Bachelor of Arts in Economics

In first year, you’ll cover the fundamentals of micro- and macro-economics. In upper years, you can analyze how those principles play out in a wide range of sectors, including public policy, labour economics, health economics, finance, sport, and more.

Whether you’re aiming to work in the public sector, the private sector, or academia, your Economics degree from Waterloo will give you the skills and knowledge you need, along with co-op experience to back you up.

Get ready to wrestle with important and complex questions: How do you turn a poor country into a rich country? How can we avoid another global financial crisis? What’s the best way for governments to stimulate new industries like biotechnology and green energy?

From piggybanks to the World Bank, explore what makes economies tick

First-year courses

• As an Arts student, you’ll choose your major at the end of first year. You’re encouraged to explore a second major in first year to discover potential new interests.
• You will also take an Arts First course in either the fall or winter term of your first year. In this course, instead of going to a lecture hall, you and your classmates will work together to respond to an intriguing challenge. With only 25 students in this course, you might address topics such as The Science of Happiness, Are We Erasing History?, Games and Culture, and Writing About Poems and Songs.
• You can choose to study Economics through Honours Arts or Honours Arts and Business.

Honours Arts
September to December

• ECON 101 – Introduction to Microeconomics
• Arts First requirement or elective
• Prospective major #2
• Two electives

This is a sample schedule. Courses or when a course is offered may change depending on availability.

January to April

• ECON 102 – Introduction to Macroeconomics
• Arts First requirement or elective
• Prospective major #2
• Two electives

Honours Arts and Business
September to December

• ARBUS 101 – Introduction to Business in North America
• ECON 101 – Introduction to Microeconomics
• Arts First Requirement or elective
• Prospective major #2
• Elective

January to April

• ARBUS 102 – Accounting Information for Managers
• ARBUS 202 – Professional and Business Ethics
• Arts First Requirement or elective
• Prospective major #2
• Elective

This is a sample schedule. Courses or when a course is offered may change depending on availability.

After first year

• 40% of the classes you’ll take will be Economics courses. With your remaining classes, you can choose electives from many of the 100 subject areas at Waterloo.
• Choose from courses that span social sciences, international economic development, public policy, and political science.

Sample upper-year courses

• ECON 206 – Money and Banking I
• ECON 290 – Models of Choice in Competitive Markets
• ECON 332 – International Finance
• ECON 409 – Workers, Jobs, and Wages

Customize your degree in Economics
You can add additional areas of expertise to your major by including one or more of the areas of focus in Economics.

• Financial Economics
• Public Policy
• Econometrics

Popular areas of focus for Economics students include Financial Economics and Human Resource Management, two of the many minors available to all Waterloo students.

Sample co-op job titles

• Information technology/finance support
• Economist/statistician
• Assistant internal auditor
• SAP merchandising/change management
• Project control officer
• Associate business analyst
• Sales operations coordinator

Co-op work-study sequence

• Starting in second year, you'll normally alternate between school and work every four months, integrating your classroom learning with real-world experience. You can return to the same employer for a couple of work terms to gain greater knowledge and responsibility or work for different employers to get a broad range of experience.