Anyone who has completed his/her graduation in any stream can get admission to DSE for MA in Economics. The only eligibility criteria are at least 60% marks in the aggregate ( in the graduation program)

Earlier there was an additional requirement that the aspirant must have studied at least one Maths paper during their graduation. But the recent criteria do not even require that. However, DSE focuses a lot on Math, and having an Engineering background will definitely give you an edge over other candidates.

Recently DSE has witnessed many non-economic students willing to shift their careers in economics and want to pursue Master's in Economics. This shift among students stems from the increasing demand for economists globally in different domains of jobs like Analyst, Economist, Researcher, Data Scientist, etc.

As an MA in Economics aspirant, one thing to keep in mind is that although the entrance exam is easy, the program is quite rigorous and can be extremely stressful at times. So only a true Economics fan should go for it.

One of my sister's acquaintances wrote 2016 mains with PSIR optional. She had been working in an IT firm till a month before prelims and had been preparing for a year before. 

Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) is quite fast. The study material provided by IGNOU is good for selective reading for specific topics like Justice, Equality, MN Roy, Sri Aurobindo, Theory of international relations etc. But she had an engineering background and revealed that the notes were not of premium quality.

Paper 1- Part A

Gauba is not bad. But you will need to read the book more than one time to interpret it completely. The information has been divided unevenly within the chapters making it a difficult read. One more good source is Shubra Ranjan's notes. They summarise the points in the UPSC syllabus format.

Paper 1- Part B

Complete Laxmikant.Read the interpretations given by famous analysts, their viewpoints, case laws and their history and the politics that played behind the evolution of laws and how and why the judiciary evolved. Again for this look into Shubra Ranjan notes. For the remaining topics look into Oxford publications.

Paper 2- part A

For this part, the best recommendation is Heywood’s global politics. It’s easy to understand and very well written. Combine this with IGNOU notes and you will get good results. You can also go through questions given in Baylis and Smith because sometimes they appear verbatim and quoting the exact same viewpoint can get you some extra points.

Paper 2 - Part B

Conduct internet research and make your own notes on the topics included in the syllabus. Then go through commentaries on IDSA /IPCS websites. This will give you a better understanding of and current status of relations.

Once you are done with all the study materials, focus on developing the vocabulary for PSIR. Make sure your answers are evenly distributed with theories, quotes, facts, years etc. Practice writing answers a lot. 

PhD or research is all about finding out new concepts. Thus we provide a deeper in already existing knowledge. PhD in Social Science is very much different from that of pure sciences, yet the goal is the same. As you know for doing research/PhD at the university level, the qualification required is PG degree. Every university has different criteria for selecting candidates.

As you know DSE, JNU, ISI, IEW, IIPA, and IIMs are the prime institutions for teaching, learning and researching in economics, management and public administration.

If you are willing to get into one of these institutions, a Master’s from IGNOU will have the same value as that from any other university. To get selected into these prestigious institutions, you will have to pass through a rigorous selection process of

• Entrance

• Group discussion 

• Personal interview 

Moreover you will have to provide testimonials from your professors about your academic developments.