KSE General Admission Test/ Interview

Download the schedule of KSE General Admission Test.

Consultations for the KSE General Admission Test will be held on Friday, July 2, at 12.00., room 207.

The KSE General Admission Test will be held on Monday, July 5 at 10:00 and further followed by the interviews that will start at 14:00 on Monday, July 5 and at 10:00 on Tuesday, July 6.

*** A sample of the KSE General Admission Test is available below!

To be admitted, one needs to pass the KSE General Admission Test which consists of three parts - mathematics, economics and English. An overall score, including interview results, will be assigned to each applicant who has been admitted to the interview.

Maximum number of points an applicant can receive is 100, among which:

KSE General Admission Test – 70 points

Out of which:

Economics Part – 30 points
Mathematics Part – 30 points
English Language Part – 10 points

Interview – 30 points

The Economics Part serves as a basis for the personal interview and is designed to measure the applicant’s ability to:

• understand basic concepts in economics;
• interpret simple economic graphs; and
• apply basic economic reasoning to everyday issues.

Previous specialization in economics is not required for admission to the master’s program. 

Recommended literature:
Campbell R McConnell and Stanley L Brue: Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies.
(Good knowledge of the material from this book is sufficient to successfully complete the Economics Part)

Additional literature (more advanced treatment of the topics):
1. Rudiger Dornbusch, Stanley Fischer, Richard Startz, Macroeconomics, 7-th edition // Irwin, McGraw-Hill, 1998;
2. N.Gregory Mankiw, Macroeconomics, 2nd edition // Worth Publishers, 1994;
3. Robert N. Pindyck, Daniel L. Rubinfeld, Microeconomics, 4-rd edition // Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632, 1994.

The Mathematics Part The requirements for the Mathematics Part follow the standard recommendations of the Ministry of Education of Ukraine for the course "Higher Mathematics for Economists and Managers". Below is an approximate list of topics student needs to know prior to the exam.
 
1. Linear Algebra: algebra of vectors; scalar multiplication of vectors; matrix algebra: addition of matrices, matrix multiplication, transpose of a matrix, rank of a matrix, matrix inverse; the determinant of a square matrix: main properties of the determinant, computing the determinant; systems of linear equations, homogeneous systems, systems of linear equations in matrix form; Jordan-Gaussian elimination and Cramer’s rule; linear dependence and independence; bases; norm of a vector; transition between bases.

2. Theory of Sets: logical operators; truth tables; sets; numeric sets; open, closed, bounded, compact sets; infimum and supremum.

3. Calculus and Integration: sequences; limit of a sequence; one-variable calculus: polynomials, rational functions, exponential functions, logarithms, trigonometric functions, limit of a function, continuity, differentiability, Taylor polynomial of a function, Maclaurin polynomial of a function, graphs; integral calculus: prime, indefinite integrals, integration by substitution, integration by part, area and definite integrals; series: number series, Taylor series; calculus of several variables: graphs and level curves, partial derivative, the total derivative, directional derivatives and gradients, full differential of the function of two variables; chain rule; implicit function of two variables; non-constrained optimization of functions of two variables; constrained optimization and Lagrange multipliers method.

4. Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics: probability of an event; conditional probability; Bayes’ rule; random variables; expected value; variance; standard deviation; covariance of two random variables; probability density function (both discrete and continuous); fundamental probability distributions; Central Limit theorem; fundamental limit theorems; distribution parameters estimation.

5. Differential Equations: linear first-order equations; general linear equations; linear homogeneous and non-homogenous equations; differential equations of higher orders; Cauchy problem.

6. Economic Applications: input-output matrices; budget constraint; consumer problem; cost functions; profits under various market structures (monopoly, oligopoly, competition); Cobb-Douglas production function; CES utility function.

Recommended literature (some of the books may be found online)

The best way to prepare for the Mathematics Part is to take any textbook "Mathematics for Economists" approved by the Ministry of Education, learn the theory within and solve as many problems, as possible. The list of suggested books includes (but is not limited to):

1. Бугір М. К. Математика для економістів, Альма-Матер, 2003;
2. Васильченко І.П. Вища математика для економістів, Знання, 2007;
3. Высшая математика для экономистов. Под ред. Н.Ш.Кремера. - М., 2000
4. Дубовик В.П., Юрик І.І. Вища математика: Навч. Посібник. –Київ, А.С.К., 2001;
5. Данко П.Е., Попов А.Г., Кожевникова Т.Я. Высшая математика в упражнениях и задачах. В 2-х частях. - 5-е издание. –М.: Высш. шк., 1997;
6. Колемаев В.А., Староверов О.В., Турундаевский В.Б. Теория вероятностей и математическая статистика: Учебное пособие для экономических специальностей ВУЗов. –М.: Высшая школа, 1991;
7. Жлуктенко В. І., Наконечний С. І., Савіна С. С. Теорія ймовірностей і математична статистика: Навч.-метод. посібник: У 2-х ч. К.: КНЕУ, 2001;
8. Красс М.С. Математика для экономических специальностей;
9. Ляшко И.И., Головач Г.П., Гай Я.Г., Боярчук А.К. Справочное пособие по высшей математике (ТТ.1, 2, 5);
10. Посібник з математики для вступників на магістерську програму з економіки. Упорядник: Шпортюк В.Г.
      К.: НаУКМА, 2005.

The English Part measures the command of English grammar and vocabulary at the intermediate level. Includes tasks on reading comprehension, language structure, editing and filling in the gaps.

Recommended literature:
1. First Certificate Language Practice/ Vince M.: MacMillan, 2003;
2. Advanced Language Practice/ Vince, M.: MacMillan, 2003;
3. English Grammar in Use/ Murphy R.: Cambridge, 3rd edition;
4. Grammar & Vocabulary for Cambridge Advanced & Proficiency/ Wellman G.: Longman, 2002;
5. Advanced Learners’ Grammar/ Foley M., Hall D.: Longman, 2003;
6. FCE - 2 Use of English/ Evans V.: Express Publishing, 2000;
7. Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL Test/ Gear J., Gear R.: Cambridge University Press, 4th edition.

Interview

Based on the results of the preceding KSE General Admission Test, applicants may be invited to an interview in English with two professional economists. The interviewers will ask questions about the applicant’s educational and professional background, academic and career goals, English-language proficiency, as well as about the applicant’s familiarization with KSE MA Program’s curriculum. The interview may also include a discussion of the Economics Part of the KSE General Admission test and the candidate’s application essays.

Two tips for the preparation of the interview:

1. Know the KSE Program: know what courses are taught in the first and the second years of study (both the names of the courses and their contents are given on the KSE website). Some students only discover at the admission interview that the economics that is taught at the KSE is quite different from the economics taught at the majority of undergraduate institutions in Ukraine.

2. Know what is happening around you: read newspaper/listen to news on the radio or watch TV news. It is important that the applicant is aware about the economic/political situation in his/her country and the world.

KSE General Admission Test 

KSE General Admission Test: This is an example of the KSE General Admission Test.

In addition to it, KSE applicants can use last year’s admission exams’ examples given below, since the questions included in them remain relevant and only the format has changed.

Economics Exam 2009 (example 1, example 2)

Mathematics Exam 2009 (example 1, example 2)

English Exam 2009 (example 1, example 2)