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Program FAQs

Business Economics Major (EN30)

Can I take Math 10ABC for the Business Economics major?

Math 10ABC will fulfill EN30 major requirements. The Department of Economics recommends Math 20ABC for all of its majors, though. Keep in mind that some upper-division Economics elective courses require the Math 20ABC series. The Department strictly enforces all prerequisites, so please check course descriptions and prerequisites using the General Catalog prior to enrolling in Economics courses.

I have questions about MGT courses for the Business Economics major. Who do I contact?

Please use the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) to contact the advisors at the Rady School of Management for questions about MGT courses. All MGT courses are under Rady's purview (and not under the Department of Economics). Please see Rady's website for additional contact information for advising.

Does the Business Economics major qualify for STEM OPT extension eligibility?

F-1 students with an EN30 major are eligible to apply for STEM OPT and extend the employment authorization benefits (approved March 2021). 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. The EN30 Business Economics major is under the 521399 CIP code.

I’m a Senior. Can I still declare the Business Economics major?

Please contact your College regarding your Quarter Limit. If you have 150+ units, any major change requires Department and College Approval when submitting a Major Change Request in the Major/Minor Tool on TritonLink. You may also reach out to Econ Advising to set up an appointment if you need help creating a new quarter by quarter plan before you consider switching.

I’m currently a Rady Business minor. What courses from the Business Minor can apply to the Business Economics major?

Students cannot major in Business Economics and minor in Business. If you are interested in changing your major to Business Economics, you must drop the Business minor. Please see the Business Economics major requirements to see what courses you can use from your minor. 

General Questions: Majors

How do I declare my major or change to a major offered by the Department of Economics?

Effective FA19, all majors in the Department of Economics are no longer capped. To become one of our majors, you can simply select your major of choice by using the Major/Minor Tool on TritonLink. Please review our majors and their respective requirements by exploring the links on our page.

Is there a limit to the number of upper division courses I can transfer in?

Yes. The Department of Economics has residency requirements for each major.

To receive a bachelor of arts degree in Economics (EN25), no more than four upper-division courses taken externally from UC San Diego can be counted toward the major.

To receive a bachelor of science degree in Management Science (EN26), no more than six upper-division courses taken externally from UC San Diego can be counted toward the major.

To receive a bachelor of science degree in Joint Mathematics-Economics (EN28), no more than three upper-division courses taken externally from UC San Diego can be counted toward the major. 

To receive a bachelor of science degree in Business Economics (EN30), no more than one upper division Economics (Econ) course and one upper division Rady School (MGT) course may be taken externally from UC San Diego and be counted toward the major.

Can I get a D in a course and use it for my major?

No. All major requirements, including electives, must be passed with a C- (C minus) or better to be applied towards your major. If you received a D in a course you will not be able to use the course towards your major.

Can I take a course online for my major?

The Department of Economics reviews online courses by exception only and will accept an online course only if the content is appropriate and equivalent to a UCSD Economics course.

If the course(s) does not appear in an articulation agreement with the California Community College system, please follow the steps below to petition your course for UCSD major credit.

  1. Have an official transcript for the transfer course sent to UCSD Admissions.
  2. Check your academic history to see if the course is posted to UCSD.
  3. When the class is posted, complete an Undergraduate Student Petition.
    1. Include all supporting course materials such as: the syllabus and course description.
    2. Submit a separate petition for each course if you are petitioning more than one class.
  4. Submit the completed petition, and supporting documentation via: https://forms.gle/6BBkrrHuDDvHfYrn8 (must be logged into Google with your ucsd.edu email). We will forward the petition to our Vice Chair of Undergraduate Education for review.
  5. Check your UCSD email account for VAC notification confirming that your petition has been reviewed and processed and that outcome has been provided. (Process takes approximately 10 business days. May be longer during peak periods).

Can I take major requirements for P/NP?

No. Unless the course was taken during COVID quarters (ie SP20, FA20, WI21, & SP21), all courses taken to meet major requirements must be taken for a letter grade. A course taken for P/NP will not apply towards major requirements. This applies to both upper and lower division requirements, all required Math classes, MGT classes, and ECON classes. 

The only exception to this rule is ECON 195, 198, and 199, which are only offered with a P/NP grading option. No more than 12 units total of these classes may be applied towards your major. No more than eight units of ECON 195 may apply towards your major. No more than eight units of ECON 199 may apply towards your major. For EN25 and EN26 majors, these courses will count as standard electives, not advanced.

We do understand that sometimes life happens and there are situations where a P/NP grading option is needed. If this is the case, we will accept a major requirement class taken for P/NP, but you must fill out an undergraduate petition asking for an exception and send it to econugadvisor@ucsd.edu for departmental review. As a consequence, you will need to take an additional class for each class you took for P/NP per the chart below.

Course taken for P/NP Additional Course student must now take:
ECON 1, ECON 3, ECON 4, or ECON 5

EN25 & EN26: Standard Upper Division Elective

EN28: Econ Upper Division elective

EN30: either 1 MGT OR 1 Econ Upper Division elective

ECON 100A or any other Upper Division Econ core course

EN25 & EN26: Advanced Econ elective

EN28 & EN30: Upper Division Econ elective

MATH 10/20A-C

EN25 & EN26: Standard Upper Division Elective

EN28: Econ Upper Division elective

EN30: Either 1 MGT OR 1 Econ upper div elective

MATH 18 (formerly 20F)

EN26: Advanced Upper Division elective

EN28: Upper Division Econ elective

Math Upper Division elective (EN28 majors) Upper Division Math elective

 

Are major requirements taken P/NP during SP20, FA20, WI21, and SP21 in response to COVID-19 accepted?

Yes. Major requirements taken during SP20, FA20, WI21 and SP21 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are accepted for a P/NP grading option (effective FA21). Such courses must be passed with a P in order to apply to major requirements.

Courses taken for P/NP outside of these specified quarters will not count toward major requirements. Outside of these specified quarters, all major requirements must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a C- or better.

Can I combine H and T courses to count as a 4-unit elective for my major?

All upper division courses, including electives, for our majors must be 4 units in order to apply toward major requirements.

However, students can use 2 one-unit honors classes with 1 two-unit topics course to use as 1 standard Econ elective. Students can also use 2 two-unit topics courses together for 1 standard Econ elective. This applies to all majors within the Economics Department.

For EN25 and EN26 students, please note that the combinations above can count only toward a standard Econ elective, not an advanced Econ elective. 

Can I use Econ 186 and/or Econ 190 as an elective for my major?

No. Neither Econ 186 nor Econ 190 can be used toward major credit as they are 2 unit courses. Furthermore, they cannot be combined with each other nor with H or T courses to count toward elective credit.

All upper division courses, including electives, for our majors must be 4 units in order to apply toward major requirements.

Can I take courses through Concurrent Enrollment for my major or as a prerequisite?

No. The Department of Economics does not accept courses taken through Concurrent Enrollment to satisfy major requirements, minor requirements, or as prerequisites for subsequent Economics courses at UC San Diego.

I still have required courses that I'll be taking in summer. Can I participate in commencement in SP?

You will need to speak with your college academic advisor. Generally speaking, students have the option of walking during commencement and participating in all commencement activities in the Spring but will then return to school during the summer. Such students will receive a diploma with a summer graduation date. Please check with your college advisor to see if this would apply to you.

If I already have a B.A. or B.S. can I earn a second bachelor's degree at UC San Diego?

No. Once you have received your degree, your undergraduate record is officially closed. You can take UC San Diego Summer Session courses, but these appear on a separate record and are not included with your undergraduate work. You can also take UCSD Extension courses because they maintain their own student records.

Students with a bachelor's degree should consider applying to graduate programs. Please contact the Office of Graduate Studies for information on graduate programs offered at UC San Diego.

General Questions: Minors

How do I declare a minor that is offered by the Department of Economics?

We strongly recommend that you review the requirements and policies for our minors here before you declare.

You can declare a minor using the Major/Minor tool.

Can any major declare a Business Economics minor?

The Business Economics minor is open to all students except those with the following majors: Economics (EN25), Management Science (EN26), Joint Mathematics-Economics (EN28, MA33), International Studies-Economics (IS26), and Business Economics (EN30).

Can I be both a major and minor within the Department of Economics?

No. You would not be able to major and minor within the Department. You are also not able to declare an Economics or Management Science minor if you are a Joint Mathematics-Economics major through the Math Department (MA33) or an International Studies-Economics (IS26) major.

Can I overlap classes to fulfill both my major and minor requirements?

Yes. Any number of lower-division classes can apply to both your major and your minor. Per University policy, a maximum of two upper-division courses can apply to both your major and your minor.

Can I take Econ classes for P/NP for my minor? If I take classes for a letter grade, can I get a D in a course?

Yes. You are able to take classes for our minors for P/NP.

For minor courses taken for a letter grade, please be aware of the following:

  • If minor courses are taken for a letter grade, passing is considered a C- (C minus) or better. Grades of D or F are not accepted for the minor.
  • If there is any chance (however slim) that you would eventually declare one of the majors within the Department of Economics, you should take the classes for a letter grade as all classes taken to meet major requirements must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a C- (C minus) or better.
  • No more than 25% of your total UC San Diego courses may be taken pass/no pass.
  • A grade of pass is awarded for work which otherwise would receive a grade of C- (C minus) or better. If you took a class pass/no pass and received a D for the course, you would be given a "no pass" and the class would not be accepted for your minor requirements.
  • If you are hoping to use the class to fulfill a non-minor requirement, graduate school requirements, job requirements, etc. pass/no pass grades may not be accepted.
  • If your college requires that you complete a minor (program of concentration, etc.) or you are using these classes to also complete college requirements, you will need to check with your college academic advising office to ensure that they do not have rules about the grading options for those classes.

Can I take courses through Concurrent Enrollment for my minor?

No. The Department of Economics does not accept courses taken through Concurrent Enrollment to satisfy major requirements, minor requirements, or as prerequisites for subsequent Economics courses at UC San Diego.

Is the Business minor or the Accounting minor offered by the Department of Economics?

No. Both minors are offered by the Rady School of Management. Please see their website for more information about these minor programs.

Economics Courses

I have questions about a grade that was assigned to me for my Econ course. What can I do?

Please begin by consulting with your professor and Teaching Assistant(s). Grades are solely under the purview of your instructors. If you have further concerns after speaking to your instructors, please contact Econ Undergraduate Advising

I haven't completed the prerequisites for a class. Can I still enroll in it and/or take the prereq at the same time?

All prerequisites for Economics classes must be completed before you will be allowed to take the class. You cannot take a prerequisite course concurrently with the course that requires it as a prerequisite. Please refer to the General Catalog for prerequisite information. 

I'm having problems registering for an Econ course because of prerequisites, but I know I have completed them. What can I do?

If you've been with the Department for a quarter or two, you may recognize the infamous "transfer credit" problem. For example, there may be problems with the system recognizing Math AP exams. If you are having problems with prerequisites when registering for classes, you can send a "Question" to "Economics" via VAC to reach an Economics advisor, or send an EASy request

Exceptions/Petitions

How do I get transfer credits from another school for my major or minor?

  1. Have an official transcript for the transfer course sent to UCSD Admissions.
  2. Check your academic history to see if the course is posted to UCSD.
  3. When the class is posted, complete an Undergraduate Student Petition.
    1. Include all supporting course materials such as: the syllabus and course description.
    2. Submit a separate petition for each course if you are petitioning more than one class.
  4. Submit the completed petition, and supporting documentation via: https://forms.gle/6BBkrrHuDDvHfYrn8 (must be logged into Google with your ucsd.edu email). We will forward the petition to our Vice Chair of Undergraduate Education for review.
  5. Check your UCSD email account for VAC notification confirming that your petition has been reviewed and processed and that outcome has been provided. (Process takes approximately 10 business days. May be longer during peak periods).

    NOTE: Online courses reviewed by exception only

    The Department of Economics reviews online courses by exception only. The course syllabus must provide the following details, in order for the course to be reviewed:

    1) Exams must be proctored
    2) The method for proctoring must be clearly specified (taken on-campus or the proctoring center is identified)
    3) The final exam must count for a large fraction of the course grade

View a sample filled out petition (PDF).

How do I request exceptions to University deadlines (late add, late/retroactive withdrawal with or without a ‘W’, change of grading option, etc) to adjust my schedule after the deadline?

Complete an Undergraduate Student Petition and submit it to our office. Please note that exceptions to the published University deadlines are usually granted only in circumstances beyond your control (computer error, hospitalization, etc). Documentation is strongly recommended.