An economics major is useful in preparing students for careers in the business world as well as graduate study. The exposure to economic analysis (theoretical and empirical) makes economics majors attractive to many job recruiters and graduate schools because of the exposure to rigorous analytical thinking.
The Department of Economics is now offering an Accelerated Bachelor's + Master's Degree in Managerial Economics with a Big Data Emphasis. This program is designed to be completed in 1-2 years, depending on full-time/part-time status, courses taken, prerequisites, and scheduling.
The skills taught to economics majors provide a solid foundation and preparation for many business occupations. Occupations that attract students with these kinds of skills include consulting firms, commercial banks, oil companies, investment firms and utility companies.
There are lots of opportunities studying economics! Economics majors are attractive to various branches of the federal, state and local governments. These agencies offer extensive employment opportunities for undergraduate economics majors. For example, the Departments of Agriculture, Labor, Commerce and Treasury are the biggest federal employers of economics majors. At the state level, Corporation Commission, Office of the State Treasurer, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Department of Commerce are among the major recruiters. Other big recruiters of economics majors include the Federal Reserve Banks and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Absolutely! Economics majors are very well-suited and prepared for advanced degrees in economics, business, and law school. Many law school representatives believe that economics is one of the best and most desired pre-law majors because of the analytical training and logical thinking involved in the discipline. Also, a growing number of universities offer joint degrees in law and economics. The wide ranges of theoretical, analytical and empirical courses offered ensure that our undergraduate program equips students with the skills to successfully pursue advanced degrees in economics.
In addition to your general education requirements, you will also take
Econ 1113: Principles of Economics - Macro
Econ 1123: Principles of Economics - Micro
Econ 2843: Elements of Statistics
Econ 3113: Intermediate Microeconomics
Econ 3133: Intermediate Macroeconomics
Math 1743/1823: Calculus I
Math 2123/2423: Calculus II
Plus 48 hours of Free Electives!
There are many upper level economics classes! Here are just a few we offered last year.
You also have an option to enroll in Econ 3880 (Directed Readings) or Econ 3990 (Independent Study) where you work one-on-one with an instructor on research!
Absolutely! Every student has the opportunity to work one-on-one with an instructor when they take Econ 3880 or 3990. Please reach out to any professor with research interests you like!
Yes! Taylor Bauman (taylor.bauman@ou.edu) is our temporary advisor! Please reach out to her with any questions!
This track provides rigorous training in economics and data analytics and is designed for students seeking jobs in either the private or public sectors. Please note that there is a 2-semester sequence of core classes that start in Fall, but it may be possible to join the program in the Spring semester.
Students are encouraged to apply to the program by March 1st or as early as possible in the junior year.
Check out the BA/MA Handbook here (pdf)!
This track requires:
The 33 hours include 9 hours of core Economics courses, 9 hours of graduate Economics electives, 3 hours of ECON 5940, and 12 hours of data analyitcs graduate electives. Students may double count up to 9 hours of approved 4000-level Econ major courses towards both the BA and MA totals, with approval.
In addition, applicants must be in the junior or senior year of an economics degree in the College of Arts and Sciences to qualify. Some course work in economics including both intermediate micro (ECON 3113) and macroeconomics (ECON 3133) is required prior to starting the program. All applicants need a good working knowledge of mathematics and basic statistics. At least two semesters of calculus and one semester of basic statistics (ECON 2843) or their equivalents are required. For Data Elective courses, some knowledge of programming or advanced math/stats is helpful but not required.
The Department of Economics evaluates each applicant individually in order to select for admission those applicants who have the aptitude, scholarship, and analytical skill necessary to successfully complete an advanced degree. View complete application details here or contact the undergraduate advisor for more information.
Prior to the final semester, students will formally apply to the Graduate College of the University of Oklahoma , which has specific admission requirements of:
The Department of Economics does not have specific admission requirements (e.g. minimum GRE scores). Rather, an admissions committee recommends admission on the basis of several factors. All sources of information are helpful in the evaluation of an applicant's ability to pursue an advance degree.
The main body of coursework consists of core courses in Economics, supplemented with Economics graduate electives and approved Data Analytics courses. Here is a sample schedule:
ECON 5023 – Statistics for Decision Making
ECON 5033 – Managerial Economics I
ECON Elective – Any 4000/5000-level Economics course that carries graduate credit*
Big Data Elective - choose 1-2 graduate electives from courses in MIT / GIS / ISE**
ECON 5043 – Managerial Economics II
ECON 4223 – Econometric Analysis OR Any 4000/5000-level Economics course that carries graduate credit*
ECON Elective – Any 4000/5000-level Economics course that carries graduate credit*
Data Elective - choose 1-2 graduate electives from courses in LIS / GIS / ISE**
*with approval of graduate director
**with approval of graduate director and departmental permission
There are many upper level economics classes! Here are just a few we offered last year.
You also have the option to take some big data electives including:
ISE 5103 Intelligent Data Analysis
GIS 5013 Fundamentals of GIS
GIS 5253 Applied GIS
LIS 5033 Info Technology Management
PSC 5923 Analysis of Political Data
GIS = Geographic Information Systems
ISE = Industrial/Systems Engineering
LIS = Library/Information Science
PSC = Political Science
Yes, all students will enroll in ECON 5940 - Research in Economic Problems (3 hours) in their final semester, for which they may write and present a research paper. A faculty supervisor and committee for the paper must be arranged before a student can enroll in ECON 5940.
All BA/MA students in the Accelerated Managerial Economics + Big Data Emphasis program will be advised by the undergraduate advisor in conjunction with the Graduate Program Director Tyler Ransom (ransom@ou.edu). In no circumstances will a student will be allowed to alter their course curriculum without the permission of the Graduate Program Director and all elective course selections are to be approved by them.
Prerequisite: a grade of C or better in ECON 1123. Economic approach to environmental protection; analysis focuses on property rights and externalities. Examines strategies for addressing externalities including command-and-control regulation, emissions taxes, and tradable discharge permits. Topics include air pollution, water pollution, waste disposal and recycling, and endangered species protection. (Irreg.)
Prerequisite: a grade of C or better in 1113 and 1123. Problems of labor in an industrial society; wages, hours, working conditions, child labor. Conflicts between management and labor. (F)
Prerequisite: ECON 1113 and ECON 1123 with a grade of C or higher. Overall view of health economics. Covers health insurance markets, externalities in health and medical care, health and labor markets, government intervention in health care provision, current health programs in the United States and models of health production. (Irreg.)
Prerequisite: a grade of C or better in 1113 and 1123. Effects of international trade on employment, inflation, the exchange rate, effects of devaluation, types of international monetary arrangements, effects of foreign transfers, open economy macroeconomic policy. (F, Sp)
Prerequisite: a grade of C or better in ECON 1113 and ECON 1123. Analysis of economic aspects of government regulation and direction of business enterprise; controls affecting managerial discretion in the determination of prices and other basic business policies. (F, Sp, Su) [III-SS].
Prerequisite: a grade of C or better in 1113, 1123, and 2843. Classical statistical inference; means, proportions, variances, analysis of variance and covariance; regression and correlation analysis; normal, binomial, chi-square, t, F, Poisson, exponential distributions. (F, Sp) [I-M] .
Prerequisite: ECON 1113 and ECON 1123 with a grade of C or better. Industrial organization studies the way firms interact and compete with each other. Covers pricing strategies (price discrimination, bundling and tie-in sales); product strategies (product variety, quality, advertising); and mergers and acquisitions. Can be taken for graduate credit. (Irreg.)
Prerequisite: ECON 1113 and ECON 1123 with a grade of C or higher, or permission of instructor. Application of economics principles and techniques to sports-related topics and problems. (Irreg.)
Prerequisite: ECON 3113 with a grade of C or better. Study of economic models of urban location, including firm location and residential location models. Public policy topics of urban taxation, residential housing discrimination, urban renewal, etc., will also be discussed from an economic perspective. Can be taken for graduate credit. (Irreg.)
Prerequisite: a grade of C or better in 1113 and 1123. This course will focus on discrimination in the labor market. Topics to be covered include wage discrimination, employment discrimination, and occupational segregation. Examples will be drawn frequently from current events and public policies. (F, Sp)
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing; ECON 1123 and ECON 2843. This course will focus on policy analysis of the market for education in the United States, including production and consumption of education services. Students will discuss and critically evaluate scientific studies related to key questions in the policy debate, and will learn tools for understanding how to distinguish between correlation and causation in the world of education policy. (F, Sp)
Prerequisite: ECON 3133 with a grade of C or better. Introduces the role of money, banks and financial institutions in the economy. Topics include banking and financial intermediation, financial market regulation, monetary economics and economic fluctuations, and monetary policy. Can be taken for graduate credit. (F)
Prerequisites: ECON 1113 and ECON 1123 with a grade of C or higher; ECON 3133 and/or ECON 3633 recommended. An introduction to the existing debates on comparative economic development in the Middle East and North Africa region during the post-independence period. (Irreg.)
Prerequisite: ECON 3113 with a grade of C or better, and Mathematics 2123 or Mathematics 2423. Develops the fundamental concept of the Nash equilibrium, advancing to refinements such as subgame perfection and Bayesian perfection. Applications include oligopoly, adverse selection in insurance markets, and moral hazard in agency. May be taken for graduate credit (Sp)
Prerequisite: ECON 1113, ECON 1123 and ECON 2843 with a grade of C or better. Analysis of behavioral economics models and factors using experimental approaches; investigation of where human behavior does not always fit standard economic models; experiments and theory covering game theory, market equilibrium, public choices, auctions, and bargaining. Can be taken for graduate credit. (Irreg.)
(Slashlisted with 5853) Prerequisite: a grade of C or better in 1113 and 1123. The economics of the developing nations; a review and analysis of common problems and issues. (Irreg.)
1 to 3 hours. Prerequisite: Senior standing or permission of instructor. May be repeated; maximum credit nine hours. Special topics or seminar course for content not currently offered in regularly scheduled courses. May include library and/or laboratory research and field projects. (Irreg.)
1 to 3 hours. Prerequisite: Senior standing or permission of instructor. May be repeated; maximum credit nine hours. Special topics or seminar course for content not currently offered in regularly scheduled courses. May include library and/or laboratory research and field projects. (Irreg.)
1 to 3 hours. Prerequisite: Senior standing or permission of instructor. May be repeated; maximum credit nine hours. Special topics or seminar course for content not currently offered in regularly scheduled courses. May include library and/or laboratory research and field projects. (Irreg.)
Prerequisite: a grade of C or better in 2843, 3113 and 3133, or permission of instructor. Examination of selected topics in various subdisciplines within economics e.g., international trade and finance, econometrics, energy economics, public finance, labor economics, economic history and development, etc. [V] .
