Economics Major, BS

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 33 semester hours (SH) of required courses, of which 9 SH may be used to satisfy general education requirements.

There are three concentrations within the economics degree program: the general economics concentration, the international business concentration, and the legal and politcal studies concentration. Each concentration has 12 SH of unique courses.

Major Requirements

FOUNDATION COURSES (9 credit hours)

ECO 2311 - Principles of Microeconomics (GE) 3 hrs

ECO 2312 - Principles of Macroeconomics (GE) 3 hrs

QBA 2325 - Business & Economic Statistics (prereq MAT 1312) 3 hrs

MAT 2326 - Elementary Statistics (GE) 3 hrs

SOC 2326 - Statistics for the Social and Behavioral Sciences (GE) 3 hrs

PSY 2326 - Statistics for the Social and Behavioral Sciences (GE) 3 hrs

BREADTH COURSES (9 credit hours)

ECO 3313 – Intermediate Microeconomics (prereq ECO 2311) (SLO: QL, WC) 3hrs

ECO 3314 – Intermediate Macroeconomics (prereq ECO 2312) (SLO: CT) 3 hrs

ECO 3316 – Applied Econometrics & Forecasting (prereq QBA 2325 OR MAT 2326 OR SOC 2326 OR PSY 2326) (SLO: SL, IL) 3 hrs

DEPTH COURSES (15 credit hours)

These courses, called areas of concentration, offer a “deeper” dive” into one of the breadth areas of the discipline and culminate in the applied business economics course.

ECO 4301 – Applied Business Economics (SLO: CR, OC, WC)

In addition, students must choose one of the following three concentrations consisting of 12 SHs::

General Economics Concentration

While the general economics concentration offers the most flexibility, it also requires greater advising responsibilities. As such, a student who wish to pursue a general economics concentration must make arrangements with her or his advisor to select appropriate courses either to support the desired thesis or to ensure a coherent whole.

ECO – Any 3000 or 4000 level Economics Course

ECO/FIN – Any 3000 or 4000 level Economics course or another approved course in Finance, Geography, or Political Science

International Economics Concentration

MGT 3350 – International Business

Any three of the following:

ECO 4331 – Money and Banking

ECO 4384 – International Economics

ECO 3332 – Economic Growth and Development

ECO 3320 – Global Economic Systems

FIN 3368 – International Finance

Legal and Political Studies Concentration

BLA 2325 – Business Law I

POS 3355 – Criminal Law or POS 4369 – Constitutional Law (prerequisite: POS 2311 with C or better)

Any two of the following:

ECO 3353 – Comparative Economic Systems

ECO 3330 – Law and Economics

ECO 3331 – Economics of Crime, Corruption and Terrorism

Other Requirements

Optional for student wishing to pursue departmental honors:

HONORS PROGRAM

To earn departmental honors, students must:

Request admission into the Economics Honors Program. Students applying for admission must have completed or must be currently taking Principles of Microeconomics (ECO 2311) and Principles of Macroeconomics (ECO 2312). Students who have requested admission must receive a grade of at least B in both courses and receive a recommendation for admission from a majority of the Economic Faculty. They must also identify a faculty mentor who has agreed to take the student under his or her tutelage.
Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and a major GPA of at least 3.25 with no grade in the major lower than a B.
Complete ECO 43xx, Directed Honors Research Investigation in Economics (SLO: CR), and receive a grade of at least a B in that course. If a student takes the departmental honors route, he or she will not have to take ECO 4301 – Applied Business Economics. Note: this means that departmental honors requires a minimum of 36 credit hours, not 33 credit hours, to complete.
Complete an Honors Thesis by enrolling in Honors Thesis, Research/Creative Project (HON 4300). The honors thesis is in addition to other courses required for the major. To be considered for departmental honors, the Honors Thesis must comport with the following guidelines:
A student is required to write a senior thesis in an area that reflects the student’s depth interest. A student with an international economics concentration must write a senior thesis in international economics. A student with a legal and political studies concentration must write a thesis in legal studies or in political economy. A student with a general economics concentration will have to discuss the potential thesis topic with her or his advisor to ensure that the chosen courses form a coherent whole and decide on a topic that fits with those courses prior to writing the thesis. The student also must orally defend his or her thesis before the economics faculty on or before the final day of classes (SLO: OC, WC).