Course Requirements

The Mathematical Economics Major consists of a minimum of 16 courses, none of which may be taken as pass/fail.

1.1 Mathematics – Required Courses (5 CU):
  • (1CU) from the following:
    • MATH 1080: Mathematics of Change, Part 2
    • MATH 1410 (formerly 114): Calculus, Part 2
    • MATH 1610 (formerly 116) (honors version of MATH 114). Prerequisite: MATH 1400 (formerly 104).

***Note: The economics department recommends MATH 1080, but MATH 1410 or 1610 will be accepted.

          AND

  • (1 CU) from the following:
    • MATH 2400 (formerly 240): Calculus, Part 3
    • MATH 2410 (formerly 241): Calculus, Part 4
    • MATH 2600 (formerly 260): Honors Calculus.

          AND

  • (1CU) from the following:
    • MATH 3120 (formerly 312): Linear Algebra
    • MATH 3130 (formerly 313): Computational Linear Algebra
    • MATH 3140 (formerly 314): Advanced Linear Algebra
    • MATH 3700 (formerly 370): Algebra
    • MATH 5140 (formerly 514)*: Advanced Linear Algebra

          AND

  • (2 CU) Choose one of the following sequences:
    • MATH 3600-3610 (formerly 360-361): Advanced Calculus
    • MATH 5080-5090 (formerly 508-509)*: Advanced Analysis
1.2 Probability and Statistics – Required Courses (1 or 2 CU)
  • STAT 4300 (formerly 430): Probability; and STAT 4310 (formerly 431): Statistics. 

         OR

  • ESE 3010 (formerly 301); and ESE 4020 (formerly 402).

         OR

  • ECON 2300 (formerly 103) and ECON 2310 (formerly 104).

         OR

  • ECON 2300 (formerly 103); and  MATH 5460 (formerly 546)* or MATH 6490 (formerly 649/547)*.

         OR

  • ECON 2300 (formerly 103); and  ECON 4310 (formerly 221) or ECON 4320 (formerly 222) (1 CU). Prerequisites for ECON 4310 and ECON 4320: ECON 2300 and ECON 2310 (formerly 2310). 

          OR

  • STAT 4300 (formerly 430) and ECON 2310 (formerly 104) - This sequence is for students who took STAT 1020 and are blocked from taking STAT 4310 due to a mutual exclusion.

***Note: Courses that are counted toward the required Probability and Statistics courses cannot be double-counted as Math electives (see 2.1) or Economics electives (see 2.2). 

1.3 Economics – Required Courses (5 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, an A- or better in ECON 0110), MATH 1400 or 1070, MATH 1410 or 1080.  ***The Economics Department strongly recommends that freshmen satisfying the ECON 2100 prerequisites wait until the sophomore year before they take ECON 2100. The teaching for this course is not tailored toward freshmen and assumes that students have fully transitioned into the university environment.
  • (1 CU) ECON 2200 (formerly 102): Macroeconomic Theory. Prerequisites: ECON 2100, MATH 1400 or 1070, MATH 1410 or 1080
  • (1 CU) ECON 6100 (formerly 681)*: Microeconomic Theory. Prerequisites: ECON 2100

*Courses marked " * " are approved courses for the Mathematical Economics Honors Program; students must have the graduate section listed on their transcript if a course is multilevel. See the Honors Program page for details.

2.1 Mathematics – Elective Courses (2 CU, Select 2 courses from the following list)

The following courses have been approved as elective courses in mathematics.

  • CIS 4190 (formerly 419): Applied Machine Learning
  • CIS 5190** (formerly 519): Applied Machine Learning
  • CIS 5200** (formerly 520): Machine Learning
  • CIS 5450** (formerly 545): Big Data Analytics
  • ESE 3030 (formerly 303): Stochastic Systems Analysis and Simulation
  • ESE 3040: Introduction to Optimization
  • ESE 5060** (formerly 504): Introduction to Optimization Theory
  • ESE 6050** (formerly 605): Modern Convex Optimization
  • MATH 2410 (formerly 241): Calculus IV
  • MATH 3200 (formerly 320): Computer Methods I
  • MATH 3400 (formerly 340): Discrete Mathematics
  • MATH 4200 (formerly 420): Ordinary Differential Equations
  • MATH 4250 (formerly 425): Partial Differential Equations
  • MATH 4320 (formerly 432): Game Theory
  • MATH 4600 (formerly 460): Topology
  • MATH 5300** (formerly 530): Math of Finance
  • MATH 5460** (formerly 546): Advanced Probability
  • NETS 4120 (formerly 412): Algorithmic Game Theory
  • STAT 4320 (formerly 432): Mathematical Statistics
  • STAT 4330 (formerly 433): Stochastic Processes
  • STAT 4350 (formerly 435): Forecasting Methods Management
  • STAT 4420 (formerly 442): Intro to Bayes Data Analysis
  • STAT 4750 (formerly 475): Sample Survey Methods
  • STAT 4760 (formerly 476): Applied Probability Models in Marketing
  • STAT 5120** (formerly 512): Mathematical Statistics
  • STAT 5150** (formerly 515): Advanced Statistical Inference I
  • STAT 5160** (formerly 516): Advanced Statistical Inference II
  • STAT 5200** (formerly 520): Applied Econometrics

*Courses that are not listed above are not approved.  Any faculty member at Penn who would like a course to be approved as a mathematics elective should contact the undergraduate coordinator of the Department of Economics. Students cannot directly petition to add courses to the list and are advised to talk to the instructor of the course.

**Courses marked " ** " are approved courses for the Mathematical Economics Honors Program; students must have the graduate section listed on their transcript if a course is multilevel. See the Honors Program page for details.

2.2 Economics – Elective Courses (3 CU, choose 3 courses from the list):**

The courses are grouped into the following categories: Econometrics, Macroeconomics, and Microeconomics/Game Theory. It is not required that a student chooses all three electives from the same category. The categories are merely indicative of particular specializations that could be pursued.

All 4000-level (formerly 200-level) economics courses require ECON 2100, MATH 1400 or 1070, and MATH 1410 or 1080 as prerequisites. Some courses also require ECON 2200, ECON 2300, or ECON 2310 as prerequisites. Please see Undergraduate Course Descriptions for details. See Graduate Course Descriptions for details on graduate economics courses.

Econometrics

  • ECON 2310 (formerly 104): Introduction to Econometrics (Cannot be used as an elective if the ECON 2300/2310 statistics sequence was chosen)
  • 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
  • ECON 4340 (formerly 225): Empirical Economics of Climate Change
  • ECON 7300 (formerly 705)*: Graduate-level Econometrics 1: Fundamentals

Macroeconomics

  • ECON 4200 (formerly 241): Economic Growth
  • ECON 4210 (formerly 242): Numerical Methods for Economics
  • ECON 4220 (formerly 243): Monetary and Fiscal Policies
  • ECON 4225: Micro Perspectives on Macro Outcomes
  • ECON 4230 (formerly 244): Macro-Modeling
  • ECON 4240 (formerly 246): Money and Banking
  • ECON 4250: Financial Economics
  • ECON 4520 (formerly 252): International Finance
  • ECON 4530 (formerly 261): Topics in Development

Microeconomics/Game Theory

  • ECON 4100 (formerly 212): Game Theory
  • ECON 4101 (formerly 212 honors): 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 4150 (formerly 245): Mathematical Economics
  • ECON 4160: Behavioral Economics
  • ECON 4170: Economic Contract Theory
  • ECON 4405 (formerly 230): Economic Program Evaluation
  • 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): Economcis of Education
  • ECON 4490 (formerly 239): The Digital Economy
  • ECON 4510 (formerly 251): International Trade
  • ECON 6110 (formerly 682)*: Game Theory and Applications

Senior Thesis

  • ECON 4900 (formerly 300): Thesis Seminar, fall semester (1st half of the year-long thesis program). ECON 4900 does not grant honors for the MAEC major but may be taken as 1 elective for the major.  Enrollment requires permission.

Independent Studies

  • ECON 4999: At most one independent study (ECON 4999) can substitute for a 4000-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. 

*All graduate-level classes above marked with an asterisk require the permission of the instructor. Please contact the instructor and be prepared to share information about the ECON and MATH courses you have taken and the grades that you have obtained in these courses. Based on this information, the instructor will determine whether the course is suitable for you.  If approval is granted, these courses will count for honors.

**Students who have declared the major for the 2024/2025 academic year choose 2 electives from the list for a total of 2 cu.

  • Waivers and transfer credits for mathematics courses will be handled by the Mathematics Department.
  • Wharton students taking BEPP 1000 instead of ECON 0100 and ECON 0200 will have to take an additional advanced (4000-level or above) economics course 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. 
  • Students must have a GPA of 2.0 in the Mathematical Economics Major in order to graduate with a major in Mathematical Economics.
    Students who have declared a Mathematical Economics Major cannot simultaneously receive an Economics Minor/Major or a Mathematics Minor/Major.
  • Students are required to take 9 of the 16 courses at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • With the exception of ECON 0100 and 0200, permission from the Undergraduate Chair is required to count LPS courses toward the Mathematical Economics 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.
  • A student with an advanced placement waiver (AP, IB, and A-Level) in either ECON 0100 or ECON 0200 has three options:  
  1. Take ECON 0100 or ECON 0200 at Penn and count it toward the major.
  2. 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. 
  3. 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 replace only one of the two introductory courses by a 0xxx-level ECON course, provided they have taken this course before declaring the major.  The other waiver must be replaced by a 4xxx-level elective.

The department encourages students with a strong economics and quantitative background to pursue option (3).

  • Students may count ECON 4900 as 1 economics elective to be counted towards the MAEC major.  Permission must be obtained from the instructor prior to enrollment.  Note that the thesis does not count for the MAEC major honors program.  Additionally, completion of the thesis also requires ECON 4910, which will not be factored into the MAEC major gpa.