MAJOR IN ECONOMICS

Economics is the study of how people and societies use scarce resources to produce the things they want. Economic theory provides a framework for understanding economic issues, analyzing and predicting the likely effects of economic behavior and government policies, and formulating efficient and equitable solutions to pressing economic problems. A strong liberal arts curriculum including arts and humanities, social and natural sciences, advanced composition, mathematics, and statistics provides the depth and breadth of knowledge needed to systematically and logically analyze problems, generate and test ideas, and develop effective communication and quantitative skills. Economics majors develop an appreciation of economic issues, and learn to analyze and critically evaluate economic phenomena and policies. The major core includes four semesters of economic theory, a semester of econometrics, a senior capstone seminar, and several semesters of economics electives covering a wide variety of economic topics from environmental and natural resource economics to the history of economic institutions and political economy.