Major in Economics

Given the sequential nature of the economics major, students are strongly advised to begin the major as early as possible. Normally, at least six full semesters are required to complete the major. Since prerequisites for each course in the sequence are strictly enforced, it is not possible for students to complete the economics major in fewer than five semesters.

• There are several reasons why students should start the major early.
• Many advanced (300-level) electives are not offered in all semesters, or may fill up before all students register. Since each of these electives takes Intermediate Micro or Macro as prerequisites, students should complete Intermediate Micro at least one year before their intended graduation date.
• Students may fail, and have to repeat, a course in the sequence. A required course may not be offered at a Global site if a student plans to spend a semester abroad. Any of these may delay completion of the major sequence.
• Some students may decide to switch from Economics to a different major, especially if they find the Math prerequisites or Intermediate Micro courses too challenging. At that point, any completed coursework could still be applied towards an Economics minor. However if those students delay that decision they may have fewer options for alternative majors left that could be completed in regular time.
• Students interested in pursuing honors should aim to complete at least one advanced (300-level) elective before starting the honors tutorial in the Fall of their senior year. Usually students will devise an honors thesis project based on problems and methods from a 300-level elective.
• Students can choose from two concentrations: policy or theory. The policy concentration is intended for the student who is primarily interested in applying economic analysis to an understanding of economic problems and policies. Mathematics is used to build an understanding of economic theory.
• The theory concentration is intended for the student who wishes to begin the formal study of economic reasoning with an emphasis on mastering the analytical tools. This concentration relies on a higher level of abstraction and focuses on techniques of economic analysis rather than on the understanding of specific economic problems or institutions.
• For either concentration, the major requires six core courses in Economics: Micro and Macroeconomics at the Principles level (ECON-UA 1 and 2), Statistics (ECON-UA 18, or 20 for the theory concentration), Micro and Macroeconomics at the Intermediate level (ECON-UA 10 and 12, or ECON-UA 11 and 13 for the theory concentration), and Econometrics (ECON-UA 266). In addition students have to take four elective courses in Economics, at least two of which must be advanced electives (course numbers 300-399) that require Intermediate Micro and Macroeconomics as a prerequisite. 
• The Intermediate courses in Micro and Macroeconomics (ECON-UA 10-13) all require Mathematics for Economics I and II (MATH-UA 131,132), as well as Introduction to Macreconomics and Introduction to Microeconomics (ECON-UA 1,2) as prerequisites. If you plan to major in Economics, you should therefore register for the following courses as soon as possible:

(Note: The Mathematics for Economics course numbers have recently changed.  MATH-UA 131 is formerly MATH-UA 211, MATH-UA 132 is formerly MATH-UA 212, and MATH-UA 133 is formerly MATH-UA 213)