Department of Economics

The Department of Economics is located in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics.

Economics Major (B.A.)

Program objectives can be found in the Business Economics major in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics section.

A. University General Education Program (41 hours)

See Graduation from the University for the University General Education Program requirements.

B. College and Degree (B.A.) Requirements (12-16 hours)

The College and Bachelor of Arts requirements are in addition to the University General Education Program requirements.

C. The Major (30 hours)

Completion of 30 semester hours, including ECON 2010, 2020, 3310, 3320, and 18 additional upper division semester hours in economics courses as approved by the department advisor.

D. Electives

Electives may be chosen to bring the total number of hours to 120.

Economics Minor

To receive a minor in Economics, a student is required to take 18 credit hours, (six courses) in economics. Six of those hours (two courses) must be ECON 2010 and ECON 2020. Of the remaining 12 hours (four courses), all of them must be upper-division courses in economics, i.e., 3000-level or 4000-level courses. One of those courses must be either Microeconomic Theory (ECON 3310) or Macroeconomic Theory (ECON 3320). The other three courses (nine hours) are upper-division elective courses.

E. Honors Program

To be considered eligible for the Honors Degree Program in Economics, the student must:

 1. Maintain a minimum grade of B in honors sections of both ECON 2010 (Introduction to Macroeconomics) and ECON 2020 (Introduction to Microeconomics).
2. Obtain the recommendation of a faculty member in the Department of Economics to the Department Honors Committee.

 Once accepted to the Honors Degree Program in Economics, the student must

 1. Maintain an average GPA of 3.25 in all economics courses to continue in the program.
2. Have a minimum GPA of 3.5 in all economics courses at graduation.
3. Enroll in ECON 3310 (Microeconomic Theory) and ECON 3320 (Macroeconomic Theory) with an honors contract. Those contracts will be discussed with and approved by the faculty member teaching each course.
4. Write an honors thesis. This begins with finding a faculty advisor for the thesis project, discussing a thesis topic, then writing the thesis. The honors thesis typically takes one semester to complete, although work on it can begin early. When working on the honors thesis, the student will enroll in a section of ECON 4996 (Honors Thesis in Economics) for up to one semester. The completed thesis will be graded by the faculty advisor.

Upon successfully completing all these requirements, the student will be recognized at the commencement ceremony by having their degree conferred "With Honors in Economics." Moreover the student's diploma and the record at the University of Memphis will reflect this accomplishment.

Typical 4-Year Economics Sequence

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

Total Hours Required for Graduation: 120

*Must satisfy University General Education Program Requirement