Furman University

The Department of Economics offers majors in economics and mathematics-economics (in cooperation with the Math Department). We also participate in two interdisciplinary concentrations: Women's and Gender Studies and Environmental Studies.

Our economics curriculum seeks to foster students' intellectual development in four areas: great competence in the fundamentals of economic theory; the development of quantitative and communication skills for economic analysis and presentation; familiarity with economic processes, policies, and institutions; and acquaintance with critical perspectives on both economic theory and institutions.

The course requirements for the economics major are as follows:

ECN-111: Introduction to Economics

ECN-225: Statistics

ACC-111: Principles of Financial Accounting

ECN-331: Empirical Methods in Economics

ECN-345: Intermediate Macroeconomics

ECN-346: Intermediate Microeconomics

Three additional courses economics numbered 200 or higher, excluding the internship course, ECN-503.

ECN-475: Senior Seminar in Economics

MTH-141 or 150: Calculus I

Most students who major in economics or mathematics-economics begin by taking Introduction to Economics (ECN-111). This course introduces basic microeconomic and macroeconomic principles and their applications, and it helps students begin to develop the "economic way of thinking" about "real world" problems. Majors also take a calculus (MTH-141 or 150) in their freshman or sophmore year.

The second economics course that most of our majors take is an economics elective course numbered 200 or higher, which gives students additional exposure to economic reasoning and helps them discover whether economics is a good fit for them, given their interest and talents. Students whose interest continues beyond the first elective course typically take statistics (ECN-225) next. This prepares the student to enter the "core" of the major. Empirical Methods in Economics (ECN-331), Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis (ECN-345) and Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis (ECN-346). Together, these three courses constitute the analytical "backbone"of the economics major. Majors finish with the capstone course, Senior Seminar (ECN-475), which is typically taken in the spring of the senior year and has as pre-requisites Empirical Methods in Economics (ECN-331), Intermediate Macroeconomic Analysis (ECN-345) and Intermediate Microeconomic Analysis (ECN-346).

Principles of Financial Accounting (ACC-111) must be taken as well. The timing of this course depends on the students' interests. A student who is interested in taking Finance or Investments Management in the Business and Accounting Department, for example, should take ACC-111 sometime in the sophomore or junior years, since accounting is a pre-requisite for Finance, and Finance is a pre-requisite for Investments Management. Students who are more interested in the policy applications of economics may wait until their senior year to take accounting.

In addition to the core, economics majors complete two additional economics electives courses (for a total of three) numbered 200 or higher (excluding the internship course, ECN-503). Course numbers and titles for our economics electives appear below:

224 Law and Economics

233 Economics of Gender

234 Urban Economics (4)

235 Population, Economy, and Society (4)

236 Economics of the Environment (4)

238 Public Finance (4)

241 Money and Banking (4)

242 Health Economics (4)

243 Economic Growth and Development (4)

247 History of Economic Thought (4)

248 Government and Business (4)

249 Asian Economics (4)

250 Labor Economics (4)

251 Economics of China (4)

252 International Trade Theory and Policy (4)

356 Managerial Economics (4)

357 Quantitative Methods for Business and Economics (4)

To graduate with a major in Economics, students must have at least a 2.0 grade-point average for all economics requirements.

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Choosing Economics Electives

Students should consider carefully which economics electives seem most interesting or most relevant for their future plans. A student interested in international business, foreign service, or international law, for example, might wish to take the economics electives that have an international flavor: Economic Growth and Development (ECN-243), Asian Economics (ECN-249), or International Trade (ECN-252).

A student interested in domestic policy issues might wish to take Economics of Gender (ECN-233), Urban Economics (ECN-234), Population, Economy, and Society (ECN-235), Public Finance (ECN-238), Government and Business (ECN-248), or Labor Economics (ECN-250).

A student interested in business might wish to take Urban Economics (ECN-234), Money and Banking (ECN-241), Government and Business (ECN-248), Labor Economics (ECN-250), and Managerial Economics (ECN-356).

A typical student's course plan might look something like this:

Economics Major	Fall	Spring
Freshman	Introduction to Economics (ECN-111)	ECN Elective
Sophomore	Calculus I (MTH-141 or 150) ECN Elective	Statistics (ECN-225)
Junior	Empirical Methods in Economics (ECN-331) Intermediate Macro (ECN-345)	Intermediate Micro (ECN-346)
Senior	Financial Accounting (ACC-111) ECN Elective	Senior Seminar (ECN-475)

The statistics requirement for mathematics-economomics majors is satisfied by Probability (MTH-340) and Mathematical Statistics (MTH-341). Note that ECN-225 is NOT a requirement for the mathematics-economics major, but student who wish to take it as an addition free elective for graduation may do so.

Mathematics-Economics majors are not required to take accounting (ACC-111) or additional economics electives, but must instead take Analytic Geometry and Calculus II (MTH-151), Vectors and Matrices (MTH-160), Vector Calculus (MTH-250), and one elective from Differential Equations (MTH-225), Discrete Mathematics (MTH-260), Mathematical Models and Applications (MTH-335), and Real Analysis (MTH-450). A course in operations research is currently being discussed, and may be added to the list of accepted math electives for the Mathematics-Economics major.

To graduate with a major in Mathematics-Economics, students must have at least a 2.0 grade-point average for all math courses and a 2.0 grade-point average for all economics courses taken (excluding ECN-100 (10)) and mathematics courses enrolled (excluding MTH-110 (16), 241 (30), 301 (32), and 302 (33) and the retired MTH-31 (55).

A Mathematics-Economics course schedule might look something like the following:

Mathematics-Economics Major	Fall	Spring
Freshman	Calculus I (MTH-141 or 150)	Calculus II (MTH-151) Intro to Econ (ECN-111)
Sophomore	ECN Elective Matrices (MTH-160)	Intermed. Micro (ECN-346) Vector Calculus (MTH-250)
Junior	Probability (MTH-340) Intermed. Macro (ECN-345)	Math Statistics (MTH-341) Empirical Methods in Econ (ECN-331)
Senior	Differential Equations (MTH-255)	Senior Seminar (ECN-475)

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Declaring a Major

If you have questions about the economics major or mathematics-economics major, contact any faculty member in the Department of Economics. To declare a major in economics, contact Ken Peterson in the Department of Economics. To declare a major in mathematics-economics, contact Mark Woodard, Chair of the Mathematics Department. It is advisable for mathematics-economics students to request an advisor in both the math and economics departments.