Courses and Requirements for the Major in Economics

Introductory courses include Principles of Economics (150 or 151 and 152) and Principles of Financial Accounting (160). The department also offers a number of other introductory courses, including Households and Markets, Intergenerational Equity: Budgets, Debt and Youth, Water Resource Management, Sustainable Development, and topical courses that are open to all students. Students may declare a major in economics once they have completed the Principles of Economics and Principles of Financial Accounting. Other courses required for the major include Methods I (200 or equivalent), Intermediate Microeconomic (207) and Macroeconomic (209) Theory, Methods II (303) or Econometrics (408), and three additional units of economics courses at the 300 or 400 level. All Economics majors also complete an independent Senior Thesis research project (499 – two units) working closely with a faculty adviser. Majors must also take Mathematics 125 (two units) or 126.

The department regularly offers courses in international economics, environmental and natural resource economics, labor and sports economics, public finance, economic development, and comparitive economic systems. For those students who wish to focus on business, the department offers many elective business courses including Intermediate and Managerial Accounting, Legal Environment of Business, Theory of Business Finance, Investments, Entrepreneurship, Business and Society, and Business Policy and Strategy. Perspectives on Business in a Changing World – an ongoing program of guest speakers, executives-in-residence, and special programs – richly complements the department’s business courses.

Economics:

Economics is not a religion, or a one-sided worldview. Rather, it is a systematic approach to weighing costs and benefits in almost any situation. Economics answers many simple questions about life, but leaves just as many to ponder.

"The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist." - J.M. Keynes

The Senior Thesis that all Economics majors complete provides an opportunity to apply what you know to something you don't understand.

Mathematical Economics:

The interdisciplinary major in Mathematical Economics is offered in conjunction with the Mathematics Department and aims to prepare students for graduate study in economics or finance. Colorado College graduates have gone on to receive masters and Ph.D. degrees from outstanding research universities. One of the college’s graduates, James Heckman, won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2000.

International Political Economy:

The interdisciplinary major in International Political Economy, offered jointly by the Economics and Business and the Political Science Departments, explores international issues from many different perspectives and prepares students for careers in an increasingly global world.

American Political Economy:

This interdisciplinary major is offered jointly by the Economics and Business and the Political Science Departments. It focuses on the interactions between the U.S. government and the economy and on the nature and evolution of U.S. political institutions and their role in the economy.