Economics
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Plan of Study

General Education Requirements

The Department offers two courses that meet the Abstract Reasoning component of the Analytical Reasoning Requirement, ECON 101 and 103; and one course that fulfills the Domestic component of the Perspectives on Diversity Requirement, ECON 345. The Department also offers an occasional Earlham Seminar.

The Major

Students concentrating in Economics take a minimum of 42 credits. All majors must take the following courses which total 28 credits:

  • ECON 101 Introduction to Macroeconomics: Macro and Globalization

  • ECON 103 Introduction to Microeconomics: Micro and Institutions

  • ECON 201 Survey of Economic Thought

  • ECON 204 Statistics for Economics

  • ECON 205 Mathematical Foundations for Economics

  • ECON 301 Intermediate Macroeconomics

  • ECON 303 Intermediate Microeconomics

  • ECON 486 Senior Capstone Experience I: Writing

  • ECON 488 Senior Capstone Experience II: Reading

In addition majors must take 14 upper-level (course numbers 300 or above) credits. The Department also will invite eligible students to expand their senior research paper for Honors, to be completed during the Spring Semester of the Senior year.

The following policies also apply to Economics majors:

  • Students may transfer in only 12 non-Earlham credits towards their major.

  • Students who have done MATH 180 (Calculus A) are exempted from ECON 205. However, they must obtain two other ECON credits to obtain a major (meaning they will need to complete 16 upper-level credits other than the core course credits). AP Calculus may not be substituted in lieu of ECON 205.

  • ECON 301 and 303 must be taken at Earlham — no non-Earlham courses may be substituted for them. In the event a student takes ECON 301 or ECON 303 in their Senior year and fails them, they may petition the Department to take an equivalent course in a non-Earlham institution. However, the transfer of these credits must fall within the 12-credit constraint stated above.

  • Economic majors must be in residence in the fall of their Senior year to do ECON 486. However, they may petition to do an off-campus program in the Spring Semester of their Senior year. Students who plan to do an off-campus program in the spring of their Senior year, or who plan to graduate in less than four years should take ECON 488 in the spring of their Junior year.

  • Completion of AP Exams or IB A levels in Economics do not substitute for our Introductory Courses.

  • Students may credit toward the major for courses taken on off-campus study programs if they are the kinds of courses we would count toward the major were they offered on campus. Because off-campus courses vary a lot in their demands and quality, we will need to examine the course syllabus after a student returns from an off-campus program to determine whether the course does or does count toward the Economics major.

The Minor

Students obtaining a Minor in Economics must take a minimum of 24 credits. The following courses which total 10 credits are required of all Economics minors:

  • ECON 101 Introduction to Macroeconomics: Macro and Globalization

  • ECON 103 Introduction to Microeconomics: Micro and Institutions

  • ECON 201 Survey of Economic Thought

In addition, minors must take 14 elective (course numbers 200 or higher) credits. A student may transfer up to 4 non-Earlham credits toward the Minor.