Hardly a day goes by that some issues pertaining to economic matters do not appear in the news. To do this, economists have developed a body of principles and methods that help them to think about these problems. The study of economics is the study of those principles and methods, and their application to questions such as those mentioned above. Economics is a major in which the student has a good deal of choice within a group of courses required for the major. The remaining course requirements allow students a wide range of choice.
Students choose one of two broad options.
The collateral field can be a minor in any of a rather large number of disciplines related to economics, or can be a group of courses outside the Economics Department chosen by the student and approved by the Economics Department. Economics is a major in which a student can achieve substantial intellectual breadth and seriously pursue courses in their major department at the same time. Nine of the 36 credits are in math and statistics. The other 25 credits are in economics. Completion of a minor, in one of a list of specified departments, or completion of any major in addition to economics would be considered the equivalent of a collateral field.