Course Offerings

Economics Course Offerings

Economics course offerings will be found under the 4 letter code of ECON in the course listings.

100 – Economics of Social Issues (3)

This course surveys contemporary social issues, while focusing on economic aspects and using economic approaches.

201 – Principles of Macroeconomics (3)

One half of the two-semester introduction to economics and economic theory in the context of a general education course. Survey of economic activity in the economy as a whole, focusing on such issues as economic growth and business cycles, unemployment, and inflation.

202 – Principles of Microeconomics (3)

One half of the two-semester introduction to economics and economic theory in the context of a general education course. Economic analysis of households, firms, and markets.

300 – Introduction to Economic Analysis (3)

Prerequisites: Economics 201 and 202, and major or minor status. This first course in a three course sequence (including 361 and 462) on the development of research skills in economics, students will be introduced to the tools of economic analysis, including how to develop a good research question, how to do a literature search in economics, how to find and collect economic data, and how to integrate economic theory and empirical analysis, as wall as oral and written presentation skills.

301 – Mathematical Economics (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Use of mathematical methods in economic analysis. Topics will include equilibrium analysis, comparative statics, and optimizations.

302 – Managerial Economics (3)

Prerequisite: ECON 201B and ECON 202B. Application of economic analysis in formulating managerial decisions drawing upon the theoretical foundations of the concepts of demand, cost, production, profits, and competition, with special emphasis on case studies.

303 – Microeconomics (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Systematic study of the role of the price system in organizing economic activity and an evaluation of its effectiveness.

304 – Macroeconomics (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Analysis of the determinants of macroeconomic activity including national income, employment, and the price level. Investigation of the capabilities and limits of government stabilization and growth policies.

311 – Industrial Economics (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Case study analysis of different types of structural organization, behavior, and performance of industry.

312 – Government and Business (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. The rationale for and impact of government participation in the marketplace.

321 – Money and Banking (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Analysis of financial instruments, markets and intermediaries and monetary policy.

322 – Investment Analysis (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Introduction to portfolio theory and the evaluation of investment alternatives. Topics include the stock market and the valuation of securities.

331 – Environmental and Resource Economics (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. The application of economic methods to analysis of environmental and natural resource issues. Public policy issues will also be considered.

333 – Introduction to Game Theory (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Introduction to the theory of games as applied to the study of economics, business and international affairs. Topics include games of complete and incomplete information and non-cooperative games and cooperative games.

341 – Public Finance (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Economic analysis of the impact of government spending and taxation on the allocation of resources and distribution of income.

342- Law and Economics (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Economic analysis of legal rules and institutions.

351 – Poverty, Affluence, and Equality (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Economic analysis of the distributions of income and wealth, poverty, and discrimination.

352 – Labor Economics (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Economics of labor force participation, occupational choice, education and training, mobility, compensation systems, productivity and unemployment. Specific topics at discretion of instructor.

354 – Urban and Regional Economics (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. An economic analysis of contemporary urban topics including location theory and economic structure of cities, growth and development of central cities and ghettos, housing, transportation, poverty, crime, and fiscal issues.

361 – Introductory Econometrics (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201, 202 and 300.   ECON 361 is the second course of a three-course sequence (including 300 and 462) on the development of research skills in economics.  The course provides students with a more sophisticated understanding of the statistical methods used in economics and expects students to produce more sophisticated economic research.

374 – History of Economic Thought (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. A survey of economic analysis from antiquity to the 21st century. Focus on the 18th and 19th centuries.

375 – American Economic History (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. The study of factors contributing to the economic development of the United States.

382 – International Economics (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. An introduction to international trade, the balance of payments, exchange rate determination, and related issues of international economic policy.

384 – Economic Development (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. An introduction to theories of economic development. Focus on current problems of developing countries.

386 – International Finance (3)

Prerequisite: ECON 201 and 202. Survey of the major topics in contemporary international finance: exchange rate determination, international banking, currency speculation, and European Monetary Union.

405 – Contemporary Economic Issues (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201, 202, 303 and 304. Discussion of contemporary issues in economic theory and policy.

428 – Economics of Multinational Corporation (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202.  Introduction to topics on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Multinational Corporation (MNC). Topics include major determinants of FDI and various economic effects of FDI by the MNCs.

460 – Applied Economics Analysis (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 300 and ECON 302. Development of research skills and their application to markets, industries, and firms. Focus on independent research project. This course serves as a capstone to the study of applied economics at the University.

462 – Advanced Economic Analysis (3)

Prerequisite: ECON 201, 202, 361 and Senior Standing.  ECON 462 is the third course in a three-course sequence (along with 300 and 361) in the development of research skills in economics.  This course has the highest expectations with respect to mastery of statistical methods in economic research and the quality of research produced.  This course serves as a capstone to the study of economics at the University.

488 – Seminar in Economics (3)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Special topics of interest to faculty and students.

490 – Experiential Learning Courses (1-3)

This course is required for Economics and Applied Economics majors starting Fall 2020.

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202 and permission of the instructor. A faculty supervised experience designed to challenge students to go outside of the bounds of the typical classroom.

490 B Fed Challenge (FALL)
Fed Challenge is an annual speaking competition sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. A teams of students will research and present their recommendation for monetary policy. The presentations from teams from various universities around the state are judged by academic and Federal Reserve economists.

490 C How to Change the World (SPRING)
How to change the world is a social good incubator. It is designed for students who imagine their future selves as investigative journalists, public interest lawyers, teachers, politicians (at all levels of government), artists, activists, grassroots movement mobilizers, community organizers, religious leaders, thought leaders, civil servants, documentarians, social enterprise owners, and non-profit founders.

490 D Social Good Lab (FALL)
The social good lab is a hands-on, team-based experiential learning course. It is structured around the “Design Sprint” framework as pioneered by Google Ventures. Student teams design and build a prototype solution to a client’s specific problem. The lab culminates in student teams testing and receiving live feedback on their prototypes from customers. The course gives students the opportunity to apply design thinking to a real world problem.

490 E Independent Research (SPRING)
Students will expand and refine their research from a previous course (e.g. ECON 300 or ECON 361) for presentation at a research conference. Students will prepare proposals for conference presentations and for undergraduate research grants to attend professional conferences, for example the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Economic Scholars program, the Eastern Economics Association conference, and UMW Research and Creativity day. The course will focus on preparation of research presentations.

490 F Career Development (FALL/SPRING/SUMMER)
Students will investigate careers in economics, create a professional development plan, and learn career and job search skills. This course includes an internship or externship experience scheduled outside class times. Contact instructor for more information including options regarding internship/externship.

491 – Individual Study in Economics (1-6)

Prerequisites: ECON 201 and 202. Directed individual research on an approved topic in economics. Required for honors in economics.

499 – Internship (Credits variable)

Prerequisites: ECON201 and 202. Supervised off-campus experience, developed in consultation with the department.