Overview
Mohamad Alloush
Erol Balkan
Eliane Barker
Emily Conover, chair
Cody Couture (one leave 2024-25)
Jeffrey Cross (on leave spring 2025)
Kara Dimitruk
Christophre Georges, associate chair
Paul Hagstrom (away fall 2023, NYC program)
Promise Kamanga
Ann Owen
Fiorella Pizzolon Niero
Jeffrey Pliskin
Hannah Ruebeck
Evelyn Skoy
Stephen Wu
Wei Zhan
Special Appointment
Stephen Owen
The goal of the Economics Department is to educate engaged citizens who understand the economic institutions they are part of and who are able to assess and develop opportunities for responsible participation and positive social change.
Students Will Learn to:
- Design a research plan to address an economic question
- Competently implement a research plan
- Communicate findings from the research plan
A concentration in economics consists of nine economics courses. The economics courses must include five core courses and four elective courses. The five core courses are ECON-100, ECON-166, ECON-266, ECON-275, and ECON-285. MATH-113 or its equivalent is one of the prerequisites for ECON-275. At least one elective must be at the 400-level and at least one must be at the 500-level and taken as a senior. Economics concentrators may not take any full-credit course offered by the Economics Department at the 200-level or higher on a CR/NC basis. Economics concentrators can apply, at most, one 100-level course taken on a CR/NC basis towards the concentration.
The Senior Thesis will be completed in the 500-level course. All 500-level courses except ECON-560 will have a corresponding 400-level elective as a co-requisite or prerequisite. Most economics concentrators will need to take both the 500-level course and the corresponding 400-level co-requisite in the same semester in their senior year.
Concentrators must complete the five core courses by the end of the junior year so that they may apply these analytical tools in their 400 level and 500 level courses. Additionally, ECON-266, ECON-275 and ECON-285 must be taken at Hamilton. For purposes of fulfilling the requirements for the concentration, the Department does not classify any transferred courses at the 400 level or above. See the departmental website for additional information on procedures for transferring credit for economic courses taken off-campus. Additionally, Independent Study ECON-499 is not classified as a 400 level elective. Exemption from these requirements is granted only in unusual cases. ECON-166 is not open to students who have taken MATH-152 or MATH-252 or MATH-253 or MATH-352. Students intending to fulfill a major requirement by taking ECON-166 and who have completed one of these courses prior to taking ECON-166 must take one additional economics course and one additional course outside the Department, selected in consultation with the department chair. ECON-220, ECON-230 and ECON-235 do not count toward the concentration.
Students planning graduate work in economics should consult a member of the department for specific advice. They should take selections from 400-level courses, ECON-560 and obtain as strong a background in mathematics as possible. The sequence in calculus and linear algebra is required by virtually all good Ph.D. programs in economics; additional work in mathematics, such as courses in differential equations and real analysis, is strongly recommended. Students who plan to study for an M.B.A. should complete at least one semester of calculus and should consult “Information for Prospective M.B.A. Students,” a document available at the Career Center Web site, for additional recommendations.
Departmental honors will be awarded to concentrators who demonstrate superior performance in economics, as evaluated by members of the department. To be eligible for honors, a student must complete ECON-560, have a grade point average of at least 3.3 for all courses that satisfy the concentration and write an outstanding Senior Thesis.
A minor in economics consists of four core courses and one additional economics course, with the exception of ECON-220, ECON-230 or ECON-235, which do not count toward the minor. The four core courses are ECON-100, ECON-166, ECON-275, ECON-285. ECON-275 and ECON-285 must be taken at Hamilton. If the student’s concentration is in public policy, the 100-level Economics courses cannot count in both the student’s concentration and the minor. These courses will be used to satisfy concentration requirements, and they will be replaced by alternative courses in the minor requirements. These alternative courses will be chosen by the chair of the Economics Department in consultation with the director of the Public Policy Program. Economics minors may not take any full-credit course offered by the Economics Department at the 200-level or higher on a CR/NC basis. Economics minors can apply, at most, one 100-level course taken on a CR/NC basis towards the minor.
Seniors may not preregister for ECON-100 but may add this course at the beginning of each semester, space permitting.