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Although some first-year and transfer students are admitted directly into the Economics major upon entering the university, students who wish to change their major to Economics must successfully complete three predictor courses: ECON 103 Introduction to Microeconomics, ECON 104 Introduction to Macroeconomics, and either MATH 127 Calculus for the Life and Social Sciences I or MATH 131 Calculus I or Econ 151 Introduction to Quantitative Economics before being admitted to the major. Students wishing to major in Economics should meet with an undergraduate adviser in Thompson 1032 or 1034.

Course requirements:
1. ECON 103, Introductory Microeconomics, ECON 104, Introductory Macroeconomics. These two courses can be taken in either order, or simultaneously.
2. One of the following: MATH 127 or MATH 131 or Econ 151.
3. One of the following: MATH 128 or MATH 132 or Econ 152.
4. One course in statistics chosen from the following list: RES-ECON 211, RES-ECON 212, STATISTC 240, STATISTC 501, STATISTC 515.
5. ECON 203 Intermediate Microeconomics, ECON 204 Intermediate Macroeconomics. The prerequisites for ECON 203 are ECON 103 and MATH 127; the prerequisites for ECON 204 are ECON 103, 104 and MATH 127. As the prerequisite for ECON 203 and 204, MATH 131 may be substituted for MATH 127.
6. The Junior Year Writing requirement is normally fulfilled by taking Econ 397W
7. Either of Options A or B.
Option A: Six upper level courses in Economics, numbered 300 or above, other than ECON 383. One course in Resource Economics chosen from a list of courses obtainable from the Undergraduate Office may be substituted for one of the six courses.
Option B: Four upper level courses in Economics, numbered 300 or above, other than ECON 383; and five courses comprising an approved collateral field. Those who wish to offer a self-designed collateral field (i.e., a field which is not a pre-approved minor or certificate program) should submit a proposal to the Undergraduate Program Director as early as is feasible.

Notes
1. No course required for the major may be taken Pass/Fail, except for MATH 131, MATH 132, and STATISTC 515; any of those courses may be taken Pass/Fail.
2. A minimum grade of C- must be earned in each course presented to fulfill the requirements of the Economics major, excluding the three initial predictor courses.  A cumulative average of 2.0 must be earned in courses applied to major requirements.
3. No more than one independent study course may be counted toward the requirement of four (six in Option A) upper-level courses. Students may choose any one of the following for that purpose: ECON 396, 496, 499Y, 499T or 596.
4. Students majoring in Economics must also satisfy the requirements of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
5. One course in Resource Economics chosen from a list available from an undergraduate Economics adviser in Thompson 1032 or 1034 and at the department website www.umass.edu/economics/ugreq.html may be used as one of the required upper-level Economics courses under Option A.

The Collateral Field Option
An acceptable collateral field must consist of at least five courses which taken together form study of a field or area in which economic principles are relevant or which encompasses material relevant to the study of economics. This requirement may be met in any one of the following ways:
1. completion of any major in addition to Economics.
2. completion of any minor in a university department or program.
3. completion of any certificate in a university department or program.
4. completion of a group of five courses chosen by the student and approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies in accordance with the following rules:
a) The proposal presented by the student must, in the judgment of the Director of Undergraduate Studies, satisfy the criterion of relevance to economics set forth in the requirement, and form a coherent set of courses. The student is responsible for presenting a convincing case for the proposed course of study.
b) No course in the Economics Department may be used to satisfy simultaneously the requirements of a collateral field and another requirement of the major. (This does not prohibit satisfying General Education requirements with courses taken for the collateral field or for any other requirement for the major.)

Note: Students who may do graduate work in economics at some later time are strongly urged to elect MATH 131-132 rather than MATH 127-128, to elect STATISTC 515 for the statistics course, and to take STATISTC 516 and MATH 233 as electives. They should also consult their adviser and/or the Director of Undergraduate Studies about the choice of courses.

Education Abroad
International Programs, tel. (413) 545-2710, provides information about study in other countries. Majors have studied at institutions in Australia, Denmark, England, Ethiopia, France, Ireland, Poland, South Africa, Spain and many other countries.