Gain a deep understanding of the economy and examine the social, cross-cultural, and ethical dimensions of economic decision-making, majoring in economics or other combined majors.
Program Requirements
All Bachelor of Arts Majors in Economics or Combined Majors take a common sequence of courses after admission to the major to prepare them for advanced electives and their capstone research seminar:
- Intermediate Microeconomics (ECON 301)
- Intermediate Macroeconomics (ECON 302)
- Introduction to Empirical Econometrics (ECON 325)
- Methods of Empirical Research in Economics (ECON 326)
After completing these courses, students will be allowed to take their capstone course: Seminar in Applied Economics (ECON 490).
Students will also take a variety of 300 and 400 level courses in Economics and other fields, based on their interests. See further graduation requirements in the accordion tab below. You can also find information about the different sections of ECON 490 below, as well.
For complete details on the BA Major, and other options, see the UBC Calendar.
In addition to the application requirements for the economics program, and your Faculty requirements, you must take:
- ECON 301 (or 304) and 302 (or 305)
- ECON 326
- ECON 490
- 12 additional credits of economics at the 400-level
- at least 6 additional credits in ECON at the 300 or 400-level, bringing the total number of credits completed in Economics to 42, of which at least 30 credits are in 3XX and 400-level economics courses
If you are exempt from specific required courses (see substitutable courses) because you have received credit for a non-ECON approved substitute, you may have to take additional ECON credits so that they satisfy the total credit requirements listed above.
You should also note the prerequisites for senior courses and plan your program accordingly. Particular attention should be paid to the prerequisites for ECON 490: ECON 301, 302, 325 and 326 (or their equivalent) must be successfully completed before enrolling in ECON 490. ECON 490 is restricted to Economics Majors and Combined Majors in Economics, in their final academic session.
A signature of the Vancouver School of Economics experience is participation in a senior capstone research course. All students, regardless of their major or degree who graduate from the VSE, will participate in a research seminar. For BA students, this course is ECON 490: Seminar in Applied Economics.
You can find more information about this course, and current offerings on our ECON 490 Course Information page.