Program Description
The major program in economics is designed to prepare students for graduate studies in economics, law, and business, as well as careers in many areas of business, industry, and government. Banking, research and consulting organizations, financial institutions, insurance companies, not for profit agencies and government are among the many job options for economics majors. The WSSU economics faculty is committed to effective teaching, expanding intellectual knowledge in their fields and improving our local community. Concentrations are available in both international business and banking, which allow WSSU students to broaden their horizons and make them more marketable in the surrounding area and beyond. The courses required for the major of economics instill competence in essential economics principles, and require students to think critically and defend ideas both in oral and written argument. The major in Economics is an ideal program of study for students planning on attending Masters or Doctoral programs immediately following their completion of the Bachelor’s degree.
Student Learning Outcomes
The learning goals of the economics major are to produce graduates who are able to:
1. Understand the functioning of a market economy and the impact of policies using models related to different schools of thought.
2. Understand the principles of price determination in the goods and factor markets, income and resource allocation, production, consumption, cost concepts, and distribution.
3. Can communicate current economic issues in written form; and
4. Demonstrate the ability to solve economic problems using appropriate research methods.
Major Requirements
The major requires a minimum of 66 semester hours (SH) of required courses, of which 18 SH may be used to satisfy general education requirements. These include 21 SH of economics courses and 45 SH in the business core (18 SH of which are general education courses). Pre-requisites include 3 SH of pre-calculus (which also satisfies general education requirements), and 3 SH of business communications (which also satisfies general education requirements). Students not prepared to take pre-calculus may need to take additional preparatory mathematics classes.
There are three concentrations within the economics degree program: the general economics concentration, the international business concentration, and the banking concentration. Each concentration has 9 SH of unique courses in addition to 12 SH of common courses for the economics major.
Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all courses required by the major or that are in prerequisite courses that are taken in the Faculty of Business (FOB). FOB courses are those prefixed by ACC, BCO, BLA, BUA, ECO, FIN, MGT, MIS, MKT, or QBA.
Courses
Pre-Requisite Courses (for the Business Core)
BCO 2311 - Business Communication (GE)
MAT 1312 – Pre-calculus (GE) (unless placed into Calculus)
Business Core Curriculum (45)
ACC 2316 – Principles of Financial Accounting
ACC 2317 – Principles of Managerial Accounting (prereq ACC 2316)
BLA 2325 – Business Law I (GE)
ECO 2311 – Principles of Microeconomics (GE)
ECO 2312 – Principles of Macroeconomics (GE)
FIN 3351 – Principles of Financial Management (prereq. ACC 2316, MAT 1312 (“C” or higher)).
MGT 3322 – Organizational Behavior (prereq. Junior Status)
MAT 2317 – Calculus (GE) or MAT 2333 – Calculus for Business (GE)
MGT 3350 – Fundamentals of International Business (GE)
MGT 4399 – Strategic Management (prereq. MGT 3322, MKT 3331, FIN 3351, QBA 3370)
MIS 1380 – Microcomputer Applications (GE)
MKT 3331 – Principles of Marketing (prereq BCO 2311)
QBA 2325 – Business & Economic Statistics (prereq MAT 1312)
QBA 3370 – Statistics and Quantitative Methods of Business (prereq QBA 2325)
QBA 4377 – Production and Operations Management (prereq QBA 3370)
Economics Courses
Students must take one of the following three concentrations:
General Economics Concentration (21)*
ECO 3313 – Intermediate Microeconomics (prereq ECO 2311)
ECO 3314 – Intermediate Macroeconomics (prereq ECO 2312)
ECO 3316 – Applied Econometrics & Forecasting (prereq QBA 2325 OR MAT 2326)
ECO 4301 – Applied Business Economics (prereq QBA 2325 OR MAT 2326)
ECO/FIN – Any 3000 or 4000 level Economics or Finance course
ECO/FIN – Any 3000 or 4000 level Economics or Finance course
ECO/FIN – Any 3000 or 4000 level Economics or Finance course
*Students who entered in the 2012-2013 catalog year or later who double major in economics and finance may not double count more than three courses as major courses between the two majors.
Banking Concentration (21)
ECO 3313 – Intermediate Microeconomics (prereq ECO 2311)
ECO 3314 – Intermediate Macroeconomics (prereq ECO 2312)
ECO 3316 – Applied Econometrics (prereq QBA 2325 OR MAT 2326)
ECO 4301 – Applied Business Economics (prereq QBA 2325 OR MAT 2326)
ECO 4331 – Money and Banking (prereq ECO 2312)
FIN 4379 – Financial Institutions and Markets (prereq FIN 3351)
FIN 4382 – Commercial Bank Management (prereq ECO 2312, ACC 2317, FIN 3351)
International Business Concentration (21)
ECO 3313 – Intermediate Microeconomics (prereq ECO 2311)
ECO 3314 – Intermediate Macroeconomics (prereq ECO 2312)
ECO 3316 – Applied Econometrics (prereq QBA 2325 OR MAT 2326)
ECO 4301 – Applied Business Economics (prereq QBA 2325 OR MAT 2326)
Choose 3 of the following 4 courses:
ECO 3332 – Economic Growth and Development (prereq. ECO 2311, ECO 2312)
ECO 4384 – International Economics (prereq ECO 2312)
FIN 3368 – International Finance (prereq ECO 2312)
MKT 4379 – International Marketing (prereq MKT 3331 & MGT 3350)
Suggested Electives
Students wishing to do graduate study in economics are strongly suggested to MAT 2316 (Linear Algebra), MAT 2411 (Calculus II), and MAT 4301 (Differential Equations I).
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