Students in the Minor in Economics will be introduced to the methods and tools of economic analysis used to study how people behave and interact in the context of scarcity. Some topics students can explore through economics include crime, health care, unemployment, poverty, discrimination, financial markets, environmental quality, international trade, and many others.

In addition to traditional applications of economic models, students in the ECON minor may have the opportunity to learn data analysis skills using Python, R, Stata, or other programming tools and languages.

Minor Requirements (19 credits)

  • ECON200: Principles of Microeconomics
  • ECON201: Principles of Macroeconomics
  • One Intermediate Theory course (ECON305, ECON306, ECON325, or ECON326)
  • One 300 or 400-level ECON approved course of choice OR second Intermediate Theory course
  • Two 400-level ECON approved courses of choice

Prerequisites

  • Prerequisites include calculus (MATH120 or MATH140) and statistics (ECON230, BMGT230, ECON321, STAT401, or equivalent).
  • You are not required to have the prerequisite courses completed prior to declaring the minor but they are required prerequisites for the minor coursework.
  • ECON courses are sequential in nature and all prerequisites are strictly enforced.
  • It is the student's responsibility to ensure familiarity with the prerequisites for a specific course which are included in both the undergraduate catalog and the schedule of classes. Students will be administratively dropped from ECON courses if the prerequisites have not been completed.

Minor Policies

  • The ECON minor is open to all majors except: Economics; Agricultural and Resource Economics; Philosophy, Politics, and Economics; Social Data Science-Economics Track; and Environmental Science and Policy - Environmental Economics.
  • Courses must be completed with a grade of C- or higher to count towards the minor.
  • A minimum C (2.00) cumulative grade point average across all courses used to satisfy the minor is also required.
  • A maximum of six credits (or two courses) may be used to satisfy the requirements of both a major and a minor.
  • Students with more than two courses of potential overlap must substitute non‐overlapping 300 or 400 level ECON courses from the approved list to reduce the overlap to no more than two courses.
  • Courses completed for one minor may not be used to satisfy the requirements of another minor.
  • No more than six credits (or two courses) can be taken at an institution other than the University of Maryland. This includes courses completed through AP, IB, or other prior learning credit; and courses taken as part of a study abroad program.

Declaring the ECON Minor

Send an email to econadvising [at] umd [dot] edu indicating your interest in declaring the ECON minor. Be sure that the email is sent from your UMD email account and includes both your full name and UID.

You will then receive an invitation to join the ECON Minor Declaration page in ELMS (within 2-3 business days, though it may take longer during peak advising times). Once enrolled in ELMS, follow the instructions to complete the online modules and the minor application.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year.

There are no GPA or credit requirements to declare. Refer to the Minor Policies section above for majors that are ineligible for the ECON minor.

 

If you have any questions, visit the ECON Advising Resources page for advisor contact information and details on how to schedule an appointment.