Economics, B.S.

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Requirements for the major in economics, B.S.

Major adviser: Ronald Tracy

The 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 the Bachelor of Science with a major in business economics (a business degree, described previously), the Department of Economics offers four economics programs: a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (offered through the College of Arts and Sciences), a Bachelor of Science in Economics (offered through the School of Business Administration), a 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. The Bachelor of Science with a Major in Actuarial Science blends 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 offer routine student advising.

To earn the Bachelor of Science degree with a major in economics, students must complete a minimum of 124 credits as follows:

English composition – 4-8 credits

WRT 1060 - Composition II (4) (or complete the writing requirement in another manner as detailed in the general education section of Undergraduate degree requirements)
WRT 3082 - Business Writing (4) or ENG 3110 - Advanced Critical Writing (4)

General education requirement – 28 credits

See the university General Education Requirements section of the Undergraduate degree requirements for details on the writing requirement, U.S. diversity and other general education requirements. Students on a previous catalog may use economics courses to satisfy the social science general education requirement.

Cognate courses – 28 credits

ACC 2000 - Introductory Financial Accounting (4)
ACC 2100 - Managerial and Cost Accounting I (4)
CSI 1200 - Introduction to Computing and Programming using Excel (4) or MIS 1000 - Business Problem Solving with Information Technology (3)
FIN 3220 - Managerial Finance I (3)
MTH 1221 - Linear Programming Elementary Functions (4) or MTH 1441 - Precalculus (4)
MTH 1222 - Calculus for the Social Sciences (4) or MTH 1554 - Calculus I (4)
* If a student places into and completes MTH 1222 or MTH 1554 with the required minimum grade, MTH 1221 or MTH 1441 is not required.

* If a student receives transfer credit for MTH 1222 or MTH 1554 , MTH 1221 or MTH 1441 is not required.
QMM 2400 - Statistical Methods for Business I (3) or (STA 2220 or STA 2226) and QMM 2410 - Statistical Methods for Business II (3)

Required courses – 18-20 credits

ECN 2010 - Principles of Microeconomics (4)
and
ECN 2000 - Principles of Macroeconomics (4)
or
ECN 2020 - Principles of Global Macroeconomics (4)
ECN 3020 - Intermediate Macroeconomics (3)
ECN 3030 - Managerial Economics (3)
ECN 3040 - Consumer and Welfare Economics (3)
ECN 4050 - Econometrics (3)
ECN 4180 - Seminar in Economic Policy (3)

Electives – 15-16 credits

Choose five economics electives at the 3000 level or above, one of which must be at the 4000 level. Students taking ECN 1500 or ECN 1600 before ECN 2010 or ECN 2020 (or ECN 2000 ) and who subsequently become economics majors, should talk to the department chairperson. FIN 4180 or QMM 4520 can be substituted for a 3000 level elective. No more than three credits in ECN 3800 , ECN 4900 , or ECN 4996 may be counted as economic electives.

General electives – 23-34 credits

124 total credits

In addition, each student seeking a B.S. 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 C or better in each course: MTH 1221 , MTH 1222 ; MIS 1000 (or CSI 1300 ); ECN 2010 and ECN 2020 (or ECN 2000 ); and QMM 2400 ;
Complete ECN 3020 , ECN 3030 , and ECN 3040 with a minimum grade of C in each course;
Complete at least 32 credits at the 3000 level or above;
Take the last eight credits needed to complete the 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.