Undergraduate Program / Concentrators

Undergraduate Economics Concentration

Students majoring or interested in the Economics program are encouraged to self-subscribe to the Department of Economics undergraduate programs listserv. You may self-subscribe using the following link:
Economics-Major


The B.A. program in economics is intended to equip students with the basic tools to understand the operation of a modern economy: the origin and role of prices and markets, the allocation of goods and services, and the factors that enter into the determination of income, employment and the price level.

College Catalog

Eclectic Reading List

General Advice/Frequently Asked Questions:
I. How do I reach the concentration director for curriculum advice? Prior to scheduling an appointment, meet with Robert Herbst. Open office hours are held Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. in Rosenwald 229C.

II. How do I apply for transfer credit from other universities? You must submit a written petition to Robert Herbst (see office hours under I). Petitions are available in the advisor's office. Detailed course description and/or course syllabus, along with other supplemental course materials are required.

III. How do I plan a junior year abroad?  First see your College Advisor. (It is a usually a good idea to take your Statistics 23400 course before you go abroad.) Submit the specific petition form for this program to Robert Herbst with supporting course descriptions in the Spring preceding your departure.

IV.  I am finding my coursework difficult to understand and can't even begin my assignment. What do I do? If you are having difficulty with a course, contact your instructor or the teaching assistant immediately � do not avoid the situation.  You can also see the college tutors in Harper Library in the evening (http://www.college.uchicago.edu/tutors/) for help on the underlying concepts in economics.  If you are having problems in a range of courses, consider contacting the campus education counselors at http://counseling.uchicago.edu.  

V. Academic dishonesty: KNOW the rules of this university community regarding academic dishonesty. The severity of this institution's punishment of plagiarism and other forms of cheating is a mirror image of the high esteem given to original thinking. Make sure you know the proper rules for citation of both original and secondary sources. This applies to material imprinted on paper or published in any other medium, such as information you  find posted on the Internet. Students with blatant disregard for proper attribution of the research and insights of others will be given automatic F's. Where any assignments or examinations are dishonestly represented as one's own work, this department automatically recommends disciplinary action by the College.
First Year Students: If you place into Math 15000s, stay there rather than drop to Math 13000s. Calculus is a prerequisite for the Economics 20000-20300 sequence because we use it! Problem-solving skills are used throughout the economics curriculum. Consult G. Polya's excellent little book "How to Solve It" if you have not been exposed to courses teaching such skills.

The rule for starting Spring quarter Econ 20000 as a first year student is that you must have completed Math 15100-15200 and received at least an A- in each one. You must have a B or higher in Math 16100-16200 in order to take Econ 20000 simultaneously with Math 16300. Otherwise, you will not be allowed to register in the Economics 20000-20300 sequence until you have met the prerequisite of one full year of calculus.

If you find that you are enjoying your mathematics classes at the Math 15000's or Math 16000's level then push yourself. Those of you with strong physical science backgrounds may be interested in Math 20000-20100 rather than Math 19510-19610. Those who want to pursue a deeper understanding of functions should take Math 20300-20400-20500. Such students should also read the requirements for the Math Concentration with Specialization in Economics for more ideas.

Second Year students: Students should focus on the Econ 20000-20300 core economics classes. They should take the applied math courses concurrently with the economics core classes. (Math 19510-19610 Applied Math for Soc. Sci. or Math 20000-20100 Applied Math for Phy.Sci.) Consult Michael Klein's text book "Mathematical Methods for Economics" for making the link between math tools and economic applications. Any students who suspect they might want to continue economics at the Ph.D. level may skip these sequences and take the Math 20300-20500 Real Analysis sequence. Second years are also strongly encouraged to take Statistics 23400 in their sophomore spring quarter. ( Hint: it is a very good idea to think of Stat 23400 and Econ 21000 as a two-quarter sequence to be taken back-to-back.) There is a two-quarter enriched version of Introductory Statistics, namely, Stat 24400-24500: if you think you want to continue work in economics at the graduate level, take Stat 24400-24500 and Stat 25100 Mathematical Probability.

Curriculum Planning Worksheet (PDF)

Third Year students: Try to complete your statistics and econometrics requirements early in the year: this will improve your comprehension of quantitative studies in the topics courses you select. For example, many students wish they had econometrics Econ 21000 before they take Intro to Finance Econ 25000. Students should actively pursue interests outside the classroom: clubs, internships, and, for those considering Ph.D. work later, research assistantships. For those of you thinking of employment after graduation, extra-curricular activities and evidence of initiative and organizational skills matter to prospective employers, as do summer internships or employment. Use College resources for exploring future options; these are improving in recent years. For example, all third years should register for Taking the Next Step, a one-day conference in January.

Honors workshop: This gives students who want to pursue and independent research project the opportunity to do so. Some students will write papers in topics classes during their junior year which may serve as the starting point. Others will find that the paper is an outgrowth of a research assistantship or summer job after third year. In any case, by the start of your fourth year (early October) , you should have a proposal of a research problem, knowledge of the related literature, and preferably have acquired the information (quantitative data) which you plan to analyze. Students who have no clear game plan for their research at this time generally do not complete the honors paper.

Fourth Year students: Fourth year students are quite busy completing the economics concentration and preparing for life after the B.A. Whether the plan is employment or application to further study, there are many deadlines to meet. If you are interviewing through CAPS try to make your Fall and Winter quarters relatively lighter in courses than others. If you are applying to graduate schools you should have assembled three letters of recommendation from teachers who know your work (two from economics, no more than one from another department), take the GRE and think hard about your personal statement for the applications. DON'T wait until two years after you have graduated to contact instructors. DO give instructors at least 3 weeks advance warning for letters to employers and schools with fixed deadlines. Remember, each instructor has many more students like you requesting these letters for the same deadlines.

Writing your resume for employment is an important exercise. Your academic performance is only part of the self-portrait. Your extracurricular activities display your range of interests and your social and organizational skills. In addition to the formal categories, you should make a list of all extracurricular activities from your high school years. What past-times have been most rewarding? Why? This exercise will help you understand your own preferences. Build a career around what you love the best. The world is a big place: there's always a need for more devoted work in whatever area you choose.

Come to the Fall, Winter, or Spring economics concentrator meetings if you have questions.  Although the dates are posted on the College Programming Calendar, you can subscribe to the econmajor mailing list (see top of page) in order to get reminders of these meetings.

Good papers usually originate in one of the following ways: 

• They are outgrowths of writing/research assignments in applied areas above the Econ 203 level courses. 
• They are expansions of research asst work done either on or off campus for economics researchers. Smaller scale questions suitable for undergraduate papers are often carved out of some faculty member's larger research project. 
• Students pursue research questions on the basis of information that they compile on their own, with guidance from faculty who have taught them upper level courses.

For a BA paper to be successful, topic and information and plan of attack need to be outlined by the beginning of 4th year. Later than that, students often can't make enough progress to complete the paper.  In some cases, such students get an "Econ 297 = Independent Reading & Research" one-quarter credit, rather than Econ 298 & Honors. If you are wondering about your specific stage or plans, you should come and talk to the instructors of Economics 298: Victor Lima or Grace Tsiang.

Preparation for graduate study in economics: Make a point to talk to Robert Herbst as early as your 2nd year to talk about the academic career path. Those students who think they would like to continue study for a Ph.D. in economics are strongly encouraged to develop their public speaking, writing, problem-solving, and quantitative skills. Supplement the required courses for the concentration with Stat 24400-24500, Stat 25100, Math 20300-20400, and other math courses from the Mathematics Concentration with Specialization in Economics. Research Assistant work for professors is also strongly encouraged.