Professors: Richard Adelstein, John P. Bonin (Chair), Richard S. Grossman, Joyce Jacobsen, Peter Kilby, Michael C. Lovell, Richard A. Miller, Basil J. Moore, Gary W. Yohe

Associate Professors: Wendy L. Rayack, Gilbert Skillman

Assistant Professors: Michael S. Hanson, Alberto Isgut, Tanya Solie Rosenblat

Departmental Advising Expert (2001-2002): John Bonin

The Department of Economics offers a broad range of courses designed to introduce students to economic theory and methods, their history and their applications, and to provide students with opportunities for economic scholarship of their own. Our courses fall into four general categories:

1. Introductory Courses. We offer two one-semester introductory courses. The first, ECON 101 (Introduction to Economics), surveys topics in both micro- and macroeconomics without the use of calculus and is intended primarily for students who do not plan to major in economics but want a general introduction to economic analysis and institutions. It also serves as a prerequisite for some, but not all, of the 200-level electives in the department. The second, ECON 110 (Introduction to Economic Theory), is intended to prepare students for the major in economics and for a broader range of electives offered by the department. It too covers topics in both micro- and macroeconomics, but assumes a basic background in calculus and gradually introduces mathematical ideas that are essential to the further study of economics. MATH 117 and MATH 118 (or MATH 121 and 122) are prerequisites for ECON 110, though MATH 118 or MATH 122 may be taken concurrently with ECON 110 with permission of the instructor.

First-year students contemplating an economics major should therefore begin to prepare themselves in mathematics as soon as possible, and must wait until the spring to take ECON 110 if they cannot gain advanced placement for MATH 117 in the fall. Students may take both ECON 101 and ECON 110, and for some prospective majors this will be an attractive option. But all students must complete ECON 110 with a grade of C+ or higher to enter the economics major. A student who completes ECON 101 and wishes to become an economics major (or take upper tier electives for which ECON 110 is a prerequisite) will be required to pass ECON 110 despite having already taken ECON 101. From time to time, the department also offers first-year initiative courses or other courses without prerequisites in economics.

2. Core Courses. As their name implies, our three core courses ECON 200 (Quantitative Methods in Economics), ECON 201 (Microeconomic Analysis) and ECON 202 (Macroeconomic Analysis) are intended to equip majors with the basic theoretical tools and analytical techniques that economists commonly use to study social life. ECON 200 is a prerequisite for both ECON 201 and ECON 202, and students must have completed MATH 118 or its equivalent before taking ECON 200. ECON 200 is thus the "gateway" to the economics major, and prospective majors are encouraged to take it as early as possible, and preferably immediately after ECON 110.

We also offer two "tiers" of elective courses, distinguished by the level of their prerequisites:

3. Lower Tier Electives. These courses, numbered 210 to 299, have either ECON 101 or ECON 110 as a prerequisite. They are intended to introduce both majors and nonmajors to the application of economic theory and methods to a wide variety of topics and to the connections between economics and related fields such as psychology, law, government, history and area studies.

4. Upper Tier Electives. These courses, numbered 300 to 399, have either two or three of the core courses as prerequisites. They are intended to help students develop deeper competence in economic theory and methodology and enable them to do original research in economics. These courses span the same range of subjects as the lower tier electives, but at a higher level of economic analysis. Some courses (for example, ECON 216 and 316, Urban Economics, and ECON 260 and 360, African Economic Problems) may be taught in alternating years as lower and upper tier electives, and students may not earn credit for both such courses. Many upper tier elective courses include a substantial research paper or project, which students may choose to expand into a senior honors thesis.

In addition to these courses, students may pursue independent research at the lower (ECON 291/ 292) or the upper level (ECON 401/ 402).

Major Program. There are two prerequisites for the major program. The first is MATH 118 or MATH 122 or their equivalent. The second is ECON 110, with a grade of C+ or better, even if a student has already passed ECON 101. A student whose grade in ECON 110 is lower than C+ may become a provisional major, and attempt to meet this threshold by averaging in the grades received in ECON 200, 201 and 202 as these are taken by the student. When the student's average grade in ECON 110 and the core courses he or she has taken rises to C+, the student will be formally admitted to the major. Because the University requires every student to be admitted to a major program by the end of the sophomore year, students who have not been formally admitted to the economics major by that time are required to select an alternate major until the grade threshold has been met.

All students majoring in economics must complete a minimum of eight courses numbered 200 or above, including the three core courses, ECON 200, ECON 201 and ECON 202. The teaching apprenticeship tutorials, ECON 491/492 may not be counted toward this minimum. ECON 200, 201 and 202 must be taken at Wesleyan, and no more than two elective courses taken elsewhere may be counted toward the economics major. Courses taken elsewhere will be designated as lower or upper tier electives at the discretion of the department chair. Students who wish to transfer courses taken elsewhere for credit toward the major should plan their schedules accordingly. Majors may earn no more than two credits for teaching apprenticeships, irrespective of the department in which they are earned, and must comply with University regulations regarding the maximum number of courses that may be taken in any department.

Students in the Classes of 2002 and 2003 may select their five non-core electives from the lower or upper tier as they wish, but for students in the Classes of 2004 and beyond, three of these five non-core electives must be numbered 300 or higher. These three electives may be taken in any combination of upper tier electives (ECON 310 to 399), upper tier independent study tutorials (ECON 401 and 402), and thesis tutorials (ECON 409 and 410). It is thus important that majors complete the core courses as quickly as possible, and only in unusual circumstances after the end of the junior year. Completing the core opens the full range of the department's offerings to students, and ensures that they are prepared to pursue honors research in the senior year if they wish.

Satisfactory standing in the economics major is conditional on competent performance in ECON 201 and ECON 202. A grade of C+ or better in each of these courses suffices to demonstrate competent performance. Students who have initially fallen short of that level of achievement may petition to be restored to satisfactory standing in the major by reexamination, normally by taking the final examination in the appropriate course in a subsequent semester. No student who fails to demonstrate competence in ECON 201 and ECON 202 in this way will be considered to have completed the requirements of the major.

Advanced Placement. No advanced placement will be given for ECON 110 under any circumstances. Subject to the University's regulations, students who have received a score of four or five on either the Microeconomics or Macroeconomics Advanced Placement Exam or a score of five to seven on the International Baccalaureate Exam will be eligible for a prerequisite override for courses requiring ECON 101. They will receive one University credit toward graduation, but not toward the major, for their advanced placement exam upon completion on ECON 201 (in the case of the microeconomics exam) or ECON 202 (in the case of the macroeconomics exam) with a grade of C+ or better. A student may receive only one advanced placement credit in economics.

Departmental Honors. Honors and High Honors in Economics are awarded on the basis of a completed honors thesis representing two semesters of research and writing. The department offers two distinct routes to such a project. The first is to begin thesis research with an advisor in the fall of the senior year by taking ECON 409 and continuing with ECON 410 in the spring. The second is to expand a research paper completed in a 300- or 400-level elective course taken before the spring of the senior year by taking ECON 410 with a suitable faculty advisor in the spring of the senior year. These alternatives are described in detail in a memorandum circulated to majors in the spring of their junior year. The department's honors program also includes a workshop near the end of the fall semester at which students present their work to date and discuss their project with members of the department. Completed honors theses must be submitted to the Honors College by the deadline specified by the Honors College. Theses are evaluated by the department based on the recommendations of a committee of readers including the thesis advisor and two other members of the faculty, and are judged on the same standards whether the student has taken both ECON 409 and ECON 410 or taken only ECON 410. A candidate for honors may be awarded no honors, Honors, or High Honors in Economics.