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Degree Programs

Undergraduate Studies

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Robert L. Sorensen (sorensen@umsl.edu)

General Education Requirements

All undergraduate economic majors must meet the university and college general education requirements. Candidates for the B.A. degree may take any foreign language to meet this requirement. Candidates for the B.S. degree take mathematics and quantitative courses instead of the foreign language requirement. Courses in economics may be used to meet the university social sciences requirement.

Education majors specializing in economics must fulfill the requirements for the bachelor of arts degree. These majors are responsible for obtaining an advisor in the Department of Economics.

All prerequisites for economics courses must be completed with a grade of C- or better.

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) Option

Courses outside the major field and Economics 1001, Principles of Microeconomics, and Economics 1002 , Principles of Macroeconomics, may be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) basis.

Degree Requirements

Bachelor of Arts in Economics

Candidates for the B.A. degree must take at least 33, but no more than 45, hours in economics. At least 27 hours must be above the 2000 level. All required courses for the major must be completed with a grade of C- or better. The following courses are required:

Bachelor of Science in Economics

Candidates for the B.S. degree must complete at least 36, but no more than 45, hours in economics. At least 30 hours must be above the 2000 level. All required courses for the major must be completed with a grade of C- or better. The following courses are required:

Also required are two of the following:

Departmental Honors

A student may earn departmental honors with a GPA of 3.6 in economics and the recommendation of the department.

Complementary Areas of Study

The department encourages all majors to develop breadth in related disciplines. Course work and minors are available in a number of areas such as business administration, computer science, statistics, and political science. Students should check with their advisers for recommendations concerning courses in these areas. The department suggests the following supplemental course work for students interested in pursuing doctoral-level graduate work in economics or careers in general business. It also encourages all students to obtain work experience by enrolling in the Internship in Applied Economics (Economics 4990).

Graduate School Preparation:

It is recommended that students considering doctoral-level graduate work in economics also take:

General Business Preparation:

It is recommended that students interested in pursuing careers in business also take:

Requirements for the Minor

Candidates for a minor in economics must take a minimum of 18 hours in economics. At least 12 hours must be above the 2000 level. Economics 3100, Economic Statistics, cannot be counted towards the economics minor if the student has already taken Mathematics 1310, Mathematics 1320, Business Administration 105, or the equivalent. The following courses are required:

It is also recommended that students take Economics 3002, Intermediate Economic Theory: Macroeconomics

Also required is a GPA of 2.0 or better for courses presented for the minor. The satisfactory/unsatisfactory option may be applied to Economics 1001 and Economics 1002 only.