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B.S. in Economics Major (EN31)

The Bachelor of Science in Economics (EN 31) is our most comprehensive degree as it provides the highest level of combined technical and applied training of all our major programs. 

The major builds the core toolkits of economics,  how individuals, firms, organizations, and governments make choices, with emphasis on economic incentives and strategic interactions. The core courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics teach students how economies function and how to extract insights from data; full-year sequences in microeconomics and econometrics provide advanced quantitative and analytical training. The wide range of elective courses in the Economics major apply the tools to topics in finance; strategic management; business operations; trade; labor markets; energy, climate, and the environment; taxation; government; inequality; international development; and more. The major requires students to choose at least two advanced electives, which provide strong analytical training in students’ preferred fields.

The Economics B.S. is STEM-certified and highly valued by employers. With the Economics B.S., students have access to a broad range of careers in business, finance, government, health, law, energy, technology, education, non-profits, international organizations, and many more.  The degree also provides a solid foundation for students who are thinking about graduate study.

Policies

To receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics:

  • Students must have a minimum 2.0 major GPA in order to graduate.
  • All major requirements, both lower division and upper division, must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a C- or better. 
  • All upper division major requirements must be at least 4 units. Classes lower than 4 units will not count toward your upper division major requirements. 
  • You must remain within the residency requirement for this major, which is: No more than four upper-division courses taken externally from UC San Diego can be counted toward the major. 

Note: F-1 students with an EN31 major are eligible to apply for STEM OPT and extend the employment authorization benefits. Current F-1 regulations allow for 12 months of OPT and an additional 24 months (total of 36 months) of OPT for those in STEM qualified fields. Visit the OPT webpage for details and updates.  EN31 falls under the category of Econometrics and Quantitative Economics.

Focus of the Major

  • Emphasizes tools of economics analysis and their applications to contemporary problems and government policies.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the Economics major, students will be able to:

  • Apply the formal methods used by statisticians to analyze data to learn about the real world
  • Use basic economic methods to quantify uncertainty with confidence intervals; use regression to infer causal relationships; and use regressions for prediction
  • Critically interpret empirical studies
  • Set up, solve, and analyze optimization models
  • Apply optimization models to consumer, producer, and market theories
  • Use game theory to analyze the strategic behavior of individuals and firms
  • Build macroeconomic models
  • Apply macroeconomic models to understand current issues

The UC San Diego WASC Inventory of Effectiveness Indicators for the bachelor of science in economics will be posted soon.

Requirements

  • Major requirements checklist (PDF)

Four Year Plan

  • First Years (PDF)

Two Year Plan

  • Transfer Students (PDF)