Concentration Requirements

Prerequisite Courses

ECON 101 and 102 and MATH 115, each completed with a grade of at least C. One of the Honors alternatives to MATH 115 may be substituted for MATH 115. Credits in MATH 120 alone do not satisfy the mathematics prerequisite for an economics concentration or minor. Students with this credit may complete the economics mathematics prerequisite by completing, with a grade of at least C, one of the calculus courses on the placement list (MATH 116, 119, 156, 175, 185, 186, 295).

Students with a serious interest in the study of economics are strongly encouraged to continue the study of calculus beyond MATH 115. MATH 116, 215, and 217, or their Honors equivalents, are recommended for students with an interest in quantitative economics. Students with a serious interest in advanced research should elect ECON 405 (or STATS 426) and ECON 406.

Requirements for an Economics Concentration

An economics concentration plan must include:

  1. ECON 401 (Intermediate Microeconomics) and ECON 402 (Intermediate Macroeconomics), each completed with a grade of at least C—;
  2. Statistics. One of the following: ECON 404 (Statistics for Economists), ECON 405 (Introduction to Statistics), or STATS 426 (Introduction to Mathematical Statistics); and
  3. Electives: 15 additional credits in upper-level (300 and 400 level) ECON courses, including at least nine credits taken from courses with ECON 401 or ECON 402 as a prerequisite.  ECON 406 also counts toward these nine credits.

STATS 250 does not satisfy the statistics requirement for the concentration.  The statistics requirement is waived for students who have completed STATS 350 with a grade of at least C. In this case, the third concentration requirement above would be increased to 18 rather than 15 additional credits in upper-level ECON.

Ann Arbor campus requirement:

Any concentration courses to be taken outside the Ann Arbor campus of the University should be approved in advance by an economics concentration advisor. At least 12 credits in the concentration plan, including ECON 401, ECON 402 and at least 3 of the credits in upper-level economics electives in courses with ECON 401 or ECON 402 as a prerequisite, must be taken at the Ann Arbor campus.

Students who have completed ECON 405 or STATS 426 are strongly encouraged to include ECON 406 (Introduction to Econometrics) as one of the electives in their concentration plan. Note that MATH 116 (Calculus II) is a prerequisite for ECON 405 and that MATH 215 (Calculus III) and MATH 425 / STATS 425 (Introduction to Probability) are prerequisites for STATS 426.

ECON 401, 402, and statistics are prerequisites to many upper-level economics courses and should be elected during the sophomore or junior year. ECON 401 should be elected before ECON 402.

Math Courses

A solid background in mathematics will help a student excel in economics courses. If a student has trouble with mathematics, economics will be difficult. Students with a serious interest in economics are strongly encouraged to continue the study of calculus beyond Math 115. Math 116, 215, 217, and 316, or Honors Mathematics courses covering the same material, are recommended for students with an interest in quantitative economics. Math 116 will prepare students to choose the more rigorous sequence in statistics and econometrics, Econ 405 and 406. Electing Math 116 during the freshman or sophomore year will allow students to choose this more rigorous sequence in the junior year.
 

Requirements for an Economics Minor

Academic minor in Economics is not open to students with a concentration in the Department of Economics.

Students wishing to pursue an academic minor in Economics must develop a specific plan for its completion in consultation with one of the Department's designated advisors.

An academic minor in economics provides a useful background for students seeking careers in law, business, government, journalism, and teaching. Students concentrating in one of the other social sciences are often interested in economic issues and the study of economics provides them with tools useful for analyzing the economic aspects of issues in these other disciplines. The analytic skills and knowledge of economic institutions developed in the pursuit of the academic minor in economics will be useful to students in all disciplines who will be contributing to business and public policy decisions. Students completing the academic minor in economics develop analytical skills through exploring the paradigms of microeconomics and macroeconomics at the intermediate level and increase their understanding of economics institutions and of application of economic principles.

Prerequisites to the Academic Minor

ECON 101 and 102 and MATH 115, each completed with grade at least C. One of the Honors alternatives to MATH 115 may be substituted for MATH 115. Advanced placement credits in MATH 121 may be substituted for MATH 115.  Credits in MATH 120 alone do not satisfy the mathematics prerequisite for an economics concentration or minor. Students with this credit may complete the economics mathematics prerequisite by completing, with a grade of at least C, one of the calculus courses on the placement list (MATH 116, 119, 156, 175, 185, 186, 295).

Academic Minor Program

Seventeen (17) credits in ECON at the 300-level and above, distributed as follows:

  1. ECON 401 (Intermediate Microeconomics) and ECON 402 (Intermediate Macroeconomics), each completed with a grade of at least C—,
  2. Nine additional credits in upper level (300 and 400 level) ECON courses, including at least 3 credits in courses with ECON 401 or ECON 402 as a prerequisite.

Ann Arbor campus requirement: Any courses to be taken outside the Ann Arbor campus of the University should be approved in advance by an economics concentration advisor. ECON 401, ECON 402  and 3 credits in upper-level economics elective with the ECON 401 or ECON 402 prerequisite, must be taken at the Ann Arbor campus.