Department of Economics
Economics Major
The economics major, a liberal arts (not a business) degree, is the program for students who want to make economics the focus of their education. Although it’s the obvious choice of the pure scholar, many employers and graduate schools understand its value and rank it above other degrees. The major requires 33 units in economics, completed with a grade equivalent of 2.00 or better.
Your adviser can help you select courses that simultaneously satisfy economics major and General Education (GenEd) requirements, offering you more freedom to pursue your own interests. For example, several economics courses satisfy the GenEd Advanced Composition requirement while also adding 3 units toward your 33-unit total.
It is a good idea to take the Principles sequence, ECON 201 and 202 or their Honors College counterparts (ECON 203 and 204), as early as you can. Either, but not both, satisfies a GenEd requirement. Following them soon with the Intermediate Theory courses, ECON 309 and 310, will make available 400-level courses for which they are prerequisites and increase your understanding of the 300-level electives that you choose.
If you’re interested in pursuing an advanced degree in economics, you should be aware that the field at that level has become very mathematical. You should plan to take ECON 401 Econometrics and ECON 451 Mathematical Economics, and math courses in calculus (MATH 273, 274, and 275) and linear algebra (MATH 463). Some top-name graduate schools require calculus and linear algebra for admission.
The major in economics includes the following courses.
Required Courses (33 units)
| Course Number | Course Name |
|---|
| ECON 201 | Microeconomics Principles (3)
(or ECON 203 Honors Microeconomic Principles (3)) |
| ECON 202 | Macroeconomics Principles (3)
(or ECON 204 Honors Macroeconomic Principles (3)) |
| ECON 205 | Statistics for Business and Economics I (3) |
| ECON 306 | Statistics for Business and Economics II (3) |
| ECON 309 | Intermediate Price Theory (3) |
| ECON 310 | Macroeconomic Theory (3) |
| One 400-level economics course (3 units) (excluding ECON 495 Independent Study and ECON 479 Internship) |
| And |
| Four upper-level ECON electives. (12 units)
One of these electives may be ECON 497
Internship in Economics, and one may be
selected from the following list: MATH 377, POSC
459, or FIN 332. |
Department of Economics
Stephens Hall, Room 103
Phone: 410-704-2959
Fax: 410-704-3424
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