profit maximization, which shows how the factor prices relate to the marginal products of labor and capital respectively.
2. Show mathematically how a change in total factor productivity affects the wage rate and the real interest rate.
Study platform: Canvas
USBE uses Canvas as its learning platform.
Each module has a dedicated Canvas page with assignments, participant lists and teacher messages.
There is also a Canvas page for the entire programme with important updates.
Note: You must be registered in the programme to access the course and its modules.
More information
Housing
It is important that you start looking for housing immediately. It is very difficult to find housing on short notice.
In Umeå a lot of landlords use queue systems, so it’s recommended that you sign up for the housing queues as soon as possible. You start accumulating queue-time from the first day that you create a personal page.
Read about finding accommodation in Umeå on the page Finding Accommodation. Here you will find information about different housing queues and where to look for accommodation.
If you are a fee-paying student, you will get offered housing through Umeå University’s Housing Office (HO).
Contact: If you have any questions contact André Gyllenram
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