Economics BA

The Department encourages students to complete the core courses before undertaking the upper division courses, and if possible by the end of the sophomore year. Beginning Fall 24, students must earn a grade of C or better in courses completed for the Economics core requirements. 

1. Econ 1 (5 units). This is the only Econ core course that may be double-counted. 
2. Econ 102A (5 units): it is recommended that students satisfy this basic statistics requirement before proceeding with the rest of the program. Prerequisite: Math 20 or equivalent. Please note: results from the Math Department placement diagnostic exam cannot serve as a substitute for completion of the math prerequisite.** 
3. Econ 50 OR 50Q (5 units): basic price theory. Prerequisite: Econ 1 and Math 20 (or equivalent).
4. Econ 51 (5 units): intermediate micro. Prerequisites: Econ 50. 
5. Econ 52 (5 units): intermediate macro. Prerequisites: Econ 50. 
6. Econ 102B (5 units): econometrics. Prerequisites: Economics 102A.

The material in Econ 102B is used in a number of field courses. Students are advised to take Econ 102B early in their program.

**Students interested in receiving transfer credit or AP score waivers for Math prerequisites should submit the Econ Math Requirements Waiver Petition. 

A full list of field courses for the ECON BA, BS, and Minor Programs can be found here. 

* Students may only count units from one of the following towards their major as the courses are too similar in content: Econ 141, Econ 140, or Econ 135.

**Students may count toward the econ field course requirement Econ 160, Econ 167G, or 180. The others may count as electives.

***Students enrolled in the Econ BAH may take up to 10 units of 199D. The successful completion of an honors thesis and at least five units of credit in Econ 199D may replace the requirement for Economics 101 (WIM). The remaining units of ECON 199D may be used to meet the minimum field requirements for the major, as long as the number of units for the BAH is at least 85.

Choose from any Econ courses taken for a letter grade.  Up to 10 units of this requirement may be fulfilled by some combination of the following:

1.  Approved non-econ courses. See full list of approved non-economics electives for Econ Majors. 
2. Approved Transfer Credit. Suitable transfer credit must be approved in writing by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. (See Transfer Credit Policies for more information)
3. Approved BOSP/SINY/SIW Courses.
4. Approved Units of ECON 139D (Directed Reading)

Please note:

• Students may only count Econ 135 or 140 toward major requirements because they are very similar.
• Students may only count Econ 143 or 148 toward major requirements because they are very similar.
• Students may count only Econ 160, 167G, or 180 toward field requirements, the other courses may be counted toward elective requirements.
• Advanced undergraduate majors with strong quantitative preparation may enroll in graduate (200-level) courses with the permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies and the course instructor.
• The department does not give credit for internships. Thus Econ 139D: Directed Reading, cannot be used to obtain credit for internships.

Beginning with the graduating class of 2025, all Stanford Students will be required to complete a Capstone Project as part of their major. The Economics Capstone is made up of two requirements: (1) An ePortfolio completed with the student's advisor during their junior year and (2) completion of either the (A) ECON 101 course or (B) an Economics Honors Thesis during their senior year. Both components are intended to provide students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have gained in their course of study and to strengthen the relationships between students and mentors. 

Successful completion of either ECON 101 or the Economics Honors Program will also count for the Economics Writing in the Major requirement. 

More details about each component can be found on the Economics Capstone page. 

• At least 55 of the 80 units required for the major must be taken at Stanford in California. 
• No courses receiving Department of Economics credit under the preceding requirements may be taken CR/NC.
• Math 20 (or equivalent) is a prerequisite for an Economics BA degree. It may be taken for credit to meet the Econ 50 prerequisite.
• Students scoring a 5 on both the advanced placement (AP) microeconomics and macroeconomics tests or a score of 7 on International Baccalaureate (IB) higher level economics test may petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies to have the ECON 1 course requirement waived.  Students do not receive units credit for placing out of ECON 1. 
• A grade point average (GPA) of C= (2.0) or better must be received for all units applied toward the Major. 
• To use transfer credit in partial satisfaction of the requirements, the student must obtain written consent from the department's Director of Undergraduate Study, who will establish the amount of credit to be granted toward the department requirements. 
• The maximum time limit for satisfactory completion of a course is one year from the date a grade of incomplete ("I") is given. Instructors may require that a course is completed anytime up to the one-year time limit. Students are responsible for seeing that all grades of incomplete are cleared within the time limit. The university's rule is that a grade of incomplete that is not cleared within the time limit becomes a grade of NP. 
• Students must complete their declaration of the major no later than the last day of the quarter, one quarter before anticipated degree conferral.