The Economics Major

Entry Requirements:

Completion of ECON 110 with a grade of C+ or higher and completion of, or current enrollment in, ECON 300. 

A student who fails to obtain a grade of C+ or higher in ECON 110 may be admitted to the major only after that student obtains a grade of C+ or higher in ECON 300.

The Major Program:

Students majoring in economics must complete a minimum of eight graded courses numbered 201 or above. 

• Three are the core courses: ECON 300, ECON 301 and ECON 302. 
• Three of the five electives must be upper-tier electives, numbered 310 to 399. 
• No more than one senior thesis, individual, or group tutorial may be counted toward the eight courses that satisfy the requirements of the major.

Additional Information

• Some electives may be taught as lower-tier and upper-tier courses in alternating years; in these cases, students may earn credit for only one of these courses.
• The fall-semester senior thesis tutorial numbered 409 may count as one of the three upper-tier electives.  
• An individual tutorial, numbered 401 or 402, or a group tutorial, numbered 411 or 412, will be counted as a lower-tier elective.
• ECON 110, 300, 301 and 302 must be taken at Wesleyan.  A student who is admitted to Wesleyan after having done significant work in Economics at another college or university must obtain the written permission of the department chair for any special consideration.
• No more than two elective courses taken elsewhere may be counted toward the economics major.  Courses taken elsewhere must be approved by the department chair prior to enrollment and will count as lower-tier electives when approved. 
• If the course material warrants counting a course taken elsewhere (or a tutorial numbered 401, 402, 411, or 412) as an upper-tier elective, the student must submit materials from the course (or tutorial) with a petition requesting that it be treated as an upper-tier elective to the department chair immediately upon return to campus (or completion of the tutorial).
• University graduation requirements permit a student to count no more than 12 courses numbered 201 or higher and no more than 14 courses (except for senior thesis tutorials that do not count in either total) in any one department toward the 32 courses required for graduation.  The ungraded teaching apprenticeship tutorials, numbered 491 & 492, are included in these totals for the purpose of determining oversubscription in a department.