The purpose of the economics curriculum is to educate students in the nature and uses of economic reasoning. We are an economics department that values diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives on economic analysis and its application. We also believe the purpose of the economics curriculum is to educate students in the nature and uses of economic reasoning. We are cognizant of the importance of the other social and natural sciences, the arts, and the humanities to a more complete understanding of human society. Our curriculum introduces students to a core body of economic knowledge and to research skills, integrating disciplinary education with the liberal arts mission of the university. Economics majors develop the ability to think analytically and creatively about complex economic issues and policy choices facing our global society.
The content of our curriculum is tiered. In introductory courses students learn the basic principles of economics. In intermediate courses students develop their understanding of microeconomic, macroeconomic, and econometric theory. The 200-level electives give students an opportunity early in their careers to use introductory theory to better understand their world. The 400-level electives give students an opportunity to study in depth, a particular field of economics through application of the requisite basic skills, and appropriate theoretical models and empirical methods. These courses primarily focus on national and international concerns, public policies, and controversies in economic theory and policy.
Good economic writing represents good economic thinking. The Economics Department encourages students to cultivate the habits of good economic writing by requiring students to take one elective course that satisfies the department’s writing requirement. Students are expected to use the vocabulary and theories of economics to correctly make cogent evidence-based arguments.
The Department of Economics supports students who globalize their education by completing some portion of their undergraduate education abroad. We encourage students to visit the Off-Campus Study Office to explore their options. If a student studies abroad then:
- Only one economics course can transfer in to satisfy major requirements.
- That course must have economics prerequisites. If Economics 101 and Economics 102 are prerequisites, then the course transfers in as a 200-level elective. If the prerequisite is Economics 301 or Economics 302, then it transfers in as a 400-level elective.
- The course must be an economics course, not a business or similar course.
- Economics 301, 302, and 307 may not be taken abroad.
Graduates of the Department of Economics seeking immediate employment have been successful in securing interesting and challenging positions in business, government, and non-profit enterprises. The economics curriculum also provides students with the opportunity to prepare themselves for graduate or professional studies in economics, business, public administration, international affairs, law and others.
