Dec 03, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
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2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Economics (BA)

The discipline of economics studies how to allocate scarce resource to meet unlimited wants. Nearly all public and private issues possess important economic angles. Thus, thinking as an economist provides valuable insights into our complex world. The Bachelor of Arts in Economics prepares students for jobs in businesses, financial firms, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations and for advanced degrees in business, economics, law, public administration, and other social sciences. The economics major also complements learning in other areas of business and the liberal arts.

Please see the UNLV Lee Business School, Department of Economics web page for information about department programs, faculty and facilities. Degree worksheets and 4/5 year plan for the major are available on the UNLV Degrees Directory.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Use supply and demand analysis;
  2. Apply the concept of opportunity cost;
  3. Use marginal analysis;
  4. Use the appropriate models to explain the behavior of economic agents in different market structures;
  5. Explain the causes of short-run fluctuations in macroeconomic variables;
  6. Explain the determinants of long run economic growth;
  7. Predict the effects of various micro- and macroeconomic policies using the appropriate models;
  8. Gather, analyze, and interpret economic data;
  9. Describe the role and function of financial markets, institutions, and policies;
  10. Analyze global economic issues.

Advising

Please see advising information at the UNLV Lee Business School Student Advising Center.

Accreditation

For information regarding accreditation at UNLV, please head over to Academic Program Accreditations.

University Graduation Requirements

Please see Graduation Policies  for complete information.

Economics (BA) Degree Requirements - Total: 120 Credits

General Education Requirements - Subtotal: 41-46 Credits

If students’ ACT or SAT test scores place them directly into ENG 102, then the number of general education credits will be reduced by 3.

 

Where specific courses are not identified, please see the related section of the Undergraduate Catalog for information about which courses may satisfy university core requirements.

First-Year Seminar - Credits: 2-3

English Composition - Credits: 6

Second-Year Seminar - Credits: 3

Constitutions - Credits: 3-6

Mathematics - Credits: 3

Distribution Requirements - Credits: 18-19

Please see Distribution Requirements  for more information.

  • Humanities and Fine Arts: 9 credits
    • Humanities, 6 credits required from two different areas.
    • Fine Arts,  3 credits required
  • Social Science
    • Automatically satisfied by economics requirements
  • Life and Physical Sciences and Analytical Thinking: 9-10 credits
    • Life and Physical Sciences - 6-7 credits
      • One science course with a lab
      • One non-lab science course
    • Analytical Thinking 3 credit course 

Multicultural and International Requirement

Multicultural, one three-credit course required
International, one three-credit course required

These courses may overlap with general education and major requirements.  A single course may not meet the multicultural and international requirements simultaneously. Visit the Provost webpage for the list of approved Multicultural and International courses​.

Foreign Language/Foreign Culture - Credits: 6

Two courses in the same foreign language at the university level or the equivalent or two courses (at least six credits) in a foreign culture. Students should consult with an academic advisor regarding acceptable foreign culture courses.

Pre-major and Major Requirements - BA in Economics - Subtotal: 33-36 Credits

Nine of the 33 required economics major credits must be 400-level ECON courses.

General Electives - Credits: 38-52

The number of general electives necessary for each student varies based on how many credits a student uses to satisfy the requirements identified above. The minimum credits required to earn a degree from Lee Business School is 120.

Total Credits: 120

Advanced Track

Accomplished UNLV undergraduates must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible for the Advanced Program Track:

Minimum of 3.0 GPA
Completion of the following courses with a minimum of 3.5 GPA and no grade lower than B: ECON 262  or ECON 441 ; ECON 302 ; ECON 303  and MATH 181  
Department chair or graduate coordinator’s recommendation
Submission of two letters of recommendation, a completed Enrollment Request form to the Economics Department no less than two weeks before the beginning of the semester for which they would like to register for graduate courses.

Notes

  1. Students planning to pursue graduate studies in economics are encouraged to take Advanced Track.
  2. All courses in the major requirements section must be completed with a grade of C or better. 
  3. Any course that is included as a prerequisite for a Lee Business School course requires a minimum grade of C or better.
  4. ECON 302  and BUS 321  are Milestone Experience for Economics B.A.
  5. ECON 495  is a Culminating Experience course for Economics B.A.