Learning Outcomes
The degree’s objective is to teach students how to use economic concepts, models and quantitative methods and techniques in analyzing contemporary economic issues and exercising judgement in evaluating public policy.
The lower-level courses will place more emphasis on learning economic concepts and models, students will also be introduced to using models to organize data and drawing simple inferences. The goal is to see economics not as material that needs to be memorized but as tools for diagnosing social issues and problem solving. As noted in the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) report “Measuring College Learning in Economics”: “Economics is a dynamic and contested discipline in which there are multiple logical viewpoints that evolve as new evidence is uncovered”.* The core courses will be a rudimentary development of critical thinking skills and exposure to different approaches, viewpoints, and debates.
At the upper division elective level, students will be applying economic models and frameworks to problems through the gathering of resources, hypothesis formation, analysis of data and the drawing of conclusions. Students will be trained to access, interpret and manipulate economic data and have a good knowledge of methods of gathering and assessing evidence. Finally, resource, income and output allocation in modern economies occurs as a consequence of the interaction of markets and governments. Both the core and electives offer opportunities to think critically regarding the strengths and limitations of economic models and techniques in making connections between theory and the real world.
The program’s primary student learning outcomes are as follows:
- Develop the ability to explain core economic terms, concepts and theories,
- Demonstrate the ability to collect, process and interpret data, including statistical inference,
- Demonstrate the ability to apply the basic tools of economists to make arguments, understand and design research projects,
- Be able to use critical thinking skills within the discipline of economics to assess various viewpoints, theories, and debates, as they apply to social issues and policy,
- Demonstrate an understanding of the historical development of capitalist economies and their adaptation over time and across the globe.
The emphasis on both conceptual and application competency provides a strong background for students who plan to go on to work and study in several fields including business, international relations, public policy, urban studies as well as for those who plan to have careers as economists in private enterprise, teaching, research or in civil service.
Competency Requirement and Upper Division Electives
To graduate with a B.S. degree in Economics a student may receive no grade lower than a C- in courses applied toward the major.
Upper Division Electives: Students are expected to work closely with their faculty advisor in choosing their upper division electives in the major. The objective is to select courses that are related to each student’s area of interest.
