Major Overview

We’ll provide you with the tools and techniques you’ll need to develop a scientific system of analysis that will allow you to better understand and appraise current economic issues. Our courses emphasize both theoretical and applied economics, thus enabling you to develop critical, analytical, and empirical insights into economic issues. We respect that economics is only one lens through which to examine societal problems and thus maintain an interdisciplinary approach on a variety of issues, while laying the groundwork for a reflective, ethical, and global understanding of the subject area. 

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The educational goals for this major are as follows:

  • You will identify existing standard economic theory, its criticism and alternatives.
  • You will employ verbal, written, graphical, and mathematical skills to assess and communicate economic information.
  • You will examine economic trends and policies using the skills developed in the previous educational goal.
  • You will autonomously develop methods for managing knowledge, useful for professional development and to undertake education at a higher level.

Learning Environment

In keeping with our recognition of the importance of interdisciplinary thinking, we encourage you to incorporate your other interests into the major, and more than half of our students choose to double major in another discipline, including Finance, Global Communications, French Studies, and Psychology. With many of our graduates now working in the government or in international organizations like the OECD and JP Morgan Chase, while others have been accepted into diverse graduate programs at schools like the University of Cambridge and Yale, you’ll soon discover that no matter what you pursue, Economics can provide a useful place from which to launch your future. 

Major Components
Build Your Degree

With every single one of our majors, you’ll find a carefully curated medley of core courses and electives, which will provide you with the tools you need to establish an unshakeable foundation in the principles and concepts fundamental to your growth within your disciplines of choice. Many majors also enable you to specialize further within the broader area of study.

Core Courses

Core Courses

We aim to help you develop a range of skills, capacities, and modes of inquiry that will be crucial for your future since employers and graduate schools are looking for the critical thinking and innovative problem-solving skills that are associated with a liberal arts education, including sophisticated writing abilities, willingness to pose difficult questions, and an understanding of the historical and cultural contexts surrounding a topic or decision. 

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Electives

Electives

Each elective provides you with entry to a variety of subject areas which you can choose among to further focus your studies. With the help of your academic advisor, you’ll be able to tailor your major so that it most effectively prepares you for the next step in your academic and professional journey.

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Core Courses

The International Economics core courses, which you must take as part of the major requirements, will provide you with the tools you’ll need to ground your present and future studies. Your introduction to the fundamentals of International Economics will help pave the way for your successful completion of other International Economics courses.

 
MA1020 Applied Statistics I

Introduces the tools of statistical analysis. Combines theory with extensive data collection and computer-assisted laboratory work. Develops an attitude of mind accepting uncertainty and variability as part of problem analysis and decision-making. Topics include: exploratory data analysis and data transformation, hypothesis-testing and the analysis of variance, simple and multiple regression with residual and influence analyses.

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MA1030 Calculus I

Introduces differential and integral calculus. Develops the concepts of calculus as applied to polynomials, logarithmic, and exponential functions. Topics include: limits, derivatives, techniques of differentiation, applications to extrema and graphing; the definite integral; the fundamental theorem of calculus, applications; logarithmic and exponential functions, growth and decay; partial derivatives. Appropriate for students in the biological, management, computer and social sciences.

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EC2010 Principles Of Microeconomics

Focuses on the role played by relative market prices in our society and on the forces of market supply and demand in determining these prices. Since the actions of consumers and firms underlie supply and demand, the course studies in detail the behavior of these two groups.

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EC2020 Principles Of Macroeconomics

Examines the determinants of the levels of national income, employment, rates of interest, and prices. Studies in detail the instruments of monetary and fiscal policy, highlighting the domestic and international repercussions of their implementation.

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EC3001 History Of Political Economy

The course examines the historical transformations at the roots of modern industrial economies, framing the emergence and evolution of political economy as an intellectual discipline against this background. Students will be taught to consider the importance of various driving factors in economic history, such as demographic shifts, capital accumulation, technological adaptation, and institutional change. They will also learn how to see these historical transformations through the eyes of eminent thinkers from the past, thus acquiring a robust knowledge of the major topics in the history of political economy. After a brief discussion of different interpretations about the origins of the modern economy, each unit will focus on a specific period in modern world history, combining an overview of the socioeconomic transformations taking place at the time with an in-depth discussion of representative works from that era. Assessment will be strongly oriented toward essay writing, giving students an opportunity to learn how to develop an academic argument respecting the disciplinary practices of economics.

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OR
EC3086 Introduction To Econometrics

Includes an introduction to the linear regression model; a review of elementary statistics; the two-variable regression model in detail; the multiple regression model, its use, and problems arising from violations of its underlying assumptions; and an introduction to simultaneous-equation models.

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EC3010 Intermediate Microeconomics

Uses the concepts of formal economic analysis to study topics ranging from the theory of consumer behavior to the formation of market demand, economics of the firm, pricing under competition and monopoly, income distribution, general equilibrium, and welfare economics. Emphasizes the application of various theoretical constructs in the analysis and interpretation of problems encountered in the real world.

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EC3020 Intermediate Macroeconomics

Studies in depth factors influencing aggregate supply and demand, inflation, unemployment, interest rates, and international payments. Develops an analytic framework for the purpose of investigating the interrelationships among principal macroeconomic aggregates. Discusses current issues and controversies regarding macroeconomic policies.

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EC3052 International Trade Theory & Policy

Combines study of classical and new theories of trade and analytical tools for evaluating the economic effects of tariffs and other forms of government intervention in trade with an in-depth examination of how governments regulate international trade in practice. Analysis covers goods and services, multilateral trade rules, developed and developing country experiences.

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EC3053 International Monetary Economics

This course provides an analysis of trade theories and their monetary aspects in global and open economy. The course begins by explaining the rationale behind international trade and welfare gains that emanate from trade and proceeds to discuss the balance of payments accounts, price and output in an open economy, macroeconomic policy under different exchange rate regimes. A special emphasis is placed on the conduct of monetary and fiscal policy in an open economy, the balance of payment accounts and the determination of the exchange rate. Students will have the opportunity to get a more in-depth understanding of the origin and impact of monetary problems and financial crises in advanced and emerging economics (the United States, EU countries following Brexit, China and Latin America) using a policy approach.

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EC4090 Seminar In International Economics And Finance

The senior research seminar in economics and finance provides students with a capstone experience. Using quantitative tools, students will embark on an empirical research project in economics or finance that interests them most.

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