Undergraduate Program

Welcome to the home page of the Rice University Economics Department Undergraduate Program. In recent years, the department has been both growing and improving at an unprecedented pace, changing in ways that will significantly enhance the educational experience of our undergraduate (and graduate) students. A key element of these developments is the Rice Initiative for the Study of Economics (RISE), a multi-year, plan focused on dramatically enhancing research and teaching in economics at Rice. The program has resulted in the hiring of a large number of new internationally acclaimed scholars in the department, most of whom are teaching in the undergraduate program. Moreover, an essential component of RISE is a renewed commitment to provide our undergraduates with an exceptional learning experience that will prepare them for successful careers while providing them with a deep understanding of the economic forces that shape our ever-changing globalized environment. As part of that effort, we implemented a sweeping reform of both of our majors – Economics (ECON) and Mathematical Economic Analysis (MTEC) – to better meet the needs of our students. This reform included restructuring the requirements for both majors and introducing numerous new courses as well as improving existing offerings to provide coherent and comprehensive programs of study for a wide variety of career and learning paths; we also took some additional steps, including adding some new research-based courses, to encourage undergraduate participation in economic research. More recently, we have added a third major, Managerial Economics and Organizational Sciences (MEOS), which is an interdisciplinary major that is designed to provide students with an understanding of the tools employed by business managers (e.g., finance, accounting, human resources) coupled with an understanding of the underlying social science that describes the broader environment in which businesses and other organizations operate (interactions with markets, policy-makers, regulators, and society).

Graduates from our department pursue a wide variety of career paths. While some attend graduate school in economics, many others employ the skills and methods learned in our three programs in other professional schools, especially law, medical, and business schools. Others choose careers in a wide range of fields, including management consulting, investment banking and other areas of finance, economic consulting and research, the energy sector, other private industries, the government, and the non-profit sector.

If you are considering one of our majors, please consult with any of the professors on the department’s Undergraduate Committee. The Economics Undergraduate Program Coordinator can also provide you with a wealth of information about studying economics at Rice.

Wishing you the best of luck in your studies and beyond the hedges,

Flávio Cunha
Department Chair