Wayne State University

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

The Economics Major

An economics major, leading to a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in economics, consists of 32 credit hours of economics courses.  Transfer students wishing to major in economics must take at least 16 of their 32 credit hours at Wayne State.  Required courses that must be taken by an economics major include Principles of Economics (ECO 2010 and ECO 2020), Intermediate Microeconomics (ECO 5000), Intermediate Macroeconomics (ECO 5050), Introductory Statistics and Econometrics (ECO 5100). Students must also pass MAT 1500 or 1800 prior to the junior year or demonstrate eligibility for MAT 2010 in the Mathematics Placement Examination. Grade point requirements and prerequisites for these courses are given below.

Other economics courses taken by an economics major are electives.  Students must choose at least three courses from two or more of the following fields listed below.  If a student wishes to take a 6000 level course, the consent of the Director of Undergraduate Studies is required.

 To receive the B.A. degree in economics, the student must have an overall GPA of 2.0 in economics courses.

ECO 5993 - Writing Intensive Requirement

An economics major is also required to complete a paper for zero credit in conjunction with a 5000 level economics course.  The student must register for this course during the same semester that the 5000 level economics course is taken.  Permission from the instructor is required. Must receive "S" (Satisfactory).

The Minor in Economics

A minor in economics requires completion of MAT 1500 or 1800 or demonstrated eligibility for MAT 2010 in the Mathematics Placement Examination plus twenty credits of economics courses including ECO 2010 and ECO 2020. The additional twelve credits must be earned in ECO courses at the 5000-level or above. MAT 1500, 1800; ECO 2010, 2020 and (if included in the minor) ECO 5000, 5050, and 5100 must be passed with a grade of "C" or better. The twenty credits must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or better. Transfer students wishing to minor in economics must take at least 12 of the 20 credit hours at Wayne State.  These courses must include Principles of Economics (ECO 2010 and 2020), and three elective courses at the 5000 level or above. The minor complements fields in the behavioral sciences, as well as computer science, engineering, and pre-law disciplines.

Students who major or minor in economics and who score a "4" or "5" on the Advanced Placement Examination in Economics will be exempt from enrolling in ECO 2010 and ECO 2020.  The credits from these courses will be applied to the major or minor.

For information on economics courses offered by the Department of Economics, see Undergraduate Economics Courses.

Economics Honors Major

Economics majors with strong academic records and an interest in research are urged to apply to the Undergraduate Director for admission to the Honors Program in Economics.

Requirements are:

• Applicants should have an overall honor point average of 3.3 or above.
• Honors majors must take Economics 4997, the Senior Honors Seminar, during each of their last two semesters before graduation. They conduct research for the Seminar under the close supervision of an Economics faculty member and write up the results in an honors thesis, the length of which depends on the nature of the research project.
• Honors majors must take one Honor Program Seminar, HON 4200 through 4280, offered by the Liberal Arts and Sciences Honors Program. This class can be used to fulfill General Education and Liberal Arts and Sciences Group Requirements.
• A total of at least 15 honors designated credit hours, including, for example, any honors courses and thesis credits in Economics, other honors courses from other departments, and the Honors Program Seminar.

Those who successfully complete these requirements and finish their undergraduate course work with an overall H.P.A. of 3.3 or above will graduate with the degree designation, "With Honors in Economics."

AGrade Program (Undergraduate/Graduate)

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Department of Economics have established an accelerated combined undergraduate and graduate program (AGRADE) whereby qualified seniors may enroll simultaneously in some undergraduate and graduate programs of the College. A maximum of fifteen credit hours may be applied towards both undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics. Those who elect the AGRADE program may expect to complete the Bachelors and Masters degrees in five years of full-time study. For further information, go to the following web site.

Omicron Delta Epsilon Honor Society

To be eligible for membership in this honor society, candidates must have an overall University H.P.A. of 3.0 and have completed at least 12 credit hours in Economics with an H.P.A. of 3.0. Students must pay a nominal lifetime membership fee and will receive a scroll (suitable for framing), a membership card, and a one-year subscription (two issues) to the American Economist. The primary purpose of Omicron Delta Epsilon is to recognize scholastic achievement in economics. For further information about Omicron Delta Epsilon, contact the Undergraduate Secretary in the Department of Economics and/or see their website.

Career Opportunities

Economics majors have a wide choice of courses and careers. Many supplement their majors with cognate courses to prepare for careers in business, journalism, health care administration, or public service. Other undergraduate majors find economics to be an excellent preparation for law school. For example, past majors in our Department include David Overton (B.A. 1967), who is the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of the Cheesecake Factory, the ninth largest restaurant company in the United States; Ted Amsden (B.A. 1972), who is a senior partner in the Detroit law firm of Dykema Gossett PLLC; and Anna Kuzmik (B.A. 1991), who received her law degree from Harvard University in 1994 and is now practicing law in Washington DC.  Alexei Alexandrov (B.A. 2003) was admitted to the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University .  At the local level, for example, Robin West-Smith (B.A. 2003) works for the City of Detroit 's Information Technology Services Department, and Tanisha Holmes (B.A. 2003) works for General Electric in Southfield .

Undergraduates who want to undertake graduate work at the Ph.D. level in economics need a good mathematics background and are encouraged to take the Mathematics 2010 sequence as early as possible. Ph.D. graduates are in demand at universities, corporations, financial institutions and government agencies. M.A. graduates may teach at junior colleges but more typically go into business or public service .

Economists are now being found in places that few would have anticipated until recently. More and more high schools are offering economics courses, and some are requiring them. A degree in secondary education emphasizing math and economics is especially attractive to many school districts. Nonprofit agencies, such as the Sierra Club or Greenpeace are employing more economists, since market-based solutions to environmental problems are now being accepted by environmentalists. Finally, with increased economic integration throughout the world, even small firms need to be aware of import competition and the prospect for export markets. The global economy is extraordinarily complex, requiring careful analysis and planning -- the sort of thing done best by economists.

Here is a capsule summary of careers in economics:

Work in the Corporate World :

• Banking and Finance
• Market Analyst
• Marketing
• Human Resources
• MBA programs love economics majors!

Work for Non-Profits and Government :

• International Agencies (International Monetary Fund, World Bank, United Nations, Peace Corps)
• U.S. Government Agencies ( Federal Reserve System , U.S. Treasury Department , U.S. Department of Commerce, Environmental Protection Agency, etc.)
• State and Local Government Agencies (Labor, Economic Development, Budget Analysis, etc.)
• The Economics major is great preparation for graduate work in Public Policy and Planning.

Law :

• Economics is great preparation for law school

Academia :

• Become an economics professor.  Requires a Ph.D., but graduates are in demand.

The table below lists average salary offers to new graduates by undergraduate major.

Average Starting Salary Offers in 2003-2004 for Bachelor's Degree Candidates by Major

 The following table shows the median starting salary and the median base salary for economists in 2002:

Source: National Association for Business Economics, Salary Characteristics, 2002