Economics Minor

Prerequisites

• Effective February 1, 2010, you must have an economics GPA in all economics courses taken of at least 2.3 to declare the minor.
• Students declaring an economics minor before February 1, 2010 must have an economics GPA of at least 2.0.

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 both ECON 2010 and ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110). At least one of the two must be completed 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 minor.
3. Students who take ECON 2010 at the University of Virginia and fail to satisfy this prerequisite may not retake ECON 2010 to meet it.
4. Students who take both ECON 2010 and ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110) at the University ofVirginia and still fail to satisfy this prerequisite may not retake courses to meet it; they are not eligible to declare an economics minor.
5. Students who declare an economics minor before February 1, 2010 are exempt from the C+ minimum grade prerequisite.
6. ECON 2010 and ECON 2020 are the only courses for the minor that may be taken outside the University after matriculation.

Macroeconomics

Complete ECON 2020.

Calculus

Complete one of the following courses—APMA 1090, MATH 1210, or MATH 1310—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 minor.
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 complete one of the following courses—APMA 1090, MATH 1210, or MATH 1310—before Fall 2009 need only to have achieved a passing grade.

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 minor.
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 complete one of the following courses—ECON 3710, STAT 2120, MATH 3120, STAT 3120, APMA 3110, or APMA 3120—before Fall 2009 need only to have achieved a passing grade.

Course Requirements

Required Courses

The student must complete all the prerequisite courses for declaring a minor.

Elective Courses

The student must complete an additional 9 credits of ECON electives.

1. Of the economics elective credits used to calculate the economics GPA, at least six must be earned in courses numbered above 2999.
2. The nine elective credits in economics must be earned at the University and taken for a grade.

GPA

Students must have a cumulative economics GPA of at least 2.0 to graduate with the minor. See the prerequisites section under “The Major in Economics” for details on computing the economics GPA.

Degree Audit

Students expecting to receive their diploma in May must complete a degree audit of their economics minor, 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. Students with questions about their status as an economics minor should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Declaring the Minor

College rules require that the minor be declared by the end of the add period in the semester before graduation, ordinarily the seventh semester. Under some circumstances this deadline may be extended until early in the semester in which you intend to graduate.

1. Review your transcript to make sure you have completed all the prerequisites.
2. Bring your current VISTAA form to the Undergraduate Secretary at the Economics Department.
3. Bring your completed declaration form to the Undergraduate Secretary, Kathryn Snow at the Economics Department, in Monroe Hall, Room 253 during her drop-in hours Tuesday - 10:30-11:30, Wednesday - 10:30-11:30 & 1:30-2:30, Thursday - 1:30-2:30. All other times are by appointment only. She can be reached by email or phone, 924-3179. Ms. Snow will confirm that you have completed the prerequisites
4. The student takes the original form 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.