Major in Economics (COL)

A major in Economics at Georgetown University requires completion of 34 academic credits, earned from courses described below. Each course earns 3 credits, except for MATH 032/035 (4 credits), ECON 003 (4 credits), Economics Internship (variable credits) and Guided Research (variable credits). At least five economics courses (excluding calculus, Economics Internship and Guided Research) must be taken in the Economics Department at Georgetown. The remaining credits for the major can be earned from transferred courses and/or advanced placement credit. The relevant advanced placement policies are laid out in the Admissions section of the University Bulletin at https://bulletin.georgetown.edu/admissions/advanced-credit/.

The AB in Economics is recognized as a STEM degree: https://internationalservices.georgetown.edu/students/after-graduation/stem-opt-approved/

Course Categories & Prerequisites

Principles of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics
(2 courses or 1 combined course)

  • ECON 001 (Principles of Microeconomics) and ECON 002 (Principles of Macroeconomics)
  • ECON 003 (Principles of Economics: Micro & Macro combined) may be taken instead of 001 and 002, but not by students who have taken both ECON 001 and 002, or received Advanced Placement (AP) credit for both of these courses. (Students who have taken only one of these courses, or received AP credit for it, may take ECON 003.) As of Fall 2022, this course earns 4 credits, and is more intensive and faster paced than 001 or 002. It is aimed at students who have had a year of high school economics and/or are comfortable with graphical analysis and high-school algebra.
  • Students who take 003 in Fall 2022 or later will need to take 2 additional credits from economics elective courses to earn the 34 credits required for the major (see below). Students who took ECON 003 prior to Fall 2022 for 3 credits will need to take 3 additional credits from economics electives to earn the 34 credits required for the major.

Calculus (1 course)

  • MATH 032 (Calculus with Review B) or 035 (Calculus I)
  • Calculus is a prerequisite for all 100-level economics courses.
  • Calculus is a corollary requirement for the Economics major and may be counted toward another declared program.

Intermediate Microeconomics and Macroeconomics (2 courses)

  • ECON 101 (Intermediate Microeconomics) and ECON 102 (Intermediate Macroeconomics)

Statistics (1 course)

  • ECON 121 (Economic Statistics) or MATH 140 (Intro to Mathematical Statistics)
  • Statistics (ECON 121 or MATH 140) is a prerequisite for Econometrics

Econometrics (1 course)

  • ECON 122 (Introduction to Econometrics)
  • Must be taken before the start of Senior year

Major Electives

  • The remainder of credits will come from major elective courses.  Majors who received credit for 001 and 002 require a total of 12 credits from electives. Majors who took ECON 003 prior to Fall 2022 require 15 elective credits.  Students who take ECON 003 in Fall 2022 or later require 14 elective credits.
  • Of these elective credits, at least 2 courses (6 credits) must be 400 level.  To graduate with Honors, majors must take 3 courses (9 credits) at the 400 level. (NOTE: 400-level courses typically require at least one of these prerequisites: 101, 102 or 122.)
  • The remaining credits may be earned from regular 3-credit courses, or from variable-credit courses described below.
  • The Department maintains a list of our course descriptions and their prerequisites.
    Note: not all courses are offered each semester, check with the Georgetown Schedule for the current semester’s listing.
  • Variable Credit courses: Economics Internship and Guided Research courses each can earn 1, 2 or 3 credits, and are graded Pass/Fail. They are open only to Economics majors (COL) or International Economics majors (SFS). Total credits from such courses may not exceed 3, and can be earned in any combination from the two course categories (e.g., 2 credits from Economics Internship and 1 credit from Guided Research).
  • Senior thesis: although this is not required to graduate with Honors, it is a valuable option for Economics Majors. See below, Writing in the Major.

Writing in the Major describes our integrated writing requirement for economics majors.

Graduate Study

Students who anticipate graduate study in economics should take the Calculus sequence in the Mathematics Department (MATH 035, 036, 137), Linear Algebra (MATH 150), and Mathematics for Economists (ECON 425).