Major Requirements

For admission to the upper-division economics major, students must have: 

  • 52 or more credit hours completed 
  • both ECO 2013 and ECO 2023 each completed with a grade of ‘C’ or higher, and with a 2.50 or higher GPA in ECO 2103 and ECO 2023. (This means that if you get a C in one of these, you need at least a B in the other, or if you get a C+ in one of these, you would need at least a B- in the other).  
  • at least half the required General Education hours, including all English composition and mathematics requirements, or an A.A. Degree. 

Students who plan to major in economics are required to complete MAC 1105 College Algebra, a statistics course (STA 2023, STA 2122, or STA4321) and a calculus course (MAC 2233 or MAC 2311), and strongly encouraged to complete them as soon as possiblepreferably before their fourth semester. Click here for the academic map, which contains a sample schedule and required course milestones for the economics major.  

To continue and progress in the economics major, students must earn grades of C minus or higher in all upper-level economics courses and supporting courses used to satisfy major requirements, and must maintain an overall GPA of 2.00 in economics and supporting courses. Majors are required to complete all core courses by the first semester of their senior year, but are strongly encouraged to do so by the first semester of their junior year. At least 18 hours in economics courses must be taken at FSU. Any transfer credit intended to meet major requirements must be approved by the Undergraduate Director for Economics. 

A student who has been admitted to the economics major and subsequently received more than two (2) unsatisfactory grades (U, F, D, D-, D+) in any ECO, ECP, or ECS upper division course, taken at Florida State University, including repeated unsatisfactory grades in the same course, will not be permitted to graduate with a degree offered by the Department of Economics. 

Principles

To be completed before declaring major. A total of 6 credit hours. 

  • ECO 2013 Principles of Macroeconomics (Grade of C or better) 
  • ECO 2023 Principles of Microeconomics (Grade of C or better) 

Students must also achieve a GPA of 2.50 or higher across these two courses.  

Core Courses

For a total of 12 credit hours, at least one (1) per term until all are completed, starting as early as possible.  

  • ECO 3101 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory 
  • ECO 3203 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory 
  • ECO 3431 Analysis of Economic Data 
  • ECO 4421 Introduction to Econometrics [Statistics and ECO3431 are prerequisites] 

Supporting Courses

For a total of 9 or 10 hours (depending on whether the student takes MAC 2233 or MAC 2311). It is better to complete these before entering the major if possible.  

  • MAC 1105 College Algebra 
  • STA 2023 Business Statistics, STA 2122 Applied Statistics (recommended), or STA 4321 Mathematical Statistics (recommended) 
  • MAC2233 Business Calculus (3 hours) or MAC 2311 Calculus and Analytic Geometry I (4 hours) 

Economics Elective Courses

Completion of an additional 15 hours of upper division economics elective courses with prefixes ECO, ECP, or ECS. Electives offered by the economics department depend on availability of instructors and student interest, and may include: 

  • ECO 3041. Personal Finance 
  • ECO 3054. Decision Making Under Risk and Uncertainty 
  • ECO 3102. Organizational Theory of the Firm 
  • ECO 3104. Applied Microeconomic Analysis 
  • ECO 3130. Free to Choose 
  • ECO 3131. Market Ethics 
  • ECO 3132. Economics of Compassion 
  • ECO 3223. Financial Markets, the Banking System, and Monetary Policy 
  • ECO 3303. History of Economic Ideas 
  • ECO 3622. Growth of the American Economy 
  • ECO 4106. Behavioral Economics 
  • ECO 4165. Economics of Information 
  • ECO 4270. Economic Growth 
  • ECO 4400. Games and Decisions 
  • ECO 4401. Intro to Math Economics 
  • ECO 4450. Introduction to Research in Economics 
  • ECO 4455. Experimental Economics 
  • ECO 4504. Public Sector Economics 
  • ECO 4532. Economic Analysis of Politics 
  • ECO 4554. Economics of State and Local Government 
  • ECO 4704. International Trade 
  • ECO 4713. International Finance 
  • ECP 3010. Economics of Art and Culture 
  • ECP 3113. Economics of Population 
  • ECP 3143. Afro-Americans in the American Political Economy 
  • ECP 3302. Economics of Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment 
  • ECP 3451. Economics and the Law 
  • ECP 3617. Land Use, Housing, and Government Regulation 
  • ECP 4006. Economics of Sports 
  • ECP 4203. Labor Economics 
  • ECP 4312. Economics of Energy, Environment, and Sustainability 
  • ECP 4403. Industrial Organization 
  • ECP 4413. Government Regulation of Business 
  • ECP 4505. Economics of Crime 
  • ECP 4530. Economics of Health 
  • ECP 4613. Urban Economics 
  • ECP 4618. Research Methods for Studying Housing, Land, and Mortgage 
  • ECS 3200. Economics of Asia 
  • ECS 3022. Social Entrepreneurship and Economic Development 
  • ECS 4013. Economics of Development 
  • ECS 4504. Economics of the Middle East 

Minor or Second Major

Students majoring in Economics must also complete a minor. Minors typically require 12-18 hours of credit. The requirements for a minor are determined by the department in which the minor is taken. Requirements for all minors available at FSU are posted to the Academic Program Guide

Digital Literacy

Students majoring in Economics must satisfy the University’s digital literacy requirement by completing ECO 4421 with a grade of C- or better. To earn a grade of C- or better in the course, students must earn a C- or better on the required digital literacy component regardless of their grades on other components of the course. 

Fall 2014 to Spring 2024 Requirements

The Economics major was a limited access program. Admission to the major required completion of at least 52 credit hours of college courses with a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or better, including ECO 2013, Principles of Macroeconomics, with a grade of C or better (C- is not acceptable) and ECO 2023, Principles of Microeconomics, with a grade of C or better (C- is not acceptable). The major in Economics required 39 hours of course work, including 6 hours of supporting coursework in other departments, plus completion of a minor in a field related to economics or a second major. 

Principles of Macroeconomics ECO2013 and Principles of Microeconomics ECO2023 must be completed with a “C” grade or better. Students earning less than the necessary grade in any of these courses will be required to retake those courses until the standard is met. Note: retaking a course may delay graduation and incur increased fee liability (i.e., repeat course surcharge and excess credit surcharge). 

A student who was been admitted to the economics major at FSU and received more than two (2)  unsatisfactory grades (U, F, D minus, D, or D+) in 3000-level or 4000-level ECO, ECP, or ECS courses would not be permitted to graduate with a degree in that major. 

Students must earn a C- or better in all economics courses and supporting courses used to satisfy major requirements (C or better in ECO 2013 and ECO 2023) and maintain an overall GPA of 2.00 in economics and supporting courses. 

The Economics major required completion of the following courses: 

Principles 

To be completed before declaring major. A total of 6 credit hours. 

  • ECO 2013 Principles of Macroeconomics (Grade of C or better) 
  • ECO 2023 Principles of Microeconomics (Grade of C or better) 

Core Courses 

For a total of 12 credit hours, at least one (1) per term until all are completed. 

  • ECO 3101 Intermediate Microeconomic Theory 
  • ECO 3203 Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory 
  • ECO 3431 Analysis of Economic Data 
  • ECO 4421 Introduction to Econometrics [Statistics and ECO3431 are prerequisites] 

Prior to Fall 2014, ECO 3101, ECO 3203, and ECO 3431 were numbered ECO 4101, ECO 4203, and ECO 4431, respectively. 

Supporting Courses 

For a total of 6 credit hours. 

Any one of the following statistics courses: 

  • STA 2122 Introduction to Applied Statistics (recommended), or 
  • STA 4321 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics (recommended), or 
  • STA 2023 Fundamental Business Statistics. 

Any one of the following math courses: 

  • MAC 1105 College Algebra, or 
  • MAC 1140 Pre-Calculus, or 
  • MAC 1147 Pre-Calculus Algebra and Trigonometry, or 
  • MAC 2233 Business Calculus, or  
  • MAC 2311 Calculus with Analytic Geometry I 

Economics Elective Courses 

Completion of an additional 15 hours of upper division economics elective courses with prefixes ECO, ECP, or ECS. Electives offered by the economics department depend on availability of instructors and student interest. 

Minor or Second Major 

Students majoring in Economics must also complete a minor. Minors typically require 12-18 hours of credit. The requirements for a minor are determined by the department in which the minor is taken. Requirements for all minors available at FSU are posted to the Academic Program Guide

Digital Literacy 

Students majoring in Economics must satisfy the University’s digital literacy requirement by completing ECO 4421 with a grade of C- or better. To earn a grade of C- or better in the course, students must earn a C- or better on the required digital literacy component regardless of their grades on other components of the course.

Pre-Fall 2014 Requirements

Currently active students (enrolled at FSU in the Spring 2014 or Summer 2014 semesters) in catalog years prior to Fall 2014 may continue to follow the major requirements listed in their edition of the Undergraduate Bulletin. Students should consult a department advisor with questions about catalog years or prior requirements. If more than six years has elapsed between the last active term of enrollment at FSU and the term of readmission, students readmitted in Fall 2014 or later will be subject to the economics major requirements in effect at the time of readmission.

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