Advice for Applying to Grad School in Economics
On this webpage you will find a short summary of things you should do if you are considering advanced degrees in economics.
Choosing classes
- Graduate schools care much more about what hard classes you've taken and how you've done in them than about overall GPA.
- If you have taken difficult classes its probably a good idea to point this out in your application essay because schools might not know what the math classes are, which economics classes are the advanced ones, etc.
- And while we are on the subject, take Math! As much Math as possible if you are considering a PhD
- Below you will find a list of suggested courses depending on your interest.
A Suggested Schedule
This is the suggested schedule for an economics major at the University of Louisville. We also include suggested electives for our economics majors depending on the emphasis and the career goals. Students are required to complete MATH 205, so we recommend that they take this course as soon as possible. This may require that they fulfill some Math prerequisites prior to this course
Freshman year - Semester 1:
-
ECON 201 - Principles of Microeconomics
-
ENGLISH 101
-
Math 205 (or prerequisite 107)
-
2 other general education requirements
-
Camp 100
Freshman year - Semester 2:
-
ECON 202 - Principles of Macroeconomics
-
ENGLISH 102
- Math 205 or Math 206 (2) other general education requirements
Sophomore year
Semester 1: *We highly recommend students take ECON 301 as early as possible in the program
-
ECON 301 - intermediate Microeconomics
-
Economics elective
Semester 2:
-
ECON 302 - Intermediate Macroeconomics
-
Economics elective
-
Economics elective
Junior year:
Semester 1:
-
Economics elective
-
Economics elective
Semester 2:
-
Economics elective
-
Economics elective
Senior year
Semester 1: We suggest that students sign up for senior seminar after they have completed most of the economics electives.
-
ECON 475 Senior Seminar
-
Economics elective
-
Economics elective
Semester 2:
-
ECON 475 Senior Seminar
Tracks for Economics Majors:
Theory/Quantitative -
Math 206, Calculus II, Math 301 Calculus III and two or more of the following:
402 Econometrics I
411 Price Theory
373 Game Theory
380 Industrial Organization
401 Mathematical Economics
(other math classes which could substitute are Probability, Higher Math, and Linear Algebra)
Law and Public Policy
372 Law and Economics
374 Economics of Politics
and choose from the following:
380 Industrial Organization
331 Labor Economics
341 Public Finance
342 State and Local Public Finance
350 History of Economic Thought
370 Economics of Health
375 Capitalism and Economic Freedom
Business Economics
360 Business Economics
380 Industrial Organization
402 Econometrics I
and two or more of the following:
312 Urban Economics
431 International Economics
331 Labor Economics
341 Public Finance
342 State and Local Public Finance
375 Capitalism and Economic Freedom
International Economics
431 International Economics
381 Emerging Market Economies
371 The Chinese Economy
For more advise on graduate school look at the links below
PhD/Masters in Economics here, here, and here.
Law School, LSAT, and Economics majors
Job outcomes for Economics majors
