Undergraduate Program

Aerial view of the UC Santa Cruz campus.

An understanding of economics is a vital component of a liberal arts education and a necessity for anyone interested in how the economic system actually works.  Subject areas include business, environmental policy, economic development, immigration, educational reform, international competitiveness and trade, economic inequality, and transformations in the global economy.

The programs offered by the UCSC Economics Department are designed to acquaint students with the broad range of issues and with the tools economists use. The department offers the following majors:

    * Economics B.A.
    * Business management economics B.A.
    * Global economics B.A.


 The department also offers the following combined majors:


    * Economics/Mathematics B.A.
    * Environmental studies/Economics B.A.
    * A minor is also available.

Sample Course Plans

The economics curriculum begins at the introductory level; no specific high school preparation is required. All economics majors study a substantial core of economic theory and mathematical and statistical methods, and then choose among a wide variety of upper-division electives.

Economics majors may combine their upper-division elective choices in a variety of ways to achieve specialization in a number of possible areas, including environmental economics, public policy, political economy, international economics, economic development, and quantitative methods.

See Also