Undergraduate Program Overview
Economics is relevant to almost every aspect of our lives. At its core, it is the study of decision-making in the face of scarce resources and competing interests. The need to make these prudent choices pervades our day-to-day lives 鈥 as individuals, as a community, and as a society.
If you have any questions, please email our department.
Table of Contents
Why Study Economics?
Economics provides causal insights into important social issues such as:
- Health Care
- Protecting the environment
- Reducing inequality, and the design of social programs and tax systems
While education in economics is relevant for business or management, its scope and rigour are much broader. Economics is a social science; as an intellectual discipline, economics seeks to measure, analyze, and understand a wide range of social phenomena using a rich set of technical tools and methods.
Hear more about why you should pursue Economics from Professor Hashmat Khan from the Department of Economics.
ECON 0005 – Conditional Offer of Admission
ECON 0005 and ECON 1401 CANNOT be taken concurrently.
Students with a conditional offer of admission MUST take ECON 0005 first and CANNOT take ECON 1401 and ECON 0005 concurrently. ECON 0005 is not considered a university level course, rather an equivalent to a high school mathematics course. ECON 1401 is a first year university level elementary mathematics course. Please note our department will not accept any registration and/or override requests for concurrency in these courses.
Students admitted with a conditional offer to the B.Econ (Honours) with an additional requirement in economics, must complete in their first term of study with a minimum grade of C- or higher to be eligible to continue in their current program and continue with courses like in the subsequent term.
Students must check their Offer of Admission letter for any existing conditions on the under the 鈥淰iew Offers鈥 tab or on
B.ECON Honours, 20-credit Program
The B.ECON Honours is a 20.0 credit program. Students can pursue the or between the following eight concentrations:
- Computational Analysis
- Economic Data Science
- Advanced Economic Analysis
- Development
- Financial Economics
- International Political Economy
- Mathematics and Quantitative Economics
- Natural Resources, Environment and Economy
B.ECON General, 15.0-credit Program
The B.Econ is a 15.0 credit General program, designed for students who may wish to obtain a solid grounding in Economics at the university-level, but who at the same time prefer to pursue a somewhat abbreviated, less theoretical and less mathematical program than the B.Econ. Honours.
B.ECON 15.0 Credit vs 20.0 Credit Honours
Students in the 15.0 credit program who would like to transition into our 20.0 credit Honour’s program should strongly consider taking the following courses as part of their 15.0 credit degree:
- ECON 3020 –
- ECON 3102 –
- ECON 3210 –
Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Economics
The post-bac diploma can be completed in eight months with intensive training in economic theory, econometric methods, and applied economics. Furthermore, there is English-language training for students who are not yet fluent in English and a structured and clearly defined course of study.
It is intended for:
- People who have already completed an undergraduate degree in another discipline and would like a rigorous and structured introduction to economics
- Those with a degree from outside Canada, whether in economics or another discipline, who are looking for a one-year, recognized, Canadian qualification in economics
- Anyone who would like additional preparation for graduate education in economics.
The post-bac diploma is also an excellent transitional program into our M.A. in Economics.
Core Courses in B.ECON Honours’ Program
YEAR ONE
Students must successfully complete
ECON 1001:
ECON 1002:
ECON 1401:
ECON 1402:
YEAR TWO
Students must successfully complete
ECON 2020:
ECON 2102:
ECON 2210:
ECON 2900:
YEAR THREE
Students must successfully complete
ECON 3020:
ECON 3102:
ECON 3210:
ECON 3900:
YEAR FOUR
Students must successfully complete
ECON 4905: [0.5 credit]
OR
ECON 4908 : [1.0 credit]
Combined Honours
Students have the option of pursuing a combined Honours in Economics either:
| Combined Honours | Program Description |
|---|---|
| Students admitted to the Bachelor of Economics may register for a Combined Bachelor of Economics and any other discipline in which a B.A. Combined program is available. | |
| Students already enrolled in a B.A. discipline may add Economics as an additional discipline under the B.A. Combined Honours. Economics course requirements for the B.A. Combined Honours are the same as those listed under the B.Econ. Combined Honours, above |
Minor in Economics
CGPA Requirement
Students are required to present a Minor CGPA of 4.00 or higher at graduation in order to be awarded a Minor in Economics.
The Department offers two different (4.0-credit) minors: the and the . The latter is open to all B.Eng. students and comprises 3.5 required credits and a 0.5-credit Economics elective, whereas the former is open to all undergraduate degree students not pursuing a Major (Honours or 15.0 credit degree) in Economics (B.Econ. or B.A.) and comprises 2.0 required and 2.0 elective Economics credits.
Important Information about Pursuing a Minor in Economics
Students who pursue a minor in Economics commonly come from programs such as:
- Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.)
- Bachelor of Computer Science (B.C.S.)
- Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.)
- Bachelor of Industrial Design (B.I.D)
- Bachelor of Information Technology (B.I.T)
- Bachelor of Mathematics (B.Math.)
- Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.)
Please note that students in the minor have the option of earning credit in either:
- 0.5 credit earned from or or
- 0.5 credit from or
Please note that students in any of the above programs CANNOT register in ECON 2001 or ECON 2101. This is due to the fact that these courses are intended for non-mathematical majors.
If you are looking to fulfill credit in ECON 2020 or 2102, ECON 1401 and ECON 1402 are prerequisites required in BOTH courses. We accept some math substitutions in place of ECON 1401 and ECON 1402 (see below).
We also accept some STAT courses in place of ECON 2210 and ECON 3210 (formerly ECON 2220). Please see the prerequisite chart our department has prepared for the upcoming academic year.
Switching to Economics from Another Program
If you have switched over from another program (within 杏吧原创), you might have earned credit from other courses that our department may accept that can help fast-track your progress within the program. Our department accepts combinations of mathematics courses in place of our elementary mathematics courses (ECON 1401 and ECON 1402) and statistics courses.
Please see our acceptable mathematics combinations in place of ECON 1401 and ECON 1402.
Changing Your Program Elements
- Changes to your program are made through the 鈥淐hange of Program Elements鈥 feature of .
- Changes require up to 3 days for processing. Processing time may vary throughout the school year.
- Term specific deadlines are posted within the 杏吧原创 Central application.
- Requests to change your Degree should be directed towards the via the
- Requests to remove the Co-Op option from your program should be directed to the co-op office website via their .
Running Your Audit
If you are thinking of changing your major, minor or specialization, the 鈥榳hat-if鈥 audit can be very beneficial for you. It will help you see how your audit will change once you switch your program elements. This is a useful tool in determining where your previous courses would count in the new degree to see if you are on the right track towards graduation.
The Academic Advising Centre has all the information on running your audit you will need.
Pursuing an M.A in Economics after Undergraduate Studies
If you are interested in furthering your post-secondary education and pursuing an M.A. in Economics, our department strongly encourages students to consider choosing our more rigorous concentrations in Advanced Economic Analysis and Mathematics and Quantitative Economics.
If you have not chosen these concentrations, please note the following courses (or equivalent) with a minimum passing grade of B+ must be taken either in the E.M.A (Extended M.A. in Economics) or prior to pursuing an M.A. in Economics:
- 鈥 Mathematical Methods of Economics
- 鈥 Mathematical Analysis in Economics
- 鈥 Statistical Analysis in Economics
- 鈥 Advanced Microeconomic Theory
- 鈥 Advanced Macroeconomic Theory
- 鈥 Econometrics I
Managing Your Course Load
Our department strongly recommends prioritizing the and concentration courses required for completing your Honour鈥檚 program degree over taking electives. Electives should be paired alongside the core and concentration courses.
CO-OP
Co-operative Education combines traditional, in-class education with hands-on experience to get a head start on a career. Co-op work terms allow for the development of key employability skills, exploration of career options and graduation with tangible, workplace experience鈥攇iving students a competitive edge in the job market after graduation.
Visit our CO-OP page with recent placements from our students.
Read about the in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Contact our department if you have questions, or check out the 杏吧原创 University Co-op Website.
Elective Suggestions
Students often ask for recommendations about elective courses. Students are in the best position to choose their elective courses based on their own interests, strengths, career goals, learning style, etc.
Our department recommends the following electives:
| Course | Credit | Calendar Description | Course Outlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| [0.5] | Introduction to Computer Science I | ||
| [0.5] | Democracy in Theory and Practice | PSCI Course Outlines | |
| [0.5] | Politics in the World | PSCI Course Outlines | |
| [0.5] | Effective Writing |
Minimum Prerequisite Grade
All ECON course outlines list the minimum prerequisite grade required to progress to upper-year level ECON courses. The official listing for ECON courses is posted on the Undergraduate Calendar. The grade required to obtain credit in a course (50% or above, or a letter grade of D-) may be different than the minimum prerequisite grade.
For example, ECON 2210 requires a minimum prerequisite grade of C- to get into most upper level ECON courses such as ECON 3210 (formerly ECON 2220). However, other ECON courses may not have this requirement (such as for ECON 2708, you need a minimum prerequisite grade of C+ in ECON 2210). Elective courses outside ECON may have their own requirements.
Students may be de-registered from course(s) if they are not meeting the minimum prerequisite grade.
Our department runs prerequisite checks every semester. This means we check to see that students are correctly registered in their courses and fulfilling the necessary requirements. If you are not, you may be deregistered in the course you were previously registered in.
- If you defer a final exam that is in sequence to a subsequent course, you may be deregistered in the subsequent course.
- For example, if you are currently registered in ECON 1401 and defer the final exam, if you do not have a passing grade (not including the final exam grade) at that point in the course, you may be deregistered in ECON 1402.
- Prerequisite grades determine access to other courses. However, students may need to achieve higher grades to be eligible to continue in their program. For more information about the Academic Continuation Evaluation (ACE) and CGPA requirements for graduation, students should contact the Academic Advising Centre.
Tips and Resources
- Check your 杏吧原创 email for important program information from our department.
- Prioritize TA and instructor office hours!
- Our department has prepared some registration tips for undergraduate students in our program.
When building your timetable or choosing courses, always check:
| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| The Academic Audit | Provides a complete view of all completed and in-progress courses. |
| To know when courses are offered. | |
| To check for prerequisites/preclusions when selecting courses |