Degree Requirements For BA in Economics

1. All economics majors must complete a minimum of 10 courses with a grade point average of at least 2.0. When students repeat courses or complete more than the minimally required number of courses, the departmental GPA will be based on the set of courses that (i) satisfies all requirements for the degree and (ii) results in the highest GPA for the student.

 2. The 10 courses counted for the degree must include the following:

• ECON 211  Principles of Economics 
• ECON 370  Microeconomic Theory
• ECON 375  Macroeconomic Theory
• STAT 280  Elementary Applied Statistics  or  ECON 382/STAT 310  Probability and Statistics
• ECON 446  Applied Econometrics  or  ECON 400  Econometrics

Please note that  ECON  370  lists  MATH  101 (or the combination of  MATH 111 and 112) as a prerequisite. We recommend that economics majors take  MATH  101,  STAT  280 (or  ECON  382/STAT 310),  ECON 211, and  ECON 370 as early as possible. Because these courses are listed as prerequisites for more advanced courses, failure to take these courses in earlier years may cause scheduling problems in later years.

3. The remaining five courses must be selected from the following:

ECON 250  Foundations of Public Sector Economics                   
ECON 340  Introduction to Game Theory
ECON 348  Organizational Design
ECON 355  Financial Markets
ECON 400  Econometrics
ECON 403/404  Senior Independent Research
ECON 415  Labor Economics
ECON 420  International Trade
ECON 421  International Finance
ECON 435  Industrial Organization
ECON 436  Regulation
ECON 437  Energy Economics
ECON 438  Business, Law and Economics
ECON 439  Torts, Property, and Contracts
ECON 440  Advanced Game Theory
ECON 445  Managerial Economics
ECON 447  Advanced Topics in Energy Economics
ECON 448  Corporate Finance
ECON 449  Basics of Financial Engineering
ECON 450  World Economic and Social Development
ECON 451  The Political Economy of Latin America
ECON 452  Religion, Ethics, and Economics
ECON 455  Money and Financial Markets
ECON 461  Urban Economics
ECON 475  Integer and Combinatorial Optimization
ECON 477  Mathematical Structure of Economic Theory
ECON 479  Applied General Equilibrium Modeling
ECON 480  Environmental Economics
ECON 481  Health Economics
ECON 482  Distributive Justice: A Microeconomic Approach
ECON 483  Public Finance: Tax Policy
ECON 484  Public Expenditure Theory and Social Insurance
ECON 485/486  Contemporary Economic Issues
ECON 495/496  Senior Seminar

 No more than three of the 10 courses counted for the degree may be transferred from other schools if those courses are taken after matriculation at Rice. Additional transfer credits in economics may count toward meeting university graduation requirements but not toward fulfillment of the departmental major requirements. AP credits and credits awarded to transfer students for courses taken prior to matriculation at Rice are not counted against the limit on transfer courses, but all students must complete more than half of their upper-level major work at Rice. In order to receive transfer credit for ECON 211, students must pass a qualifying examination. Students wishing to take the ECON 211 qualifying examination must apply to the economics department office in Baker Hall 255. For additional information on transfer credits, please consult the "Transfer Credit" tab.

Qualifying students may graduate with departmental honors in economics by achieving a B+  (3.33) average in the 10 courses counted for the degree and completing two semesters of independent research.