Mar 28, 2024  
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Economics



www.smu.edu/economics

Professor Santanu Roy, Department Chair

Professors: Nathan Balke, Raveendra Batra, Rajat Deb, Klaus Desmet, Tom Fomby, Kathy Hayes, Daniel Millimet, Santanu Roy, Tim Salmon
Associate Professors: Bo Chen, James Lake, Thomas Osang, Omer Ozak, Saltuk Ozerturk
Assistant Professors: Hao Dong, Rocio Madera, Nathaniel Pattison, Michael Sposi
Senior Lecturers: Helen Reynolds, Elizabeth Wheaton
Lecturers: J. H. Cullum Clark, Marcela Giraldo

General Information

Students majoring in economics may choose among four degree plans. Under each degree plan, students are expected to take ECO 1311  and ECO 1312 , MATH 1309  or MATH 1337 , and STAT 2331  during the first or second year. Once the major is declared, due progress must be made in terms of course enrollment. Finally, under each degree plan, students must have a GPA of at least 2.000 in economics courses attempted and must receive at least a grade of C- in all classes counting toward the major. If requirements change, the catalog in force at the time the major is declared prevails.

Notes for All Economics Majors

  1. ECO 3301  and ECO 3302  require prior completion of MATH 1309  or MATH 1337 .
  2. All economics courses at the 4000 level or above require prior completion of STAT 2331  or STAT 4340 .
  3. Additional recommended or required preparation for courses is indicated within the course descriptions.
  4. Questions concerning specific courses and the undergraduate program in general should be directed to the economics undergraduate adviser and the director of undergraduate studies.
  5. Students majoring in economics are urged to consult a departmental adviser periodically to review their degree plans and progress.
  6. Subfields: The B.S. degree plans require the student to satisfy at least one subfield in economics when choosing advanced economic courses. Approved subfields are

Econometrics (2 out of 5): ECO 5350 , ECO 5375 ,  ECO 6352, ECO 6380, ECO 6391
Economic Growth and Development (2 out of 2): ECO 5360 ECO 5362 
Economics of Industrial Organization (2 out of 2):ECO 4371 , ECO 4382 
International Economics (2 out of 2): ECO 4357 , ECO 4358 
Labor Economics (2 out of 2): ECO 4351 , ECO 4361 
Economics of Decision-Making (2 out of 4): ECO 5340 , ECO 5341 , ECO 5342 , ECO 5353 
Monetary Economics (2 out of 2): ECO 4385 , ECO 4386 
Public Economics (2 out of 6): ECO 4345 , ECO 4355  , ECO 4365 , ECO 5320 , ECO 5365 , ECO 5366  

Students are encouraged to discuss these fields with faculty, especially while completing ECO 3301  and ECO 3302 .

Admission of SMU Students to an Economics Major

Regular admission to any Economics major requires:

  1. Completion of 30 credit hours
  2. Minimum all-college cumulative GPA of 2.700.
  3. A minimum GPA of 2.700 in the Economics subset:

DISC 1312 
ECO 1311 
ECO 1312 
MATH 1309  or MATH 1337 
STAT 2331  or STAT 4340  

Notes

  1. For declaration purposes, the subset GPA and all-college cumulative GPA are recorded at the end of the term the student completes the Economics subset AND has at least 30 cumulative credit hours.
  2. Once a student enters SMU, all remaining subset courses must be completed through enrollment at SMU.
  3. With the exception of courses completed under the Grade Replacement Repeat Policy (under Grades for Repeated Courses in the Grade Policies  section of the catalog), the subset GPA is calculated using the first graded attempt of these courses, even if the course was later repeated.
  4. All subset courses must be taken for a grade, with the exception of those courses in which the student has test credit.
  5. Students must earn a C- or better in all subset courses prior to declaring an Economics major. Current University grading policy, as summarized under Academic Forgiveness in the General Policies  section of this catalog, permits forgiveness of academic work taken 10 or more years prior to the term of declaration. Academic work forgiven under this policy will not be included in the subset or all-college cumulative GPA.
  6. Examination by CLEP, AP or IB will be ignored, and the subset will be based on coursework for which a grade has been given. For example, if the student received AP credit for MATH 1309 /MATH 1337 , their subset would use only STAT 2331 , ECO 1311 , ECO 1312  and DISC 1312 .
  7. For admission to the economics B.S. with management information applications concentration, students must complete the subset requirements of the EMIS department, which include EMIS 1360  (students are limited to a maximum of two enrollments in this course), MATH 1337  and MATH 1338 , DISC 1312 /DISC 2305  and DISC 1313 /DISC 2306  or equivalent, and CS 1341  and CS 1342 , with a 3.000 average subset GPA and a C or better in each subset course. MATH 1309  will not be accepted. For the Management Science subset GPA, only the first graded attempt is included in the subset GPA except for courses repeated using the First-Year Repeat Policy or the Grade Replacement Repeat Policy. Once a student enters SMU, all remaining subset courses must be completed through enrollment at SMU.

Departmental Distinction

The student majoring in economics with sufficiently high standing may graduate with departmental distinction by pursuing a rigorous independent research project under the direction of a faculty sponsor. The research will occur while enrolled in ECO 4398 . The project will be presented to the faculty sponsor and director of undergraduate studies at the end of the term. The course prerequisites for ECO 4398  are: ECO 3301 , ECO 3302 , STAT 2331  or STAT 4340 , two 4000+ level economics courses, a minimum GPA of 3.700 in Economics classes, and a minimum overall GPA of 3.500.

Programs

    Major(s)Minor(s)

    Courses

      Economics