Degree Requirements for Economics

In this section

General Requirements for the Major or Minor

General university degree requirements stipulate that 1) at least four units of the major or three units of the minor be taken in residence at Puget Sound; 2) students earn at least a cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken for the major or the minor; and 3) all courses taken for a major or minor must be taken for graded credit. Any exceptions to these stipulations are indicated in the major and minor degree requirements listed below.

Requirements for the Major in Economics (BA)

Completion of a minimum of nine units to include
1. ECON 101, 102, 284, 301, 302, and 411;
2. Three economics electives at the 200-level or above, at least one of which must be 300-level or above. BUS 431, BUS 432, or BUS 435 may be counted as one of the three electives;
MATH 160 or 260 (or an equivalent statistical methods course with approval of the Economics Department).
MATH 170, 180, 181, or 280.

Requirements for the Major in Economics (BS)

Completion of a minimum of nine units, to include
1. ECON 101, 102, 284, 301, 302, 391, and 411;
2. Two economics electives at the 200-level or above, at least one of which must be 300-level or above. BUS 431, BUS 432, or BUS 435 may be counted as one of the two electives;
MATH 160 or 260 (or an equivalent statistical methods course with approval of the Economics Department).
Calculus through multivariate, MATH 280.

Requirements for the Minor in Economics

Completion of five units to include:

ECON 101 and 102;
Three 200-level or above economics electives, to include at least one course at 300-level or above.

Notes for the major and minor

With prior approval from the Economics Department, one unit of ECON 495/496 may be counted toward the electives.
Only courses for which the student has received a C or better can count for the major or minor.
The economics department reserves the option of not applying courses more than 6 years old to a major or minor.
Students who study abroad may apply two approved electives toward their Economics major.
Students contemplating graduate school in economics should take three semesters of calculus and linear algebra at a minimum and should include probability theory and differential equations if possible.
Students should take at least one 200-level economics course before enrolling in ECON 301 or 302.