2023-24 Edition

Quantitative Economics, B.A.

The Department strongly urges students to consider the major in Quantitative Economics, which best prepares them for careers in business and finance, for law school, for M.B.A. programs, and for graduate studies in the social sciences.

The Honors Program in Economics is open to high-achieving students in all Economics majors.

NOTE: Students may complete only one of the three Economics majors.

Freshmen: Preference will be given to those who rank among the highest using the selection criteria as stated in the Undergraduate Admissions section of this Catalogue.

Transfer Student Applicants: Transfer applicants with the highest grades overall who satisfactorily complete course prerequisites will be given preference for admission. All applicants must complete one course in microeconomics, one course in macroeconomics, and two semesters/two quarters of approved first-year calculus. Applicants interested in the major of Quantitative Economics must also complete one quarter/one semester of approved linear algebra. 

Change of Major: Information about change-of-major requirements, procedures, and policies is available in the School of Social Sciences Undergraduate Student Affairs Office and at the UCI Change of Major Criteria website.

Departmental Requirements for the Major in Quantitative Economics

The Department strongly urges students to consider the major in Quantitative Economics, which best prepares them for careers in business and finance, for law school, for M.B.A. programs, and for graduate studies in the social sciences. University and School requirements must be met and must include 19 courses as specified below.

A. Lower-division:
ECON 20A- 20B Basic Economics I
and Basic Economics II
MATH 2A- 2B Single-Variable Calculus I
and Single-Variable Calculus II
MATH 3A Introduction to Linear Algebra
B. Upper-division:
ECON 105A- 105B- 105C Intermediate Quantitative Economics I
and Intermediate Quantitative Economics II
and Intermediate Quantitative Economics III
ECON 123A- 123B Econometrics I
and Econometrics II
C. Select one of the following series:
Introduction to Probability and Statistics I
and Introduction to Probability and Statistics II
and Introduction to Probability and Statistics III
Probability I
and Probability II
and Stochastic Processes
D. Complete five additional four-unit upper-division Economics electives. One course must satisfy the upper-division writing requirement. Two courses must be selected from the list below.
Economics of Asymmetric Information
Game Theory I
Game Theory II
Data Analysis Writing
Econometrics III
Computational Macroeconomics
Machine Learning for Economists
Special Topics in Quantitative Methods
The Economics of Risk and Uncertainty
Mathematics of Finance
E. A maximum of three four-unit courses selected from ECON 190–199 may be counted toward the major.

Undergraduates in any of the three Economics majors may complete the Honors Program in Economics. Entry into the program requires a 3.4 GPA or better in upper-division Economics courses and an overall GPA of 3.2 or better. Undergraduates hoping to enter the program must apply no later than the spring quarter of their junior year. Students in the Honors Program must complete an honors thesis and the two-quarter Economics Honors Colloquium (ECON H190A-ECON 190BW; satisfies the upper-division writing requirement).

Freshman
Fall Winter Spring
ECON 20AECON 20BIntro. Soc. Sci. course
MATH 2AMATH 2BGeneral Education
Lower-Division Writing Lower-Division Writing MATH 3A
 General Education 
Sophomore
Fall Winter Spring
ECON 105AECON 105BECON 105C
STATS 120ASTATS 120BSTATS 120C
SOC SCI 3AIntro. Soc. Sci. courseGeneral Education
General EducationGeneral EducationGeneral Education
Junior
Fall Winter Spring
ECON 123AECON 123BU-D Econ. course
U-D Econ. courseGeneral EducationU-D Econ. course
U-D Econ. courseU-D Econ. courseElectives
General EducationElectivesElectives
Senior
Fall Winter Spring
U-D Econ. courseU-D Econ. courseU-D Econ. course
ElectivesElectivesElectives
ElectivesElectivesElectives
ElectivesElectivesElectives