Undergraduate Program

Main Contacts

Mr. Thomas Lewis serves as the Undergraduate Coordinator. Please contact him first with any administrative queries related to a Major or a Minor in Economics, Study Abroad, and Transfer Credits. His office hours are Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9:30-11:30 am and 1:30-5:00 pm in ICC 580-a.

Professor Behzad Diba serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies. His office hours are on Tuesdays from 4 to 5pm, and on Thursdays and Fridays from 3:30 to 4:30pm. 

Opportunities in Economics

The Department of Economics maintains a list of opportunities that may interest undergraduate economics students, including: jobs, internships, research positions, and publication outlets.

Click here for the latest announcements [this requires that you are signed in with your Georgetown NetID].

Additional information related to jobs, internships, and career events on campus can be found on Handshake platform maintained by the Cawley Career Education Center.

Congratulations to the Class of 2024!

Professor Komunjer with Spring 2024 graduates, Yasmin Gulamhusein and Zehra Mirza

Professor Komunjer, the Director of Undergraduate Studies poses with graduates, Yasmin Gulamhusein and Zehra Mirza at our annual Graduation Reception. Yasmin and Zehra are among the 106 undergraduates who received an AB in Economics from the College of Arts and Science this academic year. You can view the program from this year’s Tropaia Exercises here, https://georgetown.app.box.com/s/ddm42o8i8y5nibpr4y3csk5em8y13ug5.

New Courses

The Department of Economics is now offering a new Pathways to Social Justice course, ECON 1055 – Managing People. This course introduces the economic foundations of management best practices for recruiting, retaining, and incentivizing a diverse and productive workforce. It will discuss key personnel policies using frontier economics research, including optimal pay setting, unionization, preventing workplace harassment, gender wage inequality, and hiring best practices, including how to avoid discrimination.

In Spring 2025, the Department will also offer ECON 1457 – Economic Data Analysis with Excel. This introductory-level course is designed to help students understand fundamental data analysis techniques using Microsoft Excel, specifically applied to economic data. The course will cover essential Excel features, including data visualization and analysis tools. These skills will provide a solid foundation for advanced courses and future careers. Topics include an introduction to Excel, techniques for data visualization and analysis, and practical applications in economic data.

To bolster quantitative aptitude, the Department of Economics offers ECON 1357 – Essential Mathematics for Economics. This course covers mathematical concepts that will be used in economics courses at the intermediate and advanced levels. The course begins with a review of functions in economics (e.g., demand and supply). We then turn to calculus, with a focus on optimization (e.g., choosing the amount of output to maximize your profit). We next consider optimization of functions of two variables (e.g., choosing the quantities of two inputs to maximize your profit). We subsequently study optimization subject to one or more constraints. An example occurs when you maximize your well-being while facing a budget constraint. The course concludes with an introduction to linear algebra, which studies linear equations with several variables. The concepts will be applied to economic questions, and in-class problem-solving will be emphasized.

The prerequisite is ECON 1001 or 1002 or 1003.  Students who have not taken MATH 1350 (or the equivalent), and who are concerned about their foundation in mathematics, are encouraged to take the Math department’s calculus readiness assessment.  If the recommendation is MATH 1350, you can proceed to ECON 1357.  If the recommendation is MATH 1310, you are advised to take that course before enrolling in ECON 1357. 

Students who have already taken MATH 1360 should consider taking another MATH course instead of ECON 1357.  The same advice applies for students who plan to take MATH 1360 concurrently with ECON 1357. 

Elective Courses for the 2024-2025 Academic Year

Below is a list of the elective courses offered by the Department of Economics in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025.

Lower Level:

Fall:

  • ECON 2542 – International Economics
  • ECON 2543 – International Trade
  • ECON 2544 – International Finance
  • ECON 2681 – Labor Economics
  • ECON 2768 – Economics of Climate Policy

Spring:

  • ECON 2542 – International Economics
  • ECON 2543 – International Trade
  • ECON 2544 – International Finance

Upper Level:

Fall:

  • ECON 4059 – Game Theory
  • ECON 4061 – Industrial Organization
  • ECON 4075 – Environmental Economics
  • ECON 4495 – Data Analysis in Economics
  • ECON 4433 – Public Sector Economics
  • ECON 4465 – Money, Banking & Fincl Markets
  • ECON 4484 – Pol Econ of Trade Policy
  • ECON 4490 – Research Fieldwork & Analysis
  • PECO 3010 – Analytical Tools for Pol Econ

Spring:

  • ECON 4059 – Game Theory
  • ECON 4081 – Labor Economics
  • ECON 4411 – Economics/Strategy of Sports
  • ECON 4417 – Economic Analysis of Law
  • ECON 4444 – Economics of Immigration
  • ECON 4452 – Behavioral Economics
  • ECON 4487 – Empirical Application PoliEcon
  • ECON 4491 – Development Impact Evaluation
  • ECON 4961 – Senior Economic Thesis

Majoring or Minoring in Economics: Common Elements

Current Academic Policies and Procedures can be found in Undergraduate Bulletin.
Noteworthy change in Academic Regulations (3. Additional Limits and Minimums) concerns the doubling up rule: starting in 2023-24, students will be allowed to take two courses in Economics in the same semester beginning in sophomore fall.

Major Requirements

Minor Requirements

Graduating with Honors

Other Useful Links