Requirements for B.A.
Please note: The information below is currently being updated and applies only to students who matriculated before Spring 2025. Updated requirements will be posted soon.
Basic Requirements
(Revised checklist effective April 2, 2018) ONLY for NEW ECO MAJORS
The major in Economics leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree. All courses offered for the major must be passed with a letter grade of C or higher.
Completion of the major requires approximately 41-45 credits.
A. A minimum of 11 courses, at least ten of them in economics, distributed as follows:
1. ECO 108 Introduction to Economics
2. Intermediate economics courses:
3. Five additional courses in Economics at the 300 level and above (not including ECO 359 or ECO 459). Each of these must be taken for a minimum of three credits.
4. One additional course, either in economics (not including ECO 359 or ECO 459)
or from a list of pre-approved electives in other departments, that carries a minimum of three credits.
Note: No more than two 400-level courses will count toward fulfillment of the major.
B.MAT 125 Calculus A (or MAT 130/MAT 125). If students do not place into MAT 125 on the basis of the math placement examination, MAT 123 or MAT 119/MAT 123 is a required course for the major.
or AMS 151Applied Calculus I
or level 6 on the mathematics placement examination
or any higher level calculus course (See Note 2)
C. Upper-Division Writing Requirement:
Students should meet the upper-division writing requirement during their senior year,
after having completed all (or most) of their upper-division major requirements. All
students must do so by registering for the WRTD certified class ECO 359 unless they intend to complete a larger, more substantial, independent research project.
Those seeking to complete a substantial independent research project should not register
for ECO 359. They should instead seek a faculty member's approval to register for ECO 487 and obtain their WRTD certification by registering for the 0-credit ECO 459 class in the same semester. In exceptional cases, a paper completed as part of another
upper division class might be used to satisfy the upper-division writing requirement
as long as the class instructor and student agree to this and the student registers
for ECO 459 at the same time.
For double majors, students need to fulfill the Economics upper-division writing requirement
in addition to their other major upper-division writing requirement.
Notes:
1. Students who need to take MAP 103 will be unable to take ECO 108 in the first semester of the freshman year and will have to adjust their schedule
accordingly.
2. Economics is a quantitative social science. Students planning to use their background
in economics for graduate studies or in their careers should take additional courses
in mathematics and applied mathematics.
3. A maximum of four courses in economics taken at other institutions may be applied
toward the major.
Suggested Course Sequence
| Fall | Spring |
|---|---|
| Freshman | |
| One of MAT 125 or AMS 151 | ECO 108 |
| Sophomore | |
| ECO 303 ECO 320 |
ECO 305 Upper division ECO |
| Junior | |
| ECO 321 Upper division ECO |
Upper division ECO |
| Senior | |
| Upper division ECO Upper division Writing Requirement |
Upper division ECO Additional ECO or other approved elective |
Requirements for Honors
Qualified students can graduate with honors in Economics. As specified below, the requirements include an honors thesis approved by the Department's Undergraduate Committee. Students interested in graduating with honors will need to plan their studies well so they can produce an honors thesis of truly original content by the end of their graduation semester. Students will need to take upper division classes on topics of their interest and identify faculty members that are able and willing to guide them through a substantial research project. They should agree with the faculty member and register for ECO 487 in a subsequent semester and ensure that they and their advisor devote enough time on the project to bring it to the level required for the honors designation.
Honors in Economics will be awarded to graduating seniors who have achieved the following:
1. A grade point average of at least 3.5 in the five required courses (see A1 and
A2 above), with no less than a B in any one of these courses.
2. A grade point average of at least 3.50 in five upper division electives in Economics
(see A3 above).
3. Six credits in economics at the 400 level.
4. An honors thesis, submitted to the director of undergraduate studies for honors
evaluation by the Undergraduate Committee.