Economics Major

Prerequisites

1. Complete at least two graded economics courses at the University.
2. Achieve an economics GPA of at least 2.3 for all economics courses completed.

   Although the economics GPA is ordinarily nothing more than an hour-weighed average of grades received in courses taken at the University of Virginia that have the ECON prefix, there are a few matters that require clarification.

   1. 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.
   2. 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.
   3. 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.
   4. 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.
   5. If a student completes more than the minimum number of economics elective courses for the degree, the economics GPA will be computed using the elective courses with the highest grades that simultaneously satisfy all degree and concentration requirements. The extra courses the student has completed will not be included in the economics GPA.
   6. 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.
      

Microeconomics

Complete one of the following courses—ECON 2010, ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110)—with a minimum grade of C+.

1. Students who have AP or transfer credit for ECON 3010 at the time that they matriculate at the University are exempt from this prerequisite.
2. 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.
3. 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 3(b).
4. Students who take ECON 2010 at the University of Virginia and fail to satisfy this prerequisite may not retake ECON 2010 to meet it.
5. 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.

Calculus

Complete one of the following courses—APMA 1110, MATH 1220, or MATH 1320—with a minimum grade of C+.

1. 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 and MATH 1220.
2. Students who matriculate at the University with AP or transfer credit for one of these courses are exempt from this prerequisite.
3. Students who entered the University prior to Fall 2006 may use MATH 1210, MATH 1310, or APMA 1090 to satisfy the calculus prerequisite, provided they obtain a grade of C or above.
4. Students who took APMA 1110, MATH 1220, or MATH 1320 before Fall 2009 and obtained a C or above are exempt from this prerequisite.

Statistics

Complete one of the following courses—ECON 3710, STAT 2120, MATH 3120, STAT 3120, APMA 3110, or APMA 3120—with a minimum grade of C+.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Students who completed ECON 3720 or ECON 4720 before Fall 2008 with a grade of C or higher are exempt from this prerequisite.
4. Students who completed   ECON 3710, STAT 2120, MATH 3120, STAT 3120, APMA 3110, or APMA 3120 before Fall 2009 and obtained a C or above are exempt from this prerequisite.

Course Requirements

Completion of the Economics major requires a total of 28 hours 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.

• Students entering the University with ECON 3010 or 3020 on their transcript are exempt from ECON 2010 or 2020, respectively.
• Students who declare an economics major before February 1, 2010 are exempt from the ECON 3720 (or STAT 3220 or ECON 4720) requirement.
• 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 declare 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 who declare an economics major before February 1, 2010 must complete a total of 15 hours of elective credit, at least 12 hours of which must be in courses numbered above 2999, and at least six hours in courses above 3999. (Note: ECON 3710 does not count as an elective course.)
• Students who declare an economics major on or after February 1, 2010 must earn 12 hours of elective credit in economics courses, at least nine hours of which must be in courses numbered above 2999, and at least six hours in courses above 3999.

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.

Degree Audit

• Students expecting to receive their diploma in May must complete a degree audit of their  economics major, preferably by the end of November, but under no circumstances later than the first Friday in February.
• Students whose final semester is in the fall, and who expect a January graduation, must complete a degree audit by September 30, or the preceding Friday if this falls on a weekend. Information is sent to the student from the College of Arts and Sciences or the student’s school. The same deadlines apply to students wishing to declare economics as a second major.
• Students with questions about their status as an economics major should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Note: No course taken credit/no credit may be used to satisfy major, minor, or concentration requirements.

Declaring the Major

1. Review your transcript to make sure you have completed all the prerequisites.
   
2. Pick up a Declaration of Major form from the College of Arts and Sciences, and fill in the courses completed or in progress.
   

3. Bring your completed declaration form to the Undergraduate Secretary, Kathryn Snow in Monroe Hall Room 253 during one of the following times:

   • Tuesday 10:30-11:30
   • Wednesday 10:30-11:30 and 1:30-2:30
   • Thursday 10:30-11:30

   All other times are by appointment only.

4. Meet with your new advisor to make preliminary decisions about the economics electives that will be taken to complete the major and get his or her signature on the declaration form. 
   
5. Return the yellow copy to the undergraduate secretary and take the original (white) copy to the College of Arts and Sciences (or your school of enrollment, if not Arts and Sciences), where it is entered into your student record.

Important Policies

• Effective February 1, 2010, students cannot declare an economics major after having completed their sixth semester unless they have already completed ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110) and ECON 3720 (or STAT 3220 or ECON 4720).
• No transfer course taken after matriculation at the University may be used to satisfy any of the five prerequisites for declaring the major, with one exception. If a student has post-matriculation transfer credit for the statistics prerequisite, he or she may meet the statistics prerequisite by taking ECON 3720 (or STAT 3220 or ECON 4720) and obtaining a grade of C+ or above.
• 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.

Concentrations

• Financial Economics
• International Economics
• Public Policy

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