New Student Economics Information

Welcome to the Economics program at RIC! We’re thrilled that you’re choosing to major in Economics! You’re starting a rigorous and challenging major, one that will teach you to think and reason analytically and get you ready for a variety of different career options.

Foundational Information for Intended Economics Majors

Here we provide general information for new students planning to major in economics. For specific questions or for academic advising please contact your academic advisor.

Finding Your Academic Advisor

If you don’t know who your academic advisor is, please check your academic record on MyRIC. If you have not yet been assigned an academic advisor or you want to switch your major to economics, please contact Dr. Saatcioglu, the Economics and Finance Department Chair.

Locating Your Degree Requirements

Once you log into MyRIC, you can access your academic advisement report which lists all your degree requirements. You have General Education (GenEd) requirements (some are called milestones) and then also requirements for your Economics Major. 

General Education Requirements

Milestones and Requirements

The typical list of milestones and general education requirements are as follows:

• Introduction to RIC (RIC 100)
• First Year Seminar (FYS)
• First Year Writing (FYW)
• Connections (C) (GenEd)
• Advanced Quantitative/Scientific Reasoning (AQSR) (GenEd)
• Visual and Performing Arts (A) (GenEd)
• History (H) (GenEd)
• Literature (L) (GenEd)
• Mathematics (M) (GenEd)
• Natural Sciences (NS) (GenEd)
• Social and Behavioral Sciences (SB) (GenEd)
• Second language milestone (typically the 101/102 sequence of RIC language courses, see link for other ways to satisfy this requirement)

General Education provides baseline information on general education requirements and available courses.

First Courses to Take

The first courses to take in economics are ECON214 and ECON215. All other economics courses have one or both of these as prerequisites. Another course to take early on is MATH177. This course is a prerequisite for most upper level economics courses.

Whether you can take MATH177 directly, or if you need to build up to it by taking prior math courses, this will depend on your math placement. The Math Learning Center provides detailed information on math placement and the link to register for the math placement exam. With the exception of the math courses, all other cognates and most of the GenEd courses can be taken in any sequence. 

Economics Major Requirements

• Required courses: ECON214, ECON215, ECON314, ECON315, ECON449
• One course from: ECON331, ECON335, ECON337
• Three courses from: ECON421, ECON422, ECON431, ECON433, ECON435, ECON436, ECON437, ECON438, ECON490, ECON491 (if selected to the honors program in economics)
• ECON462 or ECON492 (if selected to the honors program in economics)
• Cognates: ACCT201, ENGL230, FIN301, MATH177, MATH248

All Economics Major Requirements

Adding a Minor Program

One additional option to consider is to add a minor. While you’re not required to have a minor, it is relatively easy for all business students to minor in another business area by taking just a few additional courses:

• Accounting Minor (6 additional courses)
• Finance Minor (4 additional courses)
• Health Care Administration Minor (7 additional courses)
• International Business Minor (3–4 additional courses)
• Management Minor (5 additional courses)
• Marketing Minor (6 additional courses)

Please contact Dr. Saatcioglu if you’d like to discuss these or other minoring options. Students can also decide to add a minor later on as they progress through their major.

Continual Academic Advisor Contact

This information is provided to help you plan your degree. As you progress beyond your first semester, please keep in contact with your assigned academic advisor who will guide you with specific advice based on your progress through the program. In fact, towards the end of each semester, when it’s time to register for classes, you will need to contact your academic advisor to go over your progress and discuss classes for the next semester. Your advisor will then remove your advising hold so that you can register for classes. In most cases, this is possible through an email exchange but can also be supplemented with a face-to-face (or Zoom) meeting.