Economics Major
Major Description
Admission to the Major
Completion of ECON110 with a grade of C+ or higher and completion of, or enrollment in, ECON300 are required for entry into the economics major. A student who fails to obtain a grade of C+ or better in ECON110 may be admitted to the major only after obtaining a grade of C+ or better in ECON300.
Major Requirements
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Required Courses | ||
Core Courses | 3 | |
Introductory Econometrics | ||
Microeconomic Analysis | ||
Macroeconomic Analysis | ||
Electives | 5 | |
200-Level Electives (2 required) * | ||
300-Level Electives (3 required) ^ | ||
Total Hours | 8 |
* | Two courses numbered 201 or above |
^ | Three courses numbered 303 or above (including individual or group tutorials) |
All students majoring in economics must complete a minimum of eight letter-graded courses numbered 201 or above. Of these eight, three must be the core courses ECON300, ECON301, and ECON302. Of the five electives, at least three must be upper-tier courses, numbered 303 or higher, including the individual or group tutorials, ECON401, ECON402, ECON409, ECON410, ECON411,and ECON412. No more than one of these 400-level tutorials may be counted toward fulfillment of the major. The teaching apprenticeship tutorials, ECON491 and ECON492, may not be taken for a letter grade or counted toward the completion of the major. ECON110, ECON300, ECON301, and ECON302 must be taken at Wesleyan, and no more than two elective courses taken elsewhere may be counted toward the economics major. Courses taken elsewhere must be approved by the department chair prior to enrollment and will generally be designated as lower-tier electives if approved. If the material warrants counting a course taken elsewhere as an upper-tier elective, the student must submit materials from that course to the department chair along with a petition requesting that it be treated as an upper-tier elective immediately upon return to campus. University requirements for graduation permit a student to count no more than 16 credits in any one department toward the 32 courses required for graduation. The teaching apprenticeship tutorials, ECON491 and ECON492, are included in these totals for the purpose of determining oversubscription in a department.
Student Learning Goals
Assessment Plan
- Learning Goals
- Knowledge of basic economic principles, important economic issues, and major economic institutions
- The capability to read and understand the scholarly literature
- The capability to engage in theoretical and empirical analysis of economic problems
- Published: Department web page
- Method of Assessment
- Performance in sequential curriculum
Responses to annual senior survey
Senior honors theses
Advanced Placement
Please see the department webpage for the latest information the advanced placement policy.
Additional Information
The economics curriculum consists of three types of courses:
Introductory courses. The department offers two different one-semester courses at the introductory level. ECON101 presents the basic concepts, methods, and concerns of economic analysis without using calculus. It is not a prerequisite for entering the major. This course covers both micro- and macroeconomic issues and is well suited for students who do not plan to major in the discipline but who want a general introduction to economic analysis and institutions. It also serves as a prerequisite for many of the 200-level electives in the department. ECON110 develops the mathematical foundations that are essential for the further study of economics and is intended for students who think that they may wish to major in economics. The calculus prerequisite for ECON110 can be fulfilled by completing ECON102, MATH120 or MATH121 at Wesleyan. It can also be fulfilled by receiving a score of 4 or 5 in AP Calculus AB or BC; receiving a 5, 6, or 7 on the IB Higher Math test; or by placing into MATH122 or higher according to the Wesleyan Math Placement test. First-year students contemplating an economics major should acquire the requisite mathematical background as soon as possible. Students may take ECON110 after completing ECON101 (although ECON101 is not a prerequisite for ECON110 or the major, and students with the appropriate mathematical background and interest in majoring should consider starting with ECON110); this may be an attractive option for prospective majors who are in the process of acquiring the necessary mathematical background for ECON110 or who are not committed to the ECON major. In any case, all students who wish to major in economics must complete ECON110.
Core courses. Core courses develop the central tools of theoretical and empirical economic analysis and are required for all economics majors. ECON300 is the gateway course to the major. Students cannot be admitted to the major until they are enrolled in this class. ECON301 and ECON302 are designed to provide majors with the basic theoretical concepts and analytical techniques used in the study of economic issues. ECON300 is a prerequisite for both ECON301 and ECON302; and students must have completed ECON110 and its mathematical prerequisites before taking ECON300. All prospective economics majors are strongly encouraged to complete ECON300 and one other core course by the end of sophomore year; and majors are expected to complete the entire core sequence by the end of junior year.
Elective courses. There are four levels of elective courses. First, as staffing allows, the department offers 100-level First-Year Seminar (FYS) courses that are open only to first-year students and have no economics prerequisites. FYS courses cannot be counted toward completion of the economics major. Higher-level elective courses apply analytical tools acquired from the introductory and core courses to specific areas or fields of economics or develop these analytical tools to a more sophisticated level. The department offers two tiers of regular elective courses that may be counted toward completion of the major. The topics covered in these electives are predetermined and specified in WesMaps.
- Lower-tier electives, numbered 201 to 299, have either ECON101 or ECON110 as a prerequisite. They are intended to introduce both majors and non-majors to the application of economic theory and methods in a wide variety of topics and to the connections between economics and related fields such as psychology, law, government, history, and area studies. Students who successfully complete CSS220 or CSS320 may count either or both of these courses for one credit each toward the economics major at the 200 level.
- Upper-tier electives, numbered 301 to 399, require prior completion of ECON300 and at least one other core course. These electives apply economic theory and methodology to the same broad range of topics and areas in economics as the lower-tier electives but at a more sophisticated level. Upper-tier electives enable students to read the professional literature in economics and to begin to produce their own original research. Upper-tier electives require a substantial research paper or other project, and a student may choose to expand this research project into an honors thesis by working with a faculty advisor in a senior thesis tutorial. In some cases, for example ECON270 and ECON371, electives may be taught at both the 200 and 300 levels. In such cases, students may not earn credit toward the major for both courses.
Finally, in addition to regular electives, students may pursue independent research in an individual or group tutorial offered by a faculty member in the department (ECON401, ECON402, ECON411, or ECON412). Any student standing for honors in economics will take at least one senior thesis tutorial (ECON409 or ECON410). Students may also take teaching apprenticeship tutorials (ECON491/ECON492); however, these do not count toward completion of the major.
All courses counted toward the economics major must be taken for a letter grade.
The teaching apprentice tutorials cannot be taken for a letter grade.
Honors
Honors and high honors in economics are awarded on the basis of a completed honors thesis representing two semesters of independent research. The department offers two options. The traditional route for an honors candidate is the two-semester senior honors thesis tutorial sequence (ECON409 and ECON410), in which the student begins thesis research with a faculty advisor in the fall, continues in the spring term, and completes the thesis by the deadline set by Honors College (usually mid-April). The second path allows a student to expand a research paper that was completed in an upper-tier elective by taking either ECON409 or ECON410 with a suitable faculty advisor and completing the thesis by the deadline set by Honors College in the spring term. Honors candidates must present their thesis work-in-progress to the faculty at the end of the fall semester.
Theses are evaluated by the department based on the recommendations of a committee of readers including the thesis advisor and two other members of the faculty. All work is judged by the same standards, regardless of whether the student has taken both ECON409 and ECON410 or only one of these. All candidates for honors should have at least a B+ average in their economics courses prior to their senior year and a three-year cumulative average of B or better for all courses. A student who does not meet these requirements may petition the department for an exception; the petition must be signed by the student and by the faculty member who has agreed to supervise the project. The petition should speak to the student’s capability to undertake independent research and to the feasibility of the proposed project.
Capstone Experience
Economics majors will fulfill the department’s capstone requirement by completing three upper-level electives, each of which requires the successful completion of a substantial research paper/project.