Economics, B.S.

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Requirements for the bachelor of science degree with a major in economics

Major adviser: Anandi P. Sahu

Bachelor of Science with a Major in Economics is offered through the School of Business Administration, but is different from Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Major in Business Economics. The latter is a business degree, and the former is not. By not requiring the business core, the Major in Economics provides students greater flexibility. This major teaches students the concepts and tools of economic analysis, while providing them with the breadth and flexibility of a broad general education and courses in other areas of interest to the student. Students learn how economic analysis can be applied to major problems facing individuals, firms, the nation and the world today. Majoring in economics prepares students for the workplace of the future, which will require workers who are flexible, adaptable to change, and who can propose practical solutions to solve problems quickly.

Besides preparing students for a career in the private or public sector, an education in economics is excellent preparation for law school, graduate school in public administration or economics or an MBA degree. Economics is a flexible choice for students seeking a rigorous, well-respected and relevant major without specializing in a narrowly defined area.

Beyond Bachelor of Science with a major in business economics (a business degree, described previously), the Department of Economics offers four economics programs: Bachelor of Arts in Economics (offered through the College of Arts and Sciences), Bachelor of Science in Economics (offered through the School of Business Administration), Bachelor of Science with a Major in Actuarial Science (offered through the College of Arts and Sciences), and a minor in economics. The Bachelor of Arts degree allows a student to pursue a liberal arts education while providing a background that business considers appropriate for most entry-level management positions (see the Department of Economics section in the College of Arts and Sciences portion of the catalog). The Bachelor of Science degree has additional accounting and finance requirements. It also provides educational and career flexibility not offered by a degree in business. Bachelor of Science with a Major in Actuarial Science blends of mathematics, economics, statistics, and finance, and is offered jointly with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The minor in economics is useful for liberal arts majors with an interest in business and for business majors who want to demonstrate their solid grounding in economics, the foundation of a business degree.

Students who are interested in attending graduate school in economics should see the department chairperson or an economics faculty mentor at an early stage of their undergraduate program. Professional advisers in the SBA (for B.A. and B.S. degrees) and the College of Arts and Sciences (for B.A. degree) or the chairperson of the Department of Economics do routine student advising.

To earn the Bachelor of Science degree with a major in economics, students must complete a minimum of 128 credits as follows:

English composition – 4-8 credits

WRT 160 - Composition II (4) (or complete the writing requirement in another manner as detailed in the general education section of Undergraduate degree requirements)
WRT 382 - Business Writing (4)
(or WRT 380 or WRT 381 or ENG 380)

General education requirement – 28 credits

See the university General Education section of the Undergraduate degree requirements for details on the writing requirement, U.S. diversity and other general education requirements. For economics majors, the social science field category cannot be satisfied with an economics course.

Cognate courses – 29 credits

MTH 121 - Linear Programming Elementary Functions (4) (or MTH 141 )
MTH 122 - Calculus for the Social Sciences (4) (or MTH 154 )
MIS 100 - Business Problem Solving with Information Technology (3) or
CSE 130 - Introduction to Computer Programming (4)
or CIT 130 Credits / Units: 04
ACC 200 - Introductory Financial Accounting (4)
ACC 210 - Managerial and Cost Accounting I (4)
QMM 240 - Statistical Methods for Business I (3) and
QMM 241 - Statistical Methods for Business II (3)
(or STA 225 and/or STA 226)
or
QMM 250 - Statistical Methods for Business (6) (a 6 credit course that covers the material of both QMM 241 and QMM 240 )
FIN 322 - Managerial Finance I (4)

Required courses – 18-20 credits

ECN 201 - Principles of Microeconomics (4)
and
ECN 202 - Principles of Global Macroeconomics (4)
(or ECN 200 Principles of Macroeconomics)
or
ECN 210 - Principles of Economics (6) (a 6-credit course that covers the material of both ECN 201 and
ECN 202
.
ECN 302 - Intermediate Macroeconomics (3)
ECN 303 - Managerial Economics (3)
ECN 304 - Consumer and Welfare Economics (3)
ECN 405 - Econometrics (3)

Electives – 15-16 credits

Choose five economics electives at the 300-level or above, one of which must be at the 400-level. Students taking ECN 150 or ECN 160 before ECN 201 or ECN 202 (or ECN 200 ) and who subsequently become economics majors, should talk to the department chairperson. FIN 418 or QMM 452 can be substituted for a 300-level elective. No more than 3 credits in ECN 380 or ECN 490 may be counted as economic electives.

General electives – 23-34 credits

128 total credits

In addition, each student seeking a Bachelor of Science with a major in economics must:

complete at least 32 credits at Oakland University, of which at least 16 credits must be offered by the SBA. Of these 16 credits, at least 12 must be in the student’s major;
completion of the following courses, or their equivalents, with a grade of 2.0 or better in each course: MTH 121 , MTH 122 ; MIS 100 (or CSE 130 ); ECN 210 or both ECN 201 and ECN 202 (or ECN 200 ); and QMM 240 (or QMM 250 );
complete ECN 302 , ECN 303 , and ECN 304 with a minimum grade of 2.0 in each course;
complete at least 32 credits at the 300 level or above;
take the last eight credits needed to complete baccalaureate requirements at Oakland University;
earn a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 in courses taken at Oakland University and in courses taken in the School of Business Administration.