People centered. Data focused.
Studying economics is a bridge to solving real-world problems as you gain an understanding of how to use economic tools in the context of history, politics, global studies, business, data, and decision making.
Economics provides the tools to understand critical issues such as unemployment, inflation, exchange rates, labor markets, economic development, international trade and finance, and the environment.
Because the degree demonstrates your ability to analyze and work comfortably with data, and apply it in a way to benefit people, career opportunities are broad and deep. Corporations, nonprofits, tech companies, and government agencies are all interested in graduates with training in economics.
Survey after survey, such as The Wall Street Journal, Payscale, and Glassdoor, rank economics in the top 10 for high starting salaries. Economics is amongst the majors most commonly thought of as “high-salary” such as engineering, IT, and healthcare and outranks business because of its broader, people-based nature and its focus on data.
Fully online major or minor availableGet to know us!
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Department News
- The Niho Fund Supports Department Research!The Department greatly benefited in 2025-2026 from the Niho Research Excellence Fund. Established and generously funded by Professor Emeritus Yoshio Niho, it promotes Departmental …
- Ethan Ballou wins the Perlman Paper PrizeThe Richard Perlman Prize for an Outstanding Paper in Labor Economics was won by graduate student Ethan Ballou. His work uses modern machine learning …
- The Holahan Teaching Prize goes to Labesh Kumar.Labesh Kumar won the 2026 William L. Holahan Prize for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student. First given in 2014, the prize recognizes the …
- Maeve Shampine wins Undergraduate AwardMaeve Shampine won the Department's Undergraduate Alumni Scholarship. Following recommendations from the faculty, this award is given each year to the continuing undergraduate student …
Department Events
- Nov18November 18, 2026, 11:30am - 12:30pm


