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Why Study Economics?
Economics at CMU
Economics Major - B.A., B.S.
Economics Major - B.A. in B.A.
Economics Minor
The Faculty
ECO  Course Descriptions

Why Study Economics? 
Economics is the study of how mankind satisfies its many material wants and needs. An understanding of economic principles such as supply and demand, consumption of goods and services, inflation and recession, is important to individuals and groups of people who are responsible for making decisions about resources. For example, individuals are concerned with maximizing the purchasing power of their income; businesses strive to efficiently secure raw materials and labor in order to remain competitive in the global marketplace; governments want to know how political decisions will affect the economic actions of its residents. The study of economics is an excellent foundation for further study and/or a career in law, business, international affairs, public administration or education.

Economics at CMU 
Our diversity of course offerings and majors reflect the broad range of topics in the discipline and wide range of interests of the faculty. Students can earn an economics major on three degree programs: the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.), and the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A.).

All majors gain a set of quantitative and analytical skills that will serve them well in their careers and personal lives. Economics seeks to measure and predict human behavior, so it is the most quantitative of the social sciences. Each major must acquire a proficiency in mathematics and statistics to be adequately prepared for the analytical work required in the discipline: problem-solving and decision-making. Every student will be challenged to identify problems, create alternative solutions and decide which option will best serve the goals of the decision-maker. Since an economics student acquires general training in decision-making skills, there are a wide variety of employment opportunities upon graduation and beyond. These general skills allow graduates to successfully compete in a constantly changing labor market during this information age.

Students with a liberal arts perspective may be attracted to economics because it is a major that is flexible in terms of topics and employment options. Some courses concentrate on decision-making within the firm and the impact of those decisions on the firm's performance. Other courses take a broader social perspective. These may address the decision-making process in governmental organizations, the role of governments in society, or the impacts of government policies on individual citizens and private business. Economics also has much to add to public debates on social issues such as the role of women in the economy or pollution control.

Economics majors earning a degree in Business Administration would complete the same core requirements as other majors in the college. These requirements are designed to provide a specific set of technical and personal skills used in business and to provide an appreciation of the wider social environment in which businesses operate. Economics majors have a more restricted set of elective courses in this degree program. These courses provide technical skills (e.g., statistical methods and forecasting), greater depth in broader business issues (e.g., environmental policies and international institutions), or narrower applications of economics to business topics (e.g., government regulation and management decision-making).

The department is also committed to general education, and we offer a variety of courses in Groups III and IV of the University Program. Social institutions are created by people through a concerted decision-making process. The structure of these institutions influence individual behavior by offering opportunities and imposing constraints. Individual behavior, in turn, may support or undermine these social structures or actively seek to change the institutions. This interplay between individuals and social institutions provides the essential material for these general education courses: women's role in the economy (ECO 230), social change and economic ideas in history (ECO 110), comparisons of different economic systems around the globe (ECO 280 and 281), and the influence of social systems such as culture on individual economic behavior (ECO 222).
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Economics Major 
B.A., B.S. degrees

Required Economics Courses (15 hours): 
ECO 201 (3) Principles of Macroeconomics 
ECO 202 (3) Principles of Microeconomics 
ECO 306 (3) Money and Banking 
ECO 365 (3) Intermediate Microeconomic Theory 
ECO 370 (3) Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory 

Required Mathematics Courses (4-6 hours)*: 
MTH 116 (3) Mathematics for Business I AND 
MTH 216 (3) Mathematics for Business II OR 
MTH 132 (4) Calculus I 

Required Statistics Courses (3 hours)*: 
STA 282 (3) Introduction to Statistics OR 
ECO 285 (3) Statistical Methods in Economics OR 
STA 382 (3) Elementary Statistical Analysis 

Electives: 15 hours of economics courses to be selected in consultation with an economics department advisor, 12 of which must be numbered 300 or above. 

Total: 37 to 39 semester hours 

*Students are strongly advised to complete these courses early in their academic program. Note that MTH 132 or MTH 136 is a prerequisite for STA 382.
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Economics Major 
B.S. in B.A. degree

A. Additional Common Body of Knowledge in Business Administration (9 hours): 
BLR 202 (3) Legal Environment of Business 
MGT 340 (3) Production/Operations Management 
MGT 495 (3) Global Management Strategy 

B. Required Courses (9 hours): 
ECO 306 (3) Money and Banking 
ECO 365 (3) Intermediate Microeconomic Theory 
ECO 370 (3) Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory 

C. Electives: 15 hours of economics courses to be selected in consultation with an economics department advisor.  The courses will include:
1.  9 hours to be selected from these courses:
ECO 301 (3) Environmental Economics
ECO 372 (3) International Economics
ECO 385 (3) Introduction to Econometrics
ECO 410 (3) Government and Business
ECO 440 (3) Managerial Economics
ECO 532 (3) Economic Forecasting 
2. 6 hours of Economics courses, 3 hours of which must be numbered 200 or above, and 3 hours which must be numbered 300 and above.

Total: 33 semester hours
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Minor 

Economics Minor 
B.A., B.A.A., B.S., B.S. in B.A.,

Required Courses (6 hours): 
ECO 201 (3) Principles of Macroeconomics 
ECO 202 (3) Principles of Microeconomics 

Electives: 15 hours of economics courses to be selected in consultation with an economics department advisor, 9 of which must be numbered 300 or above. 

Total: 21 semester hours 

Students majoring or minoring in Economics may take up to six hours of credit/no credit work in Economics.

The faculty: G. Jeffrey Barbour, Bharati Basu, Lawrence P. Brunner, A. Aydin Cecen, Debasish Chakraborty, Richard Clemmer, Gregory Falls, James R. Hill, James Irwin, Yongil Jeon, Catherine McDevitt, Paul A. Natke, Basil G. Zimmer
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