Prospective Students

At its core, economics is the study of choice—why choices need to be made, how choices are made, and the implications of those choices for quality of life. The breadth of this description gives you some indication of the breadth of the discipline. Economic questions enter into all aspects of social life—how wages are determined, whether taxes should be raised, how to best provide equality of opportunity in society, how to protect the environment, how to get rich, or how to use resources to satisfy needs (this is only a short list of the many avenues of economic exploration). If any of these issues are of interest to you, economics is relevant to you.

An economics degree trains students to apply mathematical and scientific reasoning to the economic world. Professional economists utilize their skills in the business, legal, and governmental arenas. Economists research and evaluate data related to issues of monetary or production value. Areas explored include the labor market, natural and environmental resources, productive capital, final product markets, financial markets, and government interactions with production and consumption decisions. An economics student can use his or her degree as a basis for further education in fields such as economics, business, public policy and law, journalism, or social welfare. Students majoring in economics must have good command of mathematical reasoning, as well as strong verbal and written communication skills.