There are many ways to define econometrics, with the simplest being “statistical methods used by economists”. Econometrics is a set of statistical tools that allows economists to test hypotheses using really world data. (http://economics.about.com/cs/studentresources/f/econometrics.htm)

Monash University defines it thus: “Econometrics is a set of quantitative techniques that are useful for making economic decisions”. The Economist’s Dictionary of Economics defines Econometrics as “The setting up of mathematical models describing mathematical models describing economic relationships (such as that the quantity demanded of a good is dependent positively on income and negatively on price), testing the validity of such hypotheses and estimating the parameters in order to obtain a measure of the strengths of the influences of the different independent variables.” The advantage of this definition is that it makes mathematics too a part of the subject and not just statistics.

It is not surprising then that there are differences in the name some universities give to the course. Given the emphasis on quantitative techniques, some offer Econometrics along with Operations Research. Some call it Applied Economics. But whatever the specific name, you have to be very strong in mathematics and statistics. Employment opportunities could be in private sector and the government, not to mention research institutions.

LSE, for example, calls in MSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics (http://www.lse.ac.uk/economics/prospectiveStudents/postgraduateProgrammes/home.aspx). Incidentally, this is a two-year programme. The UK has many Masters Courses in econometrics (http://www.mastersportal.eu/study-options/268927086/econometrics-united-kingdom.html).

Monash University calls in Masters in Applied Econometrics (http://www.monash.edu/study/coursefinder/course/3822/). The University of Queensland offers a Masters in Applied Econometrics (https://www.uq.edu.au/study/program.html?acad_prog=5603). Erasmus University, Rotterdam calls it MSc in Econometrics and Management Science (http://www.eur.nl/english/master/programmes/econometrics_management/). Amsterdam School of Economics offers an MSc Econometrics in English (http://ase.uva.nl/education/master-s-programmes/content4/econometrics-mathematical-economics.html). Maastricht University offers an MSc in Econometrics and Operations Research (http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/Faculties/SBE/TargetGroup/Education/MastersProgrammes/Econometrics.htm).

The University of Texas, Austin offers an MA in Economics, with a strong quantitative emphasis, even to students who do not have a background in economics but have a strong quantitative background (http://ma.eco.utexas.edu/). Johns Hopkins University, Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, offers an MSc in Applied Economics with a fairly distinctive course content (http://advanced.jhu.edu/academics/graduate-degree-programs/applied-economics/).