Undergraduate Courses in Economics

The Department of Economics offers over 100 undergraduate courses throughout the academic year including core courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, operations research, and elective courses in various fields.  Information on our courses can be found in the corresponding pages on the left.  Should you have additional questions not covered by the information contained or resources listed on this Web site, please send a message through the Virtual Advising Center.

Equivalencies to courses outside of UC San Diego:
If you need to petition courses from another institution for UC San Diego course equivalency, download undergraduate student petitions from the TritonLink forms page and then follow instructions and submit on our petition platform. One petition per course.

Course Updates: 2024-25

Last updated: November 20, 2024

New Prerequisites: Econ 149 - Introduction to Economic Design

Starting WI25, the prerequisites for Econ 149 will be as follows: MATH109 or MATH 15A or ECON 100A or CSE 21 or CSE 20 or MATH 154 or MATH 188 or MATH 184.

Students who wish to enroll can submit an EASy request. The Department is currently in the process of updating the General Catalog with these prerequisites. 

The course description remains the same: The course will examine the theory and practice of designing markets and institutions for strategic agents. We will discuss applications in auctions, voting and social choice, online platforms, resource allocation, and matching markets.

Course Description for WI25: Econ 86 - 10x10 Career Lessons

This course empowers students to identify the essential skills needed for their professional aspirations and to design their career paths. Through instruction and through interactions with industry experts, UC San Diego alumni, and career advisors, students learn about real-world career insights and essential competencies. Students also learn about effective strategies to leverage these skills and pursue their individual career trajectories.

Course Description for WI25: Econ 181 - Gender & Economics

This course delves into critical topics such as gendered labor market dynamics, gender wage disparities, women's labor force participation rates, household economics, management styles by gender, women in leadership, occupational sex segregation, women in the military, and the impact of artificial intelligence on domestic division of labor. Throughout this course, we will engage in thoughtful discussions and conduct analytical examinations, providing you with a comprehensive understanding of the intersection between gender and economic structures. Emphasizing a professional and accessible approach, we will also explore intersectionality, examining how factors such as race, class, and ethnicity intersect with gender in shaping economic experiences.

New Class: Econ 186 - Careers in Economics and Business

We are excited to announce the offering of a new class, Econ 186 - Careers in Economics and Business, starting this Fall 2024. Econ 186 is uniquely designed to provide students with key knowledge and practical skills used in the real world that complement traditional academic skills to maximize interview, communication, and presentation skills and strengthen resume building. The class explores career paths in the business profession in various aspects to broaden students' knowledge of career opportunities and it reviews the current business environment, financial markets, economy, unemployment, banking crises, market updates, and all related business topics.

About the Econ 186 instructor: Steve Ross has been a Wall Street Executive for over 30 years. Steve was an Executive Committee Member and Partner at Nicholas Applegate where he managed over $5 Billion in equity assets from 1994-2004. Steve then spent 8 years as a Director at BlackRock and has spent the past 10 years as a Managing Director at Bank of America Private Bank where he oversees the investment team and over $2 Billion in assets in San Diego. Steve has taught at UCLA for the past 15 years and was previously the Executive in Residence for the College of Business at SDSU for 6 years where the course was initially designed in 2005.

The class counts for 2 units, has Econ 1 and Econ 3 as prerequisites, and can be taken as P/NP only. We plan on offering the class every quarter of the regular academic year (Fall, Winter, and Spring).

Note: Econ 186 cannot be used to satisfy the upper-division elective requirements in our majors (EN25, EN26, EN28, EN30, and EN31).

TENTATIVE Course offerings: 2024-25

If a professor (or STAFF) is listed in the term, the course is currently scheduled to be offered in that term. The number of names shown by each course, will indicate the number of classes we will be offering of that course in that quarter.  For example, in Winter 2025, there are two classes of ECON 3, taught by Rondina, so he is listed two times.

Please note that all course offerings are subject to change 

Note: there is a comprehensive list of elective courses sorted by interest here. Academic Senate approved Economic courses, with title, course descriptions and prerequisites are here.

Last updated:  November 5, 2024