Economics
Division of Social Sciences
At its heart, economics is a social science that seeks to explain human behavior. Far from being limited to questions of the demand and supply for goods and services, economics seeks to answer questions spanning a wide range of issues. These include poverty, discrimination, crime, pollution, education, international trade, taxation, natural resource management, and many other areas. Unlike the study of business management which focuses on improvements for a single firm or industry, economics takes a societal view that examines the impact of decisions or policies on individuals, households, businesses, taxpayers, the environment, and the country or the world as a whole.
In order to examine the impacts of policies from a societal view, economic analysis relies on a highly quantitative analytical method that requires knowledge of microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, mathematical modeling, statistics, and logic. Graduates who have mastered the “economic way of thinking” are prepared to move on into successful careers. Our majors have gone on to careers in law, business, finance, foreign service, government, consulting, education, and research. For those wishing to pursue graduate school, Economics majors tend to score very well on entrance exams. Nationwide, Economics graduates tend to score better than majors from business management, political science, international studies, psychology and virtually every other field of study on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Law School Admission Test (LSAT), and the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Many of our majors have successfully completed graduate school in these areas.
Social Science Distribution Requirements
Students who wish to full the Social Science distribution requirement with one course from Economics can choose from ECN 111 Principles of Macroeconomics, ECN 112 Principles of Microeconomics, or ENV 117 Intro Env & Natural Resource Economics. For the two-course pathway with Economics courses, students may take ECN 111 Principles of Macroeconomics or ECN 112 Principles of Microeconomics and any other economics course at the 200-level or above with the exception of ECN 215 Data Analysis I.
Internships through the Washington Center
Students who major or minor in Economics have the opportunity to undertake an internship in Washington, D.C. through the Washington Center. During this semester-long or summer program, students may attend hearings, conduct policy research, draft correspondence, monitor legislation, lobby members of Congress, or write analytical reports depending upon their placement. In addition, students attend an evening seminar selected from a variety of topics offered during the semester. Finally, students participate in lectures, site visits, small group discussions, briefings, and other required events designed to help them understand the connection between their academic and professional goals and the special educational opportunities available through living and working in Washington, D.C. Students earn 16 credits for this internship during the semester (eight toward upper-level Economics electives and eight toward general electives). If students undertake an internship during the ten-week summer program, they earn eight credits (four toward an upper-level Economics elective and four toward a general elective).