Can I declare the major/minor if any of the prerequisites are in progress?
No, all grades must be posted in SIS for each prerequisite before a student may declare the major or minor.
What is included in the ECON gpa?
Any graded ECON courses completed at UVA is included in the ECON gpa, which is an average of these grades. Calculus and Statistics grades are not included.
Can I transfer any of the prerequisites: CALC II, Statistics, or Intermediate Microeconomics?
Not after starting at UVA (post-matriculation), see Transfer Credits for specific rules and restrictions.
Can transfer or test credit for STAT 1120 fulfill the Statistics prerequisite for the major or minor?
How do I get approval for transfer credit?
Contact the Undergraduate Program Coordinator. See Transfer Credits for further detail.
Is there an application/deadline for declaring the major? Is it competitive?
There is no application for the major, however, the major is considered competitive due to its strict prerequisites. Students may declare as soon as they’ve met all prerequisites, but must do so within the declaration deadlines of the College of Arts and Sciences. Students declaring in or after their 6th term should be aware of the Econometrics completion deadline.
Is there a cap to how many majors are accepted?
No, the Economics major is one of the largest programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Does having the major declared give me priority to ECON courses?
No, none of our courses are prioritized for declared majors, unless the instructor independently places restrictions on their course.
Can I double major with Economics if I am in a different school at UVA?
Yes. And do I need to complete the College area requirements as well? No.
How do I get more involved with the department?
Contact the Economics Club!
Does the Economics program have research opportunities for undergraduates?
Unfortunately, there are few research opportunities through the Economics department for undergraduates. Typically our faculty recruit research assistants independently or through UNLEASH.
UNLEASH is an initiative to match undergraduate students with research opportunities sponsored by U.Va. faculty. To learn more about UNLEASH, and how you can use it to find a research project, visit http://uvaurn.org/unleash.
Students can also contact the Undergraduate Research Network: http://uvaurn.org/, which is an established student organization. They may have suggestions on other ways undergraduates can gain research experience.
Within the Economics program some students can gain research experience through the Distinguished Majors program or the Public Policy concentration. There are also a couple other small seminar courses that we do offer that are a little more researched focused, such as ECON 4620, ECON 4230, or ECON 4440.
We encourage students to get to know our faculty, especially once they complete Econometrics and start taking our upper level electives (such as a class that focuses on empirical study). Students can demonstrate their skills through the classroom and better position themselves for possible future opportunities.
We also allow students to do Supervised Research, ECON 4995 (minimum ECON gpa of 3.3 is required to do this). However, a student does need to seek a faculty member who is willing to supervise them.
Is the Economics major a BA (Bachelor of Arts) or BS (Bachelor of Science)?
The Economics major at UVA is a B.A., we do not offer a B.S. in Economics.