Bachelor of Science Major in Economics

Economics is a social science which, at its root, is the study of behavior--of individuals, firms, organizations and governments. Economics studies how these groups make choices and the implications of their choices for themselves, for markets, and for the local, national and global economies. Economics is not a collection of information to be learned, rather, it’s a way of thinking and a set of analytical tools that helps better understand everything from banking to baseball. The world is changing rapidly, jobs that students aspire to today may not exist tomorrow; but an understanding of the core concepts of economics will continue to provide students with the ability to conduct meaningful, valuable analytical work across a wide variety of occupations, even those that do not yet exist. All Economics majors will take the same core classes, providing them with a solid foundation in the concepts, tools and analytical methods of economics. Students can then choose to pursue a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree, both of which are structured to give students a greater depth of understanding in a few areas of Economics and experience applying their analytical skills and economic knowledge to real-world issues and problems. The Bachelor of Science degree also allows students to pair their study of Economics with other disciplines, but has greater quantitative/analytical requirements than the Bachelor of Arts. Within the Bachelor of Science degree, students can choose one of three tracks: 1) the Social Science track, which is a general Economics degree with more quantitative emphasis; 2) the Applied Economics track, which is ideal for students interested in both Economics and Business and includes several courses, such as accounting and business law, from the Eberhardt School of Business; or 3) the Mathematical Economics track, which is designed for students interested in Applied Math or for those preparing to attend graduate school in Economics and includes several courses from the Department of Mathematics as requirements. The Department of Economics, in collaboration with the Economics Department at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, offers students the opportunity to pursue a Master of Science degree in Applied Economics (MSAE) at Marquette with specializations ranging from Business, Financial, International, and Real Estate Economics to Marketing Research or a general economics track. this accelerated degree is designed to be completed within 5 years of entering Pacific, which is 1 year sooner than the usual required time to complete undergraduate and masters degrees. Interested students would earn their BA or BS degree in economics at Pacific while following the typical 4-year plan. During this time, in consultation with academic advisers, they would also successfully complete At least one calculus course, ECON 190, and Two upper division economics courses (with a grade of "B" or better) specially tailored to satisfy 2 of the 10 courses required to complete the MSAE. Students must inform their academic advisers of their interest in the program