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.

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Department News
- Third Annual Panther Econ ConnectFor the third year the Department held an end-of-year gathering bringing together current and graduating students, faculty, alumni and friends. Ann Pencak led the …
- Professor and Student Visit Slovak University of TechnologyProfessor Rebecca Neumann and PhD student Ethan Ballou spent part of April in Bratislava Slovakia. Under an Erasmus grant they participated in the life …
- Undergraduates Doing Economic ResearchFour UWM economics students worked with three Departmental faculty to share their research at the Undergraduate Research Symposium this April. We were delighted with …
- UWM 414 Day of GivingSupport the Economics Department on the 414 Day of Giving.