Course Requirements

The Economics Major consists of a minimum of 12 courses, none of which may be taken as pass/fail.

1.1 Mathematics – Required Courses (2 CU):
  • MATH 1070: Mathematics of Change, Part 1; and MATH 1080: Mathematics of Change, Part 2

        OR

  • MATH 1400 (formerly 104): Calculus, Part 1; and MATH 1410 (formerly 114): Calculus, Part 2

A student majoring in economics must choose one of the two sequences above, for a total of 2 cu.  The economics department recommends the MATH 1070/1080 sequence, but the MATH 1400/1410 sequence will be accepted. 

Students who choose the MATH 1400/1410 sequence may substitute MATH 1510 for 1410, but MATH 1410 is preferred.  This is for several reasons: MATH 1510 includes material on probability that is already covered by other courses in the major (in particular, ECON 2300 [formerly 103]), while MATH 1410 deepens a student's understanding of calculus. Moreover, MATH 1410 is the gateway course for the upper-level mathematics courses, while taking MATH 1510 complicates further study in mathematics.

Students who have not satisfied the Math pre/corequisites for the intermediate-level and advanced economics courses will be dropped from registration during the first two weeks of the semester.

1.2 Economics – Required Courses (6 CU)
  • (1 CU) ECON 0100 (formerly 001): Introduction to Microeconomics
  • (1 CU) ECON 0200 (formerly 002): Introduction to Macroeconomics
  • (1 CU) ECON 2100 (formerly 101): Microeconomic Theory. Prerequisites: ECON 0100 and 0200 (or alternatively, A- or better in ECON 0110 [formerly 010]), MATH 1400 or 1070, MATH 1410 or 1510 or 1080
  • (1 CU) ECON 2200 (formerly 102): Macroeconomic Theory. Prerequisites: ECON 2100, MATH 1400 or 1070, MATH 1410 or 1510 or 1080
  • (1 CU) ECON 2300 (formerly 103): Statistics for Economists. Prerequisites: ECON 0100 and 0200 (or alternatively, A- or better in ECON 0110), MATH 1400 or 1070, MATH 1410 or 1510 or 1080
  • (1 CU) ECON 2310 (formerly 104): Introduction to Econometrics. Prerequisites: ECON 2100, ECON 2300, MATH 1400 or 1070, MATH 1410 or 1510 or 1080
Economics – Elective Courses (4 CU, choose 4 courses from the list):

All 4000 level economics electives count towards the major.  The courses are grouped into the following categories: Econometrics,  Empirical Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics/Game Theory, and International and Development Economics. It is not required that a student chooses all four electives from the same category, and the list below is not exhaustive. The categories are merely indicative of particular specializations that could be pursued. All 4000-level economics courses require ECON 2100 (formerly 101), MATH 1400 (formerly 104) or 1070, and MATH 1410 (formerly 114) or 1510 (formerly 115) or 1080 as prerequisite. Some courses also require ECON 2200 (formerly 102), ECON 2300 (formerly 103), or ECON 2310 (formerly 104) as prerequisites. Please see Course Descriptions for details.

Econometrics

  • ECON 4310 (formerly 221): Macro-Econometric Techniques and Applications
  • ECON 4320 (formerly 222): Microeconometrics
  • ECON 4330 (formerly 224): Statistical Learning and Causal Inference for Economics

Empirical Microeconomics

  • ECON 4410 (formerly 231): Public Finance
  • ECON 4420 (formerly 232): Political Economy
  • ECON 4430 (formerly 233): Labor Economics
  • ECON 4440 (formerly 234): Law and Economics
  • ECON 4450 (formerly 235): Industrial Organization
  • ECON 4460 (formerly 236): Health Economics
  • ECON 4470 (formerly 237): Urban Fiscal Policy
  • ECON 4480 (formerly 238): Economics of Education
  • ECON 4490 (formerly 239): The Digital Economy

Macroeconomics

  • ECON 4110 (formerly 210): Economics of Family
  • ECON 4200 (formerly 241): Economic Growth
  • ECON 4210 (formerly 242): Numerical Methods for Macroeconomists
  • ECON 4220 (formerly 243): Monetary and Fiscal Policies
  • ECON 4230 (formerly 244): Macro-Modelling
  • ECON 4240 (formerly 246): Money and Banking
  • ECON 4205 (formerly 247): Structural Changes in the Modern Macroeconomy

Microeconomics/Game Theory

  • ECON 4101 (formerly 212): Game Theory
  • ECON 4110 (formerly 210): Economics of Family
  • ECON 4120 (formerly 211): Social Choice Theory
  • ECON 4130 (formerly 262): Market Design
  • ECON 4140 (formerly 260): Decision Making
  • ECON 4170: Economic Contract Theory
  • ECON 6100 (formerly 681): Microeconomic Theory
  • ECON 6110 (formerly 682): Game Theory and Applications

International and Development Economics

  • ECON 4510 (formerly 251): International Trade
  • ECON 4520 (formerly 252): International Finance
  • ECON 4530 (formerly 261): Topics in Development
  • ECON 4540 (formerly 272): China: Institutions and the Economy
  • ECON 4610 (formerly 271): Foundations of Market Economies

Economic History and History of Economic Thought

  • ECON 4545 (formerly 275): Finance and Growth from a Historical Perspective 
  • ECON 4550 (formerly 273): The Political Economy of Early America
  • ECON 4560 (formerly 274): History of Economic Thought

Honors Seminar

  • ECON 4900 (formerly 300): Honors thesis seminar, fall semester (1st half of the honors program).

Independent Studies

  • ECON 4999 (formerly 199): At most one independent study (ECON 4999) can substitute for a 4000-level (formerly 200-level) course in the major. Students wishing to enroll in an Independent Study must have their outline approved and be enrolled prior to the end of Add Period. No Independent Study will be accepted afterwards. 
  • Wharton students taking BEPP 1000 (formerly ECON 010) instead of ECON 0100 and 0200 will have to take an additional 4000-level course in economics to complete the major.
  • BEPP 2500 does not count as a substitute for ECON 2100.  Any students who took BEPP 2500 prior to ECON 2100 must take ECON 2100 for a grade.  For help enrolling, contact the undergraduate coordinator.
  • ECON 2300 is a one-semester course on probability and statistical inference.  A two-semester sequence of mathematical statistics (STAT 4300/4310 [formerly 430/431]) or (ESE 3010/4020 [formerly 301/402]) can be taken to replace ECON 2300. For students who declared the major in the 2023/2024 academic year and prior: Students who take the mathematical statistic sequence need to take an additional 4000-level economics course to complete the requirements for the economics major. Note that the Economics Major requires the completion of 14 CU  if a student opts to take STAT 4300/4310 or ESE 3010/4020.  Students who have taken the first course of the statistics sequence (STAT 4300 or ESE 3010) are encouraged to also take the second course (STAT 4310 or ESE 4020) because ECON 2300 covers, in part, material on probability that is covered in the second course of the statistics sequence.

  • Students who have taken STAT 4300 or ESE 3010 but experienced difficulties with the material taught in these courses may take ECON 2300 instead of the second course of the statistics sequence.

    Introductory sequences STAT 1010/1020 (formerly 101/102) and STAT 1110/1120 (formerly 111/112) do not count as substitutes for ECON 2300.

  • Students who have taken ECON 0500 (formerly 050) may not take ECON 4510.
  • Students must have a GPA of 2.0 in the Economics Major in order to graduate with a major in Economics.
  •  Students are required to take 6 of the 10 economics courses at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • All LPS summer courses count toward the Economics major. LPS academic year courses of ECON 0100, 0200, 2100, 2200 and 2300 may also be counted toward the Economics major. LPS courses with designations above Econ 2300 that are offered during the academic year will not count toward the Economics Major (unless you are an LPS major). 
  • Students who have received ECON 0100 credit and an ECON 0200 waiver for a single semester introductory micro/macro course need to take an additional 4xxx (or higher) level ECON course to complete the major. 

     
  • Starting with students entering Penn in the Fall of 2017, we will no longer convert advanced placement waivers (AP, IB, and A-Level) for ECON 0100 or ECON 0200 into course credits upon completion of the ECON minor, the EPOL minor, the ECON major, or the MATH-ECON major. However, the waiver can be used to satisfy prerequisites for higher-level economics courses.

A student with an advanced placement waiver (AP, IB, and A-Level) in either ECON 0100 or ECON 0200 has three options: 

 

(i) Take ECON 0100 or ECON 0200 at Penn and count it toward the major.

(ii) If you have taken a 0xxx-level ECON course prior to declaring the ECON/MAEC major, it may be used to replace ECON 0100 or ECON 0200 and counted toward the major.

(iii) If you have not taken a 0xxx-level ECON course prior to declaring the ECON/MAEC major, then you will need to replace ECON 0100 or ECON 0200 by a 4xxx-level (or higher) ECON course, which will be counted toward the major.

Students who have waivers for both ECON 0100 and ECON 0200 need to take two additional ECON courses and can at most replace one of the two introductory courses by a 0xxx-level ECON course, provided they have taken this course before declaring the major.

The department encourages students with a strong economics and quantitative background to pursue option (iii).