Economics

Degree Options

Bachelor of Science in Business and Administration or Bachelor of Arts with a major in economics.

Description of Program

The economics program offers the opportunity to study prices, markets, and incentives (microeconomics) and economic growth and business cycles (macroeconomics).

The economics major provides preparation both for students planning to enter the world of work directly after Drake and for students planning to attend professional or graduate school. The economics major provides excellent preparation for professional study in law, business or public administration because economics is an important analytical tool used in these fields. Students interested in graduate study in economics or a closely related field (finance, public policy, international relations) should also consider the quantitative economics major.

Requirements for Major

The economics major requires 27 credits of economics, 3 credits of mathematics, and 6 credits of statistics.

All candidates for an economics major must complete the following courses:

• Mathematics 28 (Business Calculus), OR Mathematics 50 (Calculus I)
• Statistics 71 (Statistics I)
• Statistics 72 (Statistics II)
• Economics 1 (Principles of Macroeconomics)
• Economics 2 (Principles of Microeconomics)
• Economics 173 (Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis)
• Economics 174 (Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis)
• Five additional economics courses numbered 100 or above

All candidates must also satisfy the requirements of the Drake Curriculum.

Additional requirements for the B.S.B.A. degree: Candidates must complete the required business core curriculum, including Business 195 as the Capstone.

Additional requirements for the B.A. degree: Candidates must write a Capstone paper, registered as a 1-hour independent study (Economics 199). Candidates for the B.A. degree may not add a minor in marketing or a minor in business studies. Instead, students interested in business should consider the B.S.B.A. degree, which requires the same economics courses as the B.A. degree but includes broad training in business subjects.

Requirements for Minor

The economics minor requires 18 credits of economics and 3 credits of mathematics.

Candidates for the minor in economics must complete the following courses:

• Mathematics 28 (Business Calculus), OR Mathematics 50 (Calculus I)
• Economics 1 (Principles of Macroeconomics)
• Economics 2 (Principles of Microeconomics)
• Economics 173 (Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis), OR Economics 174 (Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis)
• Three additional economics courses numbered 100 or above

It is recommended that candidates for the minor complete both Economics 173 and Economics 174.  The second course counts toward the three additional 100-level courses.