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.

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 introducing ECON 1357 – Essential Mathematics for Economics in Spring 2024. The course provides another way to satisfy the math corollary requirement for the major (currently, MATH 1350 – Calculus I). If taken in Spring 2024, ECON 1357 will also satisfy the College core requirement in math/computer science.

The course will cover mathematical concepts that will be used in economics courses at the intermediate and advanced levels. The concepts will be applied to economic questions, and in-class problem-solving will be emphasized. It 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 consider optimization subject to one or more constraints as when you maximize your well-being (i.e., utility) while facing a budget constraint. The course concludes with an introduction to linear algebra, which studies linear equations of several variables.

The text for the course will be Maths for Economics by Geoff Renshaw. It is published by Oxford University Press.

ECON 1357 is intended to be taken after the students have taken (or received AP credit for) Principles of Microeconomics, ECON 1001 or 1003 (or the equivalent). There are no math prerequisites for the course. We encourage all students who are planning to become Economics majors to enroll in ECON 1357 in Spring 2024. Specifically, (case A) if the students have not yet taken MATH 1350 (Calculus I), they should take ECON 1357; (case B) if the students have taken MATH 1350 (or gotten AP credit for it), they should take ECON 1357 (as it will give them elements of integration, multivariable calculus and linear algebra that they would otherwise need to look for in higher level math courses); (case C) if the students have already taken MATH 1350 and MATH 1360 (or got score 5 at BC exam) then they should not take ECON 1357 but rather proceed with the rest of the Econ courses and/or get higher level math courses if they are thinking of also majoring/minoring in math/statistics. Students who have already taken Intermediate Microeconomics (ECON 2101) may not take ECON 1357 for credit. Students who have taken or are taking Calculus II (MATH 1360), Linear Algebra (MATH 2250) or Multivariable Calculus (MATH 2370) may not take ECON 1357 for credit.

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