BS in Economics

Professor Fenizia teaches an Economics class

 

The Bachelor of Science in Economics provides a strong foundation in economics and mathematics. Compared with the BA in Economics degree, the BS curriculum requires slightly more material in calculus and econometrics. BS students complete seven elective courses, including options such as FORTRAN Programming, Investment and Portfolio Management, Mathematics of Finance and Introduction to the Economy of Japan. 

 

 

"Econometrics was one of the hardest and most gratifying classes I have ever taken. The course gave me the tools to read, critique and conduct empirical research. It was like learning a new language."

Andrea Cristina Ruiz

BA ’12, Economics and International Affairs

Recommended BS Course Schedules

Students with AP Calculus credit or those who placed above MATH 1231 may move through the required MATH and STAT courses at a faster pace than this schedule indicates.
 

 

Students with AP Calculus or Stats credit can move through the required math and stat courses at a faster pace than recommended below.

  • ​​​​​​Freshman year: ECON 1011, ECON 1012, STAT 1111/1053/1051, MATH 1221/1231
  • Sophomore year: ECON 2101/2103, ECON 2102/2104, MATH 1232, two ECON electives and/or one required STEM elective
  • Junior year: ECON 2123, two econ electives and/or one required STEM elective
  • Senior year: Remaining econ electives and/or other remaining non-ECON electives, ECON 4198W

Students with ALEKS scores below 61 may find the Bachelor of Arts track a better fit.

  • Freshman year: ECON 1001, ECON 1011, STAT 1111/1053/1051 and MATH 1221/1231 (or any other pre-requisites needed for enrollment into these STAT and MATH courses)
  • Sophomore year: ECON 1012, ECON 2101/2103, MATH 1232, one ECON elective, and/or one required STEM elective
  • Junior year: ECON 2102/2104, ECON 2123, two ECON electives, and/or one required STEM elective
  • Senior year: Remaining ECON electives and/or required STEM electives, ECON 4198W
  • Students are encouraged to complete the two principles classes (ECON 1011 and ECON 1012) plus the intro stats (STAT 1111/1053/1051) and Calculus I (MATH 1221/1231) classes no later than the first semester of their sophomore year so that they are fully prepared for entry into the economics major.
  • We recommend that students take intermediate micro prior to taking intermediate macro as it will enhance students’ understanding of the macro material.
  • Intermediate micro and macro as well as econometrics and three ECON electives are pre-requisites for the capstone proseminar course (ECON 4198W). Students will not be allowed to enroll in proseminar until they have completed these pre-requisites. It is therefore imperative to plan ahead and finish these pre-requisite courses by the end of the first semester of senior year.
  • We strongly recommend completing all ECON BS major requirements prior to enrolling in ECON 4198W. Materials covered in the required major classes will be extremely helpful to students in completing their research projects in the proseminar course.
  • For students wishing to study abroad in their junior year, you are encouraged to only transfer back ECON electives courses. We recommend taking the core theory classes (ECON 2101/2103, 2102/2104, 2123) at GW

 

Course Requirements

The following requirements must be fulfilled:

The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Undergraduate Programs and the following curricular requirements.

Program-specific curriculum:

Required
ECON 1011Principles of Economics I 1
ECON 1012Principles of Economics II 1
ECON 2103Intermediate Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach
or ECON 2101 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
ECON 2104Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach
or ECON 2102 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory
ECON 2123Introduction to Econometrics
ECON 4198WProseminar in Economics
MATH 1221Calculus with Precalculus II 2
or MATH 1231 Single-Variable Calculus I
MATH 1232Single-Variable Calculus II 2
STAT 1111Business and Economic Statistics I (or equivalent) 2
or STAT 1051 Introduction to Business and Economic Statistics
or STAT 1053 Introduction to Statistics in Social Science
Electives
Two courses (6 credits), completed with a minimum grade of C-, from the following:
CSCI 1011Introduction to Programming with Java
CSCI 1012Introduction to Programming with Python
CSCI 1111Introduction to Software Development
CSCI 1112Algorithms and Data Structures
CSCI 1311Discrete Structures I
EMSE 2705Mathematics of Operations Research
EMSE 3850Quantitative Models in Systems Engineering
EMSE 4701Optimization in Operations Research
EMSE 4710Applied Optimization Modeling
MATH 2184Linear Algebra I
MATH 2233Multivariable Calculus 3
MATH 2971Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning 3
MATH 3342Ordinary Differential Equations 3
MATH 3410Mathematics of Finance 3
MATH 4239Real Analysis I 3
STAT 1129Introduction to Computing
STAT 2183Intermediate Statistics Lab/Packages
STAT 3119Design and Analysis of Experiments
STAT 3187Introduction to Sampling
STAT 4157Introduction to Mathematical Statistics I
STAT 4158Introduction to Mathematical Statistics II
STAT 4181Applied Time Series Analysis
STAT 4188Nonparametric Statistics Inference
STAT 4189Mathematical Probability and Applications I
STAT 4190Mathematical Probability and Applications II
STAT 4197Fundamentals of SAS Programming for Data Management
Additional requirements
Five additional Economics (ECON) courses (15 credits) numbered between 2000 and 4999. The following guidelines and restrictions apply:
FINA 3101 and/or FINA 3301 may be used as substitutes for up to two ECON courses; however, credit may not be earned for both FINA 3301 and ECON 2121.
At least one of the five courses must be taken at the 3000 level. ECON 3098, ECON 3099, FINA 3101, and FINA 3301 may be counted toward the 15 credits of ECON electives, but do not count toward the required minimum of 3 credits of 3000-level courses.
No more than three courses may be selected from ECON 2169, ECON 2170, ECON 2185, ECON 2198, ECON 3098, and ECON 3198.
No more than two courses may be selected from ECON 2180; ECON 2181 or ECON 3181; and ECON 2182. ECON 2180 would not satisfy the major elective requirement if taken concurrently with or after successful completion of ECON 2181 or ECON 3181 or ECON 2182.

1 Post-matriculation residency requirement: In order for ECON 1011 to count towards the major it must be completed at George Washington University with a minimum grade of C-. Students who matriculate with AP or transfer credit for ECON 1011 are exempt from this residency requirement. In order for ECON 1012 to count towards the major it must be completed at George Washington University with a minimum grade of C-. Students who matriculate with AP or transfer credit for ECON 1012 are exempt from this residency requirement. 

2 The MATH course selected from between MATH 1221 or  MATH 1231 as well as MATH 1232, must be completed with a minimum grade of C-.  Moreover, STAT 1111, or STAT 1051, or STAT 1053 must be completed with a minimum grade of C-.

3 MATH 2233, MATH 2971, MATH 3342,MATH 3410, and MATH 4239 are strongly recommended for those planning to pursue graduate study in economics.