Undergraduate Program

College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Economics Undergraduate Admission Requirements

A minimum of 26 credit hours; 23 credit hours must be in courses acceptable toward graduation.

A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 on all work.

Transfer students must have a 2.0 transfer GPA.
Continuing UNM students must have a 2.00 institutional GPA.

Demonstrated academic achievement by satisfying the following:

Completion of the University Writing and Speaking Core.
Completion of the University Mathematics Core.
Completion of the University Foreign Language Core.

Completion of Department of Economics admission coursework with grades of "C" or better:

ECON 105.
ECON 106.

Major Study Requirements

A major in Economics consists of a minimum of 33 credit hours in Economics courses. Eighteen credits must be taken at UNM to satisfy the residency requirement. See the checklist below for specific course requirements.

The Major and Minor requirements are but a small percentage of the overall degree requirements to be satisfied. It is the responsibility of the student to satisfy all University degree requirements. It is highly recommended that students meet with their advisors two to three times a year (once per semester) to ensure they are on track to complete all requirements (department, college, and University) and for the purpose of applying to graduate.

A major in economics requires a common core consisting of five courses:

ECON 105 Introductory Macroeconomics
ECON 106 Introductory Microeconomics
ECON 300 Intermediate Microeconomics I*
ECON 303 Intermediate Macroeconomics I*
ECON 309 Introductory Statistics and Econometrics*

*See course descriptions for prerequisite and corequisite requirements

Additionally, students must complete 18 credit hours of electives in economics courses with a maximum of 3 credit hours from 200-level courses and a minimum of 3 credit hours from the following courses: 403, 407, 408, 409, 410, 421, 423, 424, 427, 429, 442, 445, 466, and 478.

Potential Minors for Economics Majors

An interdisciplinary approach is useful in the study of economics. Economics majors are encouraged to seek a minor in disciplines such as Business, Computer Science, History, Geography, International Studies, Math, Political Science, Sociology or Sustainability. Students should discuss the selection of a minor with the economics Undergraduate Director. Students with specialized interests may design a distributed minor and petition the Department Chairperson for approval.

Suggested areas of focus

Pre-graduate: For students considering a Ph.D., a course in Linear Algebra or Matrices is strongly recommended (e.g. MATH 314 or MATH 321). Students should also consult with the economics Undergraduate Director for additional recommendations. Suggested electives include:

ECON 315, 320, 342, 343, 350, 403, 407, 409, 424, 429, 442 and 466.

Pre-law: Suggested electives include:

ECON 320, 330, 332, 333, 335, 342, 350 and 445.

The Economics Department offers a variety of elective course topics such as the following:

International and Latin American Economics: ECON 321, 421, 423, 424 and 429.
Natural Resources and Environmental Economics: ECON 342, 343 and 442.
Labor and Human Resources: ECON 320, 335, 410 and 427.
Public Finance: ECON 350 and 445.
Economic Modeling, Forecasting and Policy Analysis: ECON 407, 408, 409 and 445.

Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program

The Department of Economics and the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies offer a Shared-Credit Degrees Program. The Program enables completion of a B.A. in Economics with one of three minors from Geography and Environmental Studies, and an M.S. in Geography in five years of study.

Program Requirements

I. General Requirements

The Shared-Credit Degrees Program is available UNM Economics students with junior-year academic standing.
Students must maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA in their Economics major in order to be accepted into the Shared-Credit Degrees Program.
Admission to the Program is conditional until the B.A. degree is awarded.
All other requirements for admission to UNM graduate studies must be met in order to qualify for and pursue the M.S. in Geography under the Shared-Credit Degrees Program.
In order to participate in the Program, students must follow the usual graduate admission process to the M.S. in Geography prior to the beginning of the fourth-year of undergraduate study.

II. Undergraduate Requirements in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies

Students must complete one of the three minors in Geography and Environmental Studies:
- Minor in Law, Environment, and Geography
  - Required (10 credit hours): GEOG 101, 102, 105L, 362.
  - Upper-Level Electives (At least 6 credit hours. Credits beyond the required 6 credit hours may be applied to general electives.): GEOG 461, 462, 463, 464, or 466.
  - General Electives (6 credit hours): GEOG 195, 360, 360, 365.
- Minor in Geographic Information Science
  - Required (8 credit hours): GEOG 281L, 381L.
  - Upper-Level Electives (12 credit hours): 480L, 481L, 482L, 483L, 484L, 485L, 486L, 487L, 488L.
- Minor in General Geography
  - Required (7 credit hours): GEOG 101, 102, and 105L.
  - Upper-Level Electives (At least 6 credit hours. Credits beyond the required 6 credit hours may be applied to general electives.): 461, 462, 463, 464, 466, 480L, 482L, 483L, 484L, 485L, 486L, 487L, 488L.
  - General Electives: 9 additional credits of Geography coursework.
After the admission to the Shared-Credit Degrees Program, GEOG 501 and 502 must be taken during the student’s fourth undergraduate year for undergraduate credit. In addition, another approved graduate course must be taken during the fourth undergraduate year. These credits are transcripted as undergraduate until the undergraduate degree is awarded, and full admission to the graduate portion of the program is granted.

III. Undergraduate Requirements in the Department of Economics

Completion of all B.A. Economics requirements, including all General Education, lower- and upper-division, and Economics major course work.
Completion of at least 12 credit hours of 300- and 400-level coursework that is complimentary to the M.S. in Geography, including:
- At least two of the following 400-level courses:
  - ECON 407
  - ECON 408 or ECON 409
  - ECON 442
  - ECON 466
- The remaining 6 credit hours may be completed from the following 300-level courses:
  - ECON 341
  - ECON 342
  - ECON 343

IV. Graduate Requirements in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies

The beginning of undergraduate Year Four marks the beginning of the time-to-degree for the graduate portion of the program.
After the student’s undergraduate degree is awarded and full admission to the graduate portion of the program is granted, GEOG 501 and 502, the three credit hours of approved graduate coursework from the fourth undergraduate year, and another three credits hours of 400-level electives from the minor are then transferred to the graduate-level transcript towards the M.S. To be transferred to the graduate-level transcript, a 400-level elective must be available for graduate credit or offered as a 400/500 level course.
During Year Five students in program must take 6 credit hours of thesis and 12 additional credit hours.
Additional credit hours must be from the student’s choice of the M.S. concentration in Environmental Studies or the M.S. concentration in Geographic Information.
All other requirements of the M.S. in Geography apply.

V. General Terms

The undergraduate degree in economics is awarded when all requirements are completed, and is not contingent upon completion of the full Shared-Credit Degrees Program.
Standard Office of Graduate Studies Leave of Absence policy and re-admission procedure apply to students in Shared-Credit Degrees Programs. However, upon re-admission the student is no longer eligible for the Shared-Credit Degrees Program, and courses taken while an undergraduate are not applicable to a graduate degree.
Admission to the graduate portion of the program is provisional until the undergraduate degree is awarded.
Students who choose not to complete the graduate portion of the program are still awarded the undergraduate degree when all undergraduate requirements are met. Completed graduate-level courses may be applied to either an undergraduate major or minor, as per existing policy.
Where the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies chooses not to advance a student to the graduate portion of the program, completed graduate-level courses may be applied to either an undergraduate major or minor, as per existing policy.

Minor Study Requirements

Economics is an excellent minor for students pursuing majors such as Management, Political Science, Journalism, History, Geography and Biology and for those building a pre-professional bachelor’s degree such as pre-law, pre-M.B.A. or pre-M.P.A.

A minor in economics requires a total of 18 credit hours consisting of:

9 credit hours in required courses: ECON 105, 106 and either 300 or 303.
9 credit hours from elective courses with a maximum of 3 credit hours at the 200-level.

Departmental Honors

The departmental honors program is open to outstanding economics majors, typically in their junior year. After consulting with a faculty member willing to supervise their research, students must enroll in the department’s honors courses, Reading for Honors (ECON 497 and/or 498) and Senior Honors Thesis (ECON 499). These courses are in addition to those required for the major. University requirements for graduating with departmental honors include an overall grade point average of 3.20 and at least 7 credit hours in departmental honors courses. Interested students should contact the economics Undergraduate Director for further information.

Keys and Symbols Reference