Nov 21, 2024  
Undergraduate Record 2017-2018 
    
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Undergraduate Record 2017-2018 [ARCHIVED RECORD]

Economics

Return to: College of Arts & Sciences: Departments/Programs 

Prerequisites for Declaring the Major (B.A.)

1. Complete at least two graded economics courses at the University of Virginia.

2. Economics GPA

Achieve an economics grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.3; the economics major GPA is a weighted measure of all 2000 level or higher Economics (ECON) courses taken at the University with the following exceptions:

  1. Grades received in courses taken outside the University’s Economics Department, such as transfer courses or direct credit courses offered through study abroad programs, are not included in the economics GPA.
  2. If a student is granted economics elective credit for a course taken in another school or department at the University of Virginia, the grade received in that course is not included in the student’s economics GPA.
  3. HIUS 2061 is cross-listed as ECON 2060, and HIEU 2051 was cross-listed as ECON 2050 until Spring 2015. ECON 2060 is (and ECON 2050 was) the same whether taught under the History or Economics numbers A grade in HIUS 2061 (or HIEU 2051 taken before Spring 2015), therefore, would be included in the economics GPA.
  4. If a student fails a course and then retakes it, both grades – the failing grade and the grade received on the retake – enter into the computation of the economics GPA. If a student has taken and passed a course, grades received on any subsequent retake(s) are not included in the student’s economics GPA.

3. Calculus

Complete calculus through calculus II (MATH 1220 or MATH 1320 or APMA 1110) with a minimum grade of C+ in the calculus II course.

  1. Students who fail to obtain a C+ on their first attempt are permitted to try to meet the prerequisite a second time. Students who twice fail to obtain a grade of at least C+ in these courses, whether in the same or different courses, are ineligible to declare the economics major.  Students considering the concentration in financial economics or graduate work in economics are encouraged to take MATH 1310 and MATH 1320 (or APMA 1110 and APMA 2120) instead of MATH 1210 and MATH 1220.
  2. Pre-matriculation transfer credit or a grade of C+ or above in MATH 2310 or MATH 2315 or APMA 2120 will be accepted in lieu of calculus II to fulfill the prerequisite.  However, rule 3a still applies. Students who receive a grade below C+ in Calc II and choose to take Calc III instead of repeating Calc II are using up their second chance under rule 4a above. If they receive a grade below C+ in Calc III, they are ineligible for the major.
  3. Students who matriculate at the University with AP or transfer credit for one of the aforementioned calculus II or III courses are exempt from this prerequisite. Transfer credit cannot be used to satisfy this requirement after one has begun taking classes at the University.

4. Intermediate Microeconomics

Complete ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110) with a minimum grade of C+.

  1. Students who fail to obtain a C+ on their first attempt at completing ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110) are permitted to retake ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110) once. Those who fail to get a grade of at least C+ in two attempts are not eligible to declare an economics major.
  2. Credit is not given for both ECON 3010 and ECON 3110, and these courses are considered the same course for the purposes of this requirement.
  3. Students who have transfer credit for ECON 3010 at the time that they matriculate at the University are exempt from this prerequisite. Transfer credit cannot be used to satisfy this requirement after one has begun taking classes at the University.

5. Statistics

Complete one of the following courses - STAT 2120, STAT 3120, APMA 3110, APMA 3120 - with a minimum grade of C+.

  1. Students who fail to obtain a C+ on their first attempt are permitted to try to meet the prerequisite a second time. Students who twice fail to obtain a grade of at least C+ in the statistics courses listed above, whether in the same or different courses, are ineligible to declare the economics major.
  2. Students who matriculate at the University with AP or transfer credit for one of the aforementioned statistics courses are exempt from this prerequisite. Transfer credit cannot be used to satisfy this requirement after one has begun taking classes at the University.

NOTE: Students declaring in their 6th semester must have either completed or already be registered for ECON 3720, or ECON 4720 (STAT 3220, if completed before Fall 2013, is also acceptable). Students declaring after their 6th semester must have already completed ECON 3720 or ECON 4720 (STAT 3220, if completed before Fall 2013, is also acceptable).

Major Requirements

Required Courses
Complete five required courses -ECON 2010, ECON 2020, ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110), ECON 3720 (or ECON 4720), and ECON 3020.

  1. Students entering the University with transfer credit for ECON 3010 (or 3020) on their transcript, but do not have credit for ECON 2010 (or 2020), are exempt from ECON 2010 or 2020, respectively. However, they will be required to complete one additional ECON elective: in other words a total of 5 ECON electives must be completed for the major.
  2. Students who completed STAT 3220 before Fall 2013 may use it to meet the ECON 3720 (or ECON 4720) requirement.
  3. Declared majors must complete ECON 2010, ECON 2020, ECON 3010 (or 3110), and ECON 3720 (or 4720) by the end of the sixth semester or they will be dropped from the major. Students wishing to declare and Economics major later than the end of their sixth semester must have already completed all these courses.

Elective Courses

  • Students must complete 4 elective economics courses, each of which must be at least 3 credit hours.  At least 2 courses must be numbered 4000 or above and no more than one 2000 level elective.  No Economics courses numbered 1000-1999 may be used towards the Economics major.

GPA

  • Students must achieve at least a 2.0 economics GPA in order to graduate.
  • Students who finish their sixth semester with an economics GPA below 2.0 will be dropped from the major. 

Declaring the Major

  1. Review your student record to make sure you have completed all the prerequisites- the grades must be posted on SIS. If any prerequisites are in progress, you are not yet eligible to declare.
  2. Pick up a “Declaration of Major” form from the College of Arts and Sciences (Monroe Hall, Room 101), and fill in all Economics courses taken and currently enrolled.
  3. Schedule an appointment with the Undergraduate Program Coordinator, in the Economics Department. During your appointment, the Undergraduate Program Coordinator will review your prerequisites, discuss your course plans for the Economics major,and assign you a major advisor.
  4. Return the yellow copy to the Undergraduate Program Coordinator and take the original (white) copy to the College of Arts and Sciences in Monroe 101 (or your school of enrollment, if not Arts and Sciences), where it is entered into your student record.

Important: You are not declared until you have completed all four steps.

Important Policies

  • Certain courses can be transferred towards the major after a student starts at UVA (post-matriculation), however, certain restrictions apply. For more details please see the Transfer Credit  section on the Department’s website.
  • Transfer students must meet all prerequisites. They cannot automatically declare in the major. Third-year transfer students considering the economics major are strongly advised to contact the Undergraduate Program Coordinator before selecting courses.
  • No course taken credit/no credit may be used to satisfy major and concentration requirements.
  • Students who declare their Economics major after Fall 2011 must complete at least four courses in Economics at the University of Virginia to graduate as Economics majors, whatever transfer credit they may have received for work done elsewhere. For purposes of this rule, any class taught at the University of Virginia in another school or department of the University that is routinely accepted for major credit can be counted towards the total of four courses.

Concentrations in Economics

The Economics Department offers concentrations in Financial Economics, Industrial Organization, International Economics, and Public Policy.

  • Concentrations are optional, but economics majors whose interests are heavily focused on one of the following areas may want to declare a concentration.
  • Courses taken for a concentration are also considered major electives, unless the course is already specifically required for the major (i.e. Intermediate Microeconomics, Econometrics).
  • Students should keep in mind that elective courses applicable to a concentration are not guaranteed to be offered on a consistent basis.
  • Concentrations must be declared in the student’s 7th term at latest.

Students with questions about a concentration should contact the Undergraduate Program Coordinator.

How to Declare a Concentration:

  1. Review your transcript to make sure you have completed all the prerequisites (if any).
  2. Schedule an appointment with the Undergraduate Program Coordinator.
  3. The Undergraduate Program Coordinator will provide the required form, which will be filled at the meeting. When this has been finished, you will take the completed paperwork to the College of Arts and Sciences in Monroe 101 (or to your school of enrollment, if it is not Arts and Sciences) where it will be entered into your student record.

Concentration in Financial Economics

Goals

The concentration aims to provide an academic grounding in financial markets and financial decision making – to teach you how economic theory and econometric methods can be combined to analyze economic phenomena in general and in particular the core issues in financial decision-making.  The finance concentration is the most technically challenging of the department’s concentrations.  It requires a high level of mathematical and econometric knowledge. Students should be very comfortable applying the tools of calculus to applied problems. Students are also expected to be comfortable with computer programming.

Structure

The concentration is composed of two parts. Students first take a core set of economics courses as well as COMM 2010 (financial accounting).  These courses provide a broad background in financial economics.  These courses have long been offered in the economics department and are taught at a level accessible to all economics majors.

The second part is the preparation for and completion of the capstone course, ECON 4360: Empirical Finance. The pre-requisite for this course is ECON 4720: Econometric Methods.  ECON 4720 is needed because ECON 4360 will rely heavily on econometric tools. Half of ECON 4360 will teach students the theoretical basis of the stochastic discount factor (SDF) methodology for pricing assets.  The second part of the class will teach students how to use the General Method of Moments (GMM) econometric framework for estimating and testing the validity of a variety of SDF models.

Who should take the Finance Concentration?

The concentration should be of interest to a variety of students.  Those who plan to go on to Ph.D. level work in either economics or finance, or masters level work at quantitative finance MBA programs, will benefit from the advanced financial theory and econometric tools we learn and apply.  Those who do not have plans for further post graduate study, but who are intellectually curious about finance, will find their curiosity sated.  Students heading for quantitative Wall Street jobs will benefit from studying the formal modeling and econometric methods.

Notes on Coursework

Completing the concentration requires that one plan in advance.  Because COMM 2010 is generally taken by pre-Commerce students, first and second year students are given priority in registering for the class.  You may find it impossible to register for COMM 2010 if you wait until your third year to take it.  ECON 4720 must be completed before starting ECON 4360.  While linear algebra is not required for the concentration, concepts of linear algebra appear (and are taught) in ECON 4720 and ECON 4360.  Students are required to complete a linear algebra course (MATH 3350 or MATH 3351 or APMA 3080) prior to attempting ECON 4720.

Prerequisites for Declaring the Concentration 

  • Students must complete one course from the following list: ECON 3720, STAT 3120, STAT 3220, APMA 3110, or APMA 3120.
  • Complete ECON 4720 (Econometric Methods) with a grade of B or better.

Requirements for Completing the Concentration

In addition to meeting the ordinary requirements for the major, students must:

  1. Complete ECON 3030 (Money and Banking)
  2. Complete ONE of the following:
    • ECON 4340 (Theory of Financial Markets)
    • ECON 4350 (Corporate Finance)
    • ECON 4365 (Global Financial Markets)
    • ECON 4370 (Behavioral Finance)
    • ECON 4380 (Investment Management)
    • COMM 3720 (Corporate Finance – McIntire School of Commerce – Commerce and Economics Double Majors Only)
  3. Complete ECON 4360 (Empirical Finance). This course cannot be taken without having met the above prerequisites for declaring the concentration.
  4. Complete COMM 2010 (Financial Accounting—McIntire School of Commerce) COMM 2010 does not count as an economics elective.  Economics elective courses such as ECON 3030, ECON 4340, etc., taken to meet finance concentration requirements can be counted as electives towards meeting major requirements.

For more information on the concentration in financial economics, contact the Undergraduate Program Coordinator.

Concentration in Industrial Organization

The industrial organization concentration has as its focus the exercise of market power by firms and the strategic interaction between firms. Courses in the concentration use theoretical and empirical analysis to explore a wide variety of issues related to the functioning of markets and related public policies. In combination with the major requirements, the concentration prepares students for careers in business, law, and consulting.

To complete the concentration, students must meet the ordinary requirements for the major, and complete:

  1. ECON 4190
  2. Any two of the following electives: ECON 4010, ECON 4020, ECON 4170, ECON 4180, ECON 4200, ECON 4390, or ECON 4195

For more information on the concentration in industrial organization, contact the Undergraduate Program Coordinator.

Concentration in International Economics

The international economics concentration is designed for ambitious majors with a keen interest in global economic policy.  The core course requirements, ECON 4210 and ECON 4220, develop basic literacy in empirical techniques and international economic theory in international trade and macroeconomics.  The remaining course electives allow students to specialize further in economic development (ECON 4230, 4610, 4620) or area studies (ECON 3630, 4410).  Many students combine the international concentration with a study abroad program or with the Foreign Affairs major.  Recent graduates have gone on to work for international governmental and non-governmental organizations, master’s degree programs in international studies or public policy, law school, and business school.

To complete the concentration, students must meet the ordinary requirements for the major and complete:

  1. ECON 4210
  2. ECON 4220
  3. One of the following: ECON 3630, ECON 4230, ECON 4610, ECON 4620 or ECON 4410. For double majors in economics and politics, PLIR 4410 is also accepted as an elective for the concentration.

For more information on the concentration in international economics, contact the Undergraduate Program Coordinator.

Concentration in Public Policy

Economics is highly relevant for public policy as well as private business decisions.  Among the topics of interest in microeconomics are the wide range of effects of specific taxes, expenditure programs, and regulations.  The courses in the public policy concentration apply general theoretical models for explaining how individuals and organizations respond to changes in their circumstances to predict the qualitative effects of existing and proposed government programs, and they introduce empirical evidence on the quantitative magnitudes of these effects.  The concentration also develops the abilities of its students to critically evaluate arguments for particular government actions.  It provides majors with the type of training that will enable them to compete successfully for the best junior analyst positions in governments, public policy research firms, and other organizations and for admission into the leading graduate programs in public policy.  It should also appeal to students with a strong interest in public policy who intend to pursue careers in related areas such as law.

To declare a concentration in public policy before his or her last year at the University, an economics major must have completed

  1. ECON 3010 (or 3110) with a grade of B or better, and
  2. ECON 3720 (or STAT 3220 or ECON 4720) and
  3. ECON 4310

To declare the concentration in the second-to-last semester at the University, a major who has satisfied the microeconomics requirement must have completed, or be enrolled in, ECON 4310.

To graduate with the concentration, a major must meet the ordinary requirements for the major and complete

  1. ECON 4310
  2. ECON 4880, and
  3. at least two of the following courses: ECON 3040, 3050, 3330, 4080, 4150, 4160, 4180, 4200, 4210, 4220, 4230, 4330, 4420, 4430, 4440, 4610, and 4620.

Due to limits on the number of papers that the faculty involved can reasonably supervise in ECON 4880, it is sometimes necessary to limit enrollment in this course and hence the concentration. For more information on the concentration in public policy, contact the Undergraduate Program Coordinator.

Prerequisites for Declaring the Minor

1. Complete at least two graded economics courses at the University of Virginia.

2. Economics GPA

Achieve an economics GPA of at least 2.3 for all economics courses completed.

The economics GPA is a weighted measure of all Economics courses taken at the University with the following exceptions:

  1. Grades received in courses taken outside the University’s Economics Department, such as transfer courses or direct credit courses offered through study abroad programs, are not included in the economics GPA.
  2. If a student is granted economics elective credit for a course taken in another school or department at the University of Virginia, the grade received in that course is not included in the student’s economics GPA.
  3. HIUS 2061 is cross-listed as ECON 2060, and HIEU 2051 is cross-listed as Econ 2050 until Spring 2015. ECON 2060 is (and ECON 2050 was) the same whether taught under the History or Economics numbers A grade in HIUS 2061 (or HIEU 2051 taken before Spring 2015), therefore, would be included in the economics GPA.
  4. If a student fails a course and then retakes it, both grades – the failing grade and the grade received on the retake – enter into the computation of the economics GPA.  If a student has taken and passed a course, grades received on any subsequent retake(s) are not included in the student’s economics GPA.

3. Microeconomics

Complete ECON 2010 with a passing grade and ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110) with a minimum grade of C+.

Students who fail to obtain a C+ on their first attempt at completing ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110) are permitted to retake ECON 3010 (or ECON 3110) once. Those who fail to get a grade of at least C+ in two attempts are not eligible to declare an economics minor.

  1. Students who have transfer credit for ECON 3010 at the time that they matriculate at the University are exempt from this prerequisite.
  2. ECON 2010 and ECON 2020 are the only courses for the minor that may be taken outside the University after matriculation.

4. Macroeconomics

Complete ECON 2020 with a passing grade.

5. Calculus

Complete Calculus I & II and obtain a minimum grade of C+ in at least one of the calculus courses.

Accepted Calculus I courses: APMA 1090, MATH 1210, MATH 1190, or MATH 1310
Accepted Calculus II courses: MATH 1220, MATH 1320, APMA 1110

  • Students who matriculate at the University with AP or transfer credit for Calculus II are exempt from both parts of this prerequisite.
  • Students who matriculate at the University with AP or transfer credit for Calculus I are considered to have met the minimum grade requirement.
  • Students who fail to obtain a C+ in Calc I are permitted one retake of Calc I, provided they do so before they take Calc II. No additional Calc I or Calc II retakes are permitted to meet the minimum grade requirement.  
  • Transfer credit cannot be used to satisfy the grade requirement after one has begun taking classes at the University.
  • Students who complete Intermediate Microeconomics before Spring 2016 are not required to complete Calculus II but must still meet the minimum grade requirement.

6. Statistics

Complete one of the following courses -STAT 2120, STAT 3120, APMA 3110, or APMA 3120- with a minimum grade of C+.

  • Students who fail to obtain a C+ on their first attempt are permitted to try to meet the prerequisite a second time. Students who twice fail to obtain a grade of at least C+ in the statistics courses listed above, whether in the same or different courses, are ineligible to declare the economics minor.
  • Students who matriculate at the University with AP or transfer credit for one of these courses are exempt from this prerequisite. Transfer credit cannot be used to satisfy this requirement after one has begun taking classes at the University.

Minor Requirements

No course taken credit/no credit may be used to satisfy minor requirements.

Required Courses

Complete all the prerequisite courses for declaring a minor; ECON 2010, 2020, 3010 (or 3110), Calculus, and Statistics.
 
Elective Courses

The student must complete an additional 3 Economics elective courses at the 2000 level or above, each of which must be at least a 3 hour course.

  • Of the economics elective courses used to satisfy this requirement, no more than one can be numbered below 2999.
  • At least two of the three Economics elective courses must be completed at the University.
  • ECON 3720, ECON 4720, and ECON 3020 can count as electives in the minor.
  • Students entering the University with transfer credit for ECON 3010 (or 3020) on their transcript, but who do not have credit for ECON 2010 (or 2020), are exempt from ECON 2010 or 2020, respectively. However, they will be required to complete one additional Econ elective; in other words a total of 4 ECON electives must be completed for the minor.

GPA

Students must have a cumulative economics GPA of at least 2.0 to graduate with the minor. See the prerequisites for details on computing the economics GPA.

Declaring the Minor

College rules require that the minor be declared by the end of the add period in the semester before graduation, ordinarily the seventh semester. Under some circumstances this deadline may be extended until early in the semester in which you intend to graduate. 

  1. Review your transcript to make sure you have completed all the prerequisites.
  2. Schedule an appointment with the Undergraduate Program Coordinator.
  3. The Undergraduate Program Coordinator will provide the required form, which will be filled at the meeting. When this has been finished, you will take the completed paperwork to the College of Arts and Sciences in Monroe 101 (or to your school of enrollment, if it is not Arts and Sciences) where it will be entered into your student record.

Distinguished Majors Program

The Distinguished Majors Program brings the best undergraduates together in their fourth year to learn from each other, enter the intellectual life of the Department of Economics, discover the nature of research in economics, and write a thesis. Applications are due in March of the student’s third year. Applicants should have a strong overall academic record, with a cumulative grade point average in economics that is at least 3.6 at the time of application.

Specific requirements of the program include:

  1. Each student must take the Distinguished Majors Seminar (ECON 4990) in the fall of the fourth year.
  2. Each student will complete a DMP thesis (ECON 4999), independent research under the supervision of an economics faculty member. The thesis is due in April.

Department recommendations for Distinction, High Distinction, and Highest Distinction will be based on:

  1. quality of the thesis
  2. overall work in the Distinguished Majors Program,
  3. overall work in economics,
  4. overall college record.

Contact Information

The Department of Economics is located in Monroe Hall. The mailing address is P.O. Box 400182, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4182. The department’s web address is www.virginia.edu/economics. If you have further questions about undergraduate study in economics, please contact the Undergraduate Program Coordinator or the Director of Undergradute studies (econ-dus@virginia.edu).

Course Descriptions