Economics Major

Prerequisites

1. Coursework at the University

Complete at least two graded economics courses at the University.

2. Economics GPA

Achieve an economics GPA of at least 2.3 for all economics courses completed.

The economics major GPA is a weighted measure of all 2000 level or higher Economics courses taken at the University with the following exceptions:

a)Grades received in courses taken outside the University’s Economics Department, such as transfer courses or direct credit courses offered through study abroad programs, are not included in the economics GPA.
b)If a student is granted economics elective credit for a course taken in another school or department at the University of Virginia, the grade received in that course is not included in the student’s economics GPA.
c)HIUS 2061 is cross-listed as ECON 2060 and is, in fact, the same course as ECON 2060. A grade in HIUS 2061, therefore, would be included in the economics GPA.
d)If a student fails a course and then retakes it, both grades – the failing grade and the grade received on the retake – enter into the computation of the economics GPA. If a student has taken and passed a course, grades received on any subsequent retake(s) are not included in the student’s economics GPA.
e)Students declaring the Economics major before Fall 2010 who complete more than the minimum number of economics elective courses for the degree may compute their economics GPA using the elective courses with the highest grades that simultaneously satisfy all degree and concentration requirements. The extra courses such students complete will not be included in the economics GPA.
f)If a student takes an economics course that the University considers equivalent to a transfer course or a course in another department for which the student has already received credit, that course does not count in the student’s UVa GPA. It also does not count in the student’s economics GPA, although the grade maybe used to meet other Economics Department declaration prerequisites.

3. Microeconomics

 Complete ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110)with a minimum grade of C+.

• Students who fail to obtain a C+ on their first attempt at completing Econ 3010 (or Econ 3110) are permitted to retake Econ 3010 (or Econ 3110) once. Those who fail to get a grade of at least C+ in two attempts are not eligible to declare an economics major.
• Students who have transfer credit for ECON 3010 at the time that they matriculate at the University are exempt from this prerequisite.
• Students who declare the major before the beginning of the Spring 2012 semester may do so under the old rule, which requires a minimum grade of C+ in one of the following courses – Econ 2010 or Econ 3010 (or Econ 3110). The following provisions pertain to those declaring under the old rule.

i.Students who have  transfer credit for ECON 3010 at the time that they matriculate at the University are exempt from this prerequisite.
ii.Students who matriculate at the University of Virginia with AP or transfer credit for ECON 2010 and complete ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110) may not subsequently meet this prerequisite by taking ECON 2010. Students in this situation who fail to satisfy this prerequisite on their first attempt are permitted to retake ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110) once. Those who fail to get a grade of at least C+ in two attempts are not eligible to declare an economics major.
iii.Students who entered with AP credit for ECON 2010 and satisfied the prerequisite by taking ECON 2010 at the University before Fall 2009 are exempt from the provisions of c(ii.).
iv.Students who take ECON 2010 at the University of Virginia and fail to satisfy this prerequisite may not retake ECON 2010 to meet it.
v.Students who take both ECON 2010 and ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110) at the University of Virginia and still fail to satisfy this prerequisite may not retake courses to meet it; they are not eligible to declare an economics major.
vi.Students declaring in the 6th semester must have either completed or be registered for ECON 3010/3110
vii.Students declaring after their 6th semester must have already completed ECON 3010/3110.

4. Calculus

Complete calculus through calculus II (MATH 1220, MATH 1320, or APMA 1110) with a minimum grade of C+ in the calculus II course.

a.Students who twice fail to obtain a grade of at least C+ in these courses, whether in the same or different courses, are ineligible to declare the economics major. Students considering the concentration in financial economics or graduate work in economics are encouraged to take MATH 1310 and MATH 1320 (or APMA 1110 and APMA 2120) instead of MATH 1210(or MATH 1212) and MATH 1220.
b.Prematriculation transfer credit or a grade of C+ or above in MATH 2310, MATH 2315, or APMA 2120 will be accepted in lieu of calculus II to fulfill the prerequisite. However, rule  4a still applies.
c.Students who matriculate at the University with AP or transfer credit for one of these courses are exempt from this prerequisite.
d.Students who took MATH 1220, or MATH 1320, APMA 1110 before Fall 2009 and obtained a C or above are exempt from this prerequisite.

5. Statistics

Complete one of the following courses—STAT 2120, MATH 3120, STAT 3120, APMA 3110, APMA 3120 or ECON 3710—with a minimum grade of C+.
a.Students who twice fail to obtain a grade of at least C+ in the statistics courses listed above, whether in the same or different courses, are ineligible to declare the economics major.
b.Students who matriculate at the University with transfer credit for one of the preceding courses or a grade of 5 on the AP test in Statistics are exempt from this prerequisite. Students who want to be exempted based on their AP test score must show proof in the form of a high school transcript or ETS score report when they declare their major.
c.Students who completed STAT 2120, MATH 3120, STAT 3120, APMA 3110, APMA 3120, ECON 3710 before Fall 2009 and obtained a C or above are exempt from this prerequisite.
d.Students declaring in the 6th semester must have either completed or be registered for ECON 3720, ECON 4720, or STAT 3220
e.Students declaring after their 6th semester must have already completed ECON 3720 (or ECON 4720 or STAT 3220).

Major Requirements

Completion of the Economics major requires a total of 9 courses in economics. These requirements differ based upon your declaration date as specified below.

Required Courses
Complete five required courses—ECON 2010, ECON 2020, ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110), ECON 3720 (or STAT 3220 or ECON 4720), and ECON 3020.

a.Students entering the University with ECON 3010 or 3020 on their transcript are exempt from ECON 2010 or 2020, respectively.
b.Students who declared an economics major before February 1, 2010 are exempt from the ECON 3720 (or STAT 3220 or ECON 4720) requirement.
c.ECON 2010, ECON 2020, ECON 3010 (or 3110), and ECON 3720 (or STAT 3220 or ECON 4720) must be completed by the end of the sixth semester. Majors who fail to do so will be dropped from the major. [Students who declared an economics major before February 1, 2010 are exempt from the ECON 3720 (or STAT 3220 or ECON 4720) portion of this requirement.]

Elective Courses

• Students must complete 4 electives  economics courses, each of which must be at least a 3 hour course. At least  2 courses  must be  numbered 4000 or above and no more than one 2000 level elective.  No Economics courses numbered 1000-1999 may be used towards the Economics major. Students who declared an economics major before February 1, 2010 must complete a total of 5 elective economics courses, each of which must be at least a 3 hour course. At least 2 courses must be numbered 4000 or above, and no more than 1 elective course may be at the 2000 level.
• Students may apply up to 6 credit hours of post matriculation elective credit towards the major either in the form of Study Abroad credits or credits earned at another university or college. Engineering and Commerce students who have a second major in Economics have the opportunity to apply certain courses from their first majors to their Economics majors. For information on the rules regarding the transfer of elective credits, please see the section of the website regarding Transfer Credit.

GPA

• Students must achieve at least a 2.0 economics GPA in order to graduate.
• Students who finish their sixth semester with an economics GPA below 2.0 will be dropped from the major.

Important Policies

• No transfer course taken after matriculation at the University may be used to satisfy any of the five prerequisites for declaring the major or minor..
• Transfer students must meet all prerequisites. They cannot automatically enroll in the major. Third-year transfer students considering the economics major are strongly advised to contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies before selecting courses.
• No course taken credit/no credit may be used to satisfy major, minor, or concentration requirements.
• Students who declare their Economics major after Fall 2011 must complete at least four courses in Economics at the University of Virginia to graduate as Economics majors, whatever transfer credit they may have received for work done elsewhere. For purposes of this rule, any class taught at the University of Virginia in another school or department of the University which is routinely accepted for major credit can be counted towards the total of four courses.

Declaring the Major

1.Review your transcript to make sure you have completed all the prerequisites. If any prerequisites are in progress, you are not yet eligible to declare. There is only one exception to this rule. If you are a double major with one semester remaining before graduation and you have not yet met the calculus prerequisite, you will be permitted to declare provided you are registered for Calculus II. You will only graduate as an Economics major if you successfully complete Calculus II.
2.Pick up a Declaration of Major form from the College of Arts and Sciences, and fill in all courses taken and currently enrolled.
3.Sign up for an appointment with the Undergraduate Secretary, Kathryn Snow, at the Economics Department, in Monroe Hall, Room 253. There is a sign up form on the bulletin board next to her office. During your appointment, Ms. Snow will review your prerequisites and assign you a major advisor.
4.Meet with your new advisor to make preliminary decisions about the economics electives to take to complete the major and get his or her signature on the declaration form.
5.Return the yellow copy to Monroe  253 and take the original (white) copy to the College of Arts and Sciences in Monroe 101(or your school of enrollment, if not Arts and Sciences), where it is entered into your student record.

Important: You are not declared until you have completed all five steps.

Concentrations

• Financial Economics
• International Economics
• Public Policy

Students with questions about prerequisites for declaring the economics major should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

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