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Degree Programs

Undergraduate Studies - (Learning Outcomes)

Director of Undergraduate Studies: Michael Allison (allison@umsl.edu)

The Department of Economics offers a Bachelor of Sciences and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (Undergraduate FAQs). An undergraduate degree is designed for students interested in a broad background in the traditional fields of economics.

General Education Requirements
All undergraduate economic majors must meet the university and college general education requirements. Candidates for the BA degree may take any foreign language to meet this requirement. Candidates for the BS 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 BA 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 BS degree must complete at least 36, but no more than 50, 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 (Newly Reduced) for the Minor
Candidates for a minor in economics must take a minimum of 15 hours in economics.
The following courses are required:

For the remaining 9 hours, 3 hours must be at or above the 2000 level and 6 hours must be at or above the 3000 level. It is recommended that students take ECON 3001, Intermediate Economic Theory: Microeconomics and/or ECON 3002, Intermediate Economic Theory: Macroeconomics. ECON 3100, Economics Statistics, cannot be counted towards the economics minor if the student has also taken LOM 3300, MATH 1320, or equivalent.

A GPA of 2.0 or better is required for courses presented for the minor. The satisfactory/unsatisfactory (s/u) option may be applied to ECON 1001 and ECON 1002 only.