Major Requirements

The economics curriculum is designed to serve a variety of student educational objectives. Emphasis is placed on understanding economic behavior and institutions and the development of specific analytical skills. An economics major is especially appropriate for students interested in careers within business, accounting, law, government, or teaching.

The major in economics requires nine or ten courses distributed as follows:

Core Requirement

• Economics 50, Principles of Economic Analysis
• Economics 101, Intermediate Microeconomics
• Economics 102, Intermediate Macroeconomics

Students are urged to complete the core requirements prior to taking elective courses in the major. Some advanced courses require completion of the entire Core Requirement as a prerequisite for enrollment. Both Economics 101 and 102 require completion of basic calculus preparation which most students satisfy by meeting the college general education mathematics requirements.

Electives Requirement

Six elective courses in economics must be completed beyond the Core Requirement and Statistics Skill Requirement. At least three of these courses must be chosen from among Level Two elective courses.

Elective courses are arranged in two categories according to prerequisites: Level One electives require only Economics 50 as a prerequisite; Level Two electives require at least Economics 101 or 102. No more than three Level One classes may be counted for completion of the Electives Requirement. Majors and non-majors are encouraged to take Level One elective courses. Economics 86 and 150-159 (except for 151 and 157), are Level One courses for economics majors.

Statistics Skill Requirement

One course is required in basic statistics and empirical methods. This requirement is usually met by completing Economics 120, Statistics. With department approval, students may meet the Statistics Skill Requirement by showing proficiency in any appropriate statistics course or courses.

The Statistics Skill Requirement should be completed concurrently with the Core Requirement. Students completing an econommics-mathmatics dual major fulfill the Statistics Skill Requirement by completing by completing Mathematics 151, Probability, and Mathematics 152, Statistical Inference, or Mathematics 158, Applied Statistcs, as part of the mathematics portion of their major.