About the Undergraduate Program

The strong mathematical background of UC San Diego undergraduates allows the Department of Economics to offer a rigorous undergraduate program that provides a strong foundation in econometrics and microeconomic theory to all our majors.

Faculty

The faculty, whose research has led the Department to be ranked the 14th best department by the most recent US World and News Report, all teach undergraduate courses. Additionally, several faculty have written undergraduate textbooks including James Rauch (with Gerald Meier), "Leading Issues in Economic Development"; Ross Starr, "General Equilibrium Theory: An Introduction"; and Joel Watson, "Strategy".

Valerie Ramey, a leading researcher in macroeconomics, won the prestigious UC San Diego Chancellor's Associates Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2008 and had this to say about what top researchers add to undergraduate education:

"I just finished teaching introductory macroeconomics to several hundred students.  As the quarter began, it became clear that the economy might be slipping into a recession.  I started a recession watch, teaching the students how to evaluate the data coming in to see where the economy was going.  I was only able to do this because of years of research on macroeconomic data.  Two or three times during the quarter, when students would question something from the textbook, I told them I thought that the students were correct in their intuition because I had recently published research on just that topic.  Finally, because I have known the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke since I was a graduate student and am well-acquainted with his research, I think I was able to give the students more insight into why the Fed is responding so vigorously to the credit problems.  Thus, the advantage of having active researchers teach undergraduates is that they can take the students 'beyond the textbook'."

Teaching Assistants

Our graduate students (researchers in training), who add to our undergraduate program by conducting review and discussion sections, have also seen recent acclaim for their dedication to our undergraduates.

Ph. D. candidate Jaime Thomas is a recipient of the 2008 Barbara J. and Paul D. Saltman Excellent Teaching Award.

An undergraduate had this to say about Jaime:

"Jaime was a downright spectacular TA [teaching assistant]. Three reasons why a world full of Jaime's would be a nice place for economists: 1. No one would ever be confused. 2. Everyone would know 'tricks' for constrained optimization and 3. All economics graphs would be neatly drawn."