School of Arts and Sciences
MAJOR AND MINOR DESCRIPTIONS BY DEPARTMENT
ECONOMICS
General Major Requirements
Majors may earn either a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts in economics. The general rules and requirements as they apply to both degrees are as follows:
- A minimum overall 2.00 GPA is required in all economics courses for graduation with an economics major.
- A minimum grade of C- is required in ECON 0100 Introduction to Microeconomic Theory, 0110 Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory, 1100 Intermediate Microeconomics, and 1110 Intermediate Macroeconomics. Majors may elect the S/NC option (formerly the S/N option) for any courses except these four.
- Credit by exam is usually not accepted, but students should check with the departmental advisor about the possibility.
- Majors may choose to complete a double major. Frequently chosen double majors include economics with computer science, history, and philosophy. Less frequently chosen are the sciences (notably biology), which could lead to graduate-level options in public health fields. Interested students have the option of completing a joint major with the mathematics department that will prepare students for a quantitatively oriented job in industry or for entering graduate school in applied mathematics, statistics, economics, business, or a related field (see mathematics major). A structured program leading to a joint A&S/business major is available for students interested in combining economics with business (see Nondepartmental A&S Majors for details).
- Honors in economics is granted if, in addition to fulfilling all requirements for the economics major,
the student meets the following criteria:
- Maintenance of a GPA of 3.25 or above in ECON 0100, 0110, 1100, and 1110
- Maintenance of a GPA of 3.25 in all economics courses (except ECON 0800 Introduction to Economics)
- Maintenance of an overall GPA of 3.25 or better
- Completion of at least 3 credits in the economics proseminar series (ECON 1700–1730)
Requirements for a BA in Economics
Students seeking a BA in economics must earn at least 27 credits in economics courses including the following:
- ECON 0100 Introduction to Microeconomic Theory, 0110 Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory, 1100 Intermediate Microeconomics, and 1110 Intermediate Macroeconomics
- Three additional 1000-level courses, two of which require 1100 or 1110 as prerequisites
- Two economics electives
Students seeking the BA must also take the following corequisite courses:
- MATH 0120 Business Calculus
- STAT 0200 Basic Applied Statistics or STAT 1000 Applied Statistical Methods
Requirements for a BS in Economics
Students seeking a BS in economics must earn at least 24 credits in economics courses including the following:
- ECON 0100 and 1100 Introduction to Microeconomic Theory and Intermediate Microeconomics
- ECON 0110 and 1110 Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory and Intermediate Macroeconomics
- Two 1000-level courses that require 1100 or 1110 or their equivalents as prerequisites
- ECON 1150 Applied Econometrics 1 or 1170 Mathematics for Economists or 1200 Introduction to Game Theory
- A minimum of three additional elective credits in economics
Students seeking the BS must also take the following corequisite courses:
- MATH 0220 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1
- MATH 0230 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 2
- STAT 1000 Applied Statistical Methods
Requirements for a Minor in Economics
The set of courses required for the minor in economics provides an introduction to the core theory in economics and explores some of the issues that economists study. The four core theory courses are taught each term, along with a broad range of applied economics courses. The required courses (totaling 15 credits) are as follows:
- ECON 0100 Introduction to Microeconomic Theory
- ECON 0110 Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory
- ECON 1100 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory or 1110 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
- Two additional courses
Courses in the 0800 series do not count toward the 15 credits required for the minor in economics, and only 3 credits of ECON 1901–1903, directed studies, may be applied toward minor requirements. Other than these restrictions, the two additional courses mentioned above may be any of the courses offered by the department.
Economics-Statistics Joint Major
The economics-statistics joint major is intended for students who are interested in economics and enjoy modeling and analyzing data. Although the number of such students is not large, there are usually a few each year who express an interest in pursuing both economics and statistics in a depth suitable for a major. More often than not, these students are prime candidates for graduate school, and want to keep their options open as to which field to enter later. Short of completing two bachelor’s degrees, their only option now is to major in one subject and minor in the other. If they later decide to attend graduate school in their minor subject, they are likely to be less competitive for admission to the best departments than if they had majored in that subject.
A joint major provides a useful compromise to keep their options open. Additionally, a joint major in economics and statistics can be an excellent training ground for the more quantitative areas of business (such as forecasting, investment management, actuarial planning, and accounting), health management, and public health, without losing the breadth provided by a liberal arts program. Graduates of the joint major who are interested in these areas will have the requisite skills for further training or for immediate entrance into the job market. The curriculum for the joint major consists of eight economics courses and eight statistics courses, along with a statistics writing practicum and three mathematics courses, for a total of 62 credits.
Course Requirements for Economics-Statistics Joint Major:
A minimum of 24 credits in economics as follows:
- ECON 0100 Introduction to Microeconomic Theory
and - ECON 0110 Introduction to Macroeconomic Theory
Note: Students who take ECON 0120 in lieu of ECON 0100 and ECON 0110 must take an additional elective to fulfill the requirements for a major.
- ECON 1100 Intermediate Microeconomics and
- ECON 1110 Intermediate Macroeconomics
- ECON 1150 Applied Econometrics 1
- ECON 1200 Introduction to Game Theory
- One non-0800-series elective ECON course
- One elective 1000-level ECON course
Note: The 1000-level elective must come from the list of approved 1000-level ECON courses. ECON 1100 or ECON 1110 are prerequisites for these courses.
Approved 1000-level ECON courses:
ECON 1130 (Operations Research Analysis), ECON 1140 (Economic Modeling and Forecasting), ECON 1150 (Applied Econometrics 1), ECON 1160 (Applied Econometrics 2), ECON 1230 (Intermediate Public Finance), ECON 1280 (Monetary Theory and Policy), ECON 1300 (Introduction to Regional Economics), ECON 1310 (Methods of Regional Analysis), ECON 1320 (Urban Economics), ECON 1360 (Environmental Economics), ECON 1420 (Labor Economics), ECON 1440 (Economics of Corporate Finance), ECON 1450 (Modern Theories of Firm and Market), ECON 1470 (Industrial Organization 2), ECON 1500 (Intermediate International Trade), ECON 1510 (Intermediate International Finance), ECON 1520 (Transition from a Centrally Planned to Market Economy), ECON 1530 (Intermediate Development Economics), ECON 1540 (Theory of Economic Growth), ECON 1560 (World Food Economy), ECON 1670 (Former Socialist Economics and Transition), ECON 1700 (Proseminar in Methodology of Economics), ECON 1710 (Proseminar in International Economics), ECON 1720 (Proseminar in Monetary Policy and Macroeconomics), ECON 1730 (Seminar in Experimental Economics)
A minimum of 26 credits in statistics as follows:
- STAT 1000 Applied Statistical Method
- STAT 1221 Applied Regression and
- STAT 1223 Writing Practicum
- STAT 1151 Introduction to Probability and
- STAT 1152 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics
- Four elective STAT courses, chosen from the 1200 level or above, one of which must be from the 1600 level or above, excluding Internships and Directed Studies.
Note: Students who plan to study statistics at the graduate level are strongly encouraged to take STAT 1631 (Intermediate Probability) and STAT 1632 (Intermediate Mathematical Statistics).
A minimum of 12 credits in mathematics as follows:
- MATH 0220 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1
- MATH 0230 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 2 or
- MATH 0235 Honors 1—Variable Calculus
- MATH 0240 Analytic Geometry and Calculus 3
Note: Students are strongly encouraged to take a course in linear algebra, such as MATH 0280 (Introduction to Matrices and Linear Algebra) or MATH 1180 (Linear Algebra 1) or MATH 1185 (Honors Linear Algebra).