Economics

Academic Programs

Economics Major

Economics Minor

STAR Act (SB 1440) Planner

Students who have earned a verified Associate Degree for Transfer (AA-T or AS-T) from a California Community College, and who have been admitted to a CSUN major that is deemed similar, will be able to complete the baccalaureate degree within 60 additional semester units.

Student Transfer Achievement Reform (STAR) Act Degree Planning Guides (Catalog)

Focus Your Studies & Graduate School Preparation

Economics is the social science that underlies all of the business disciplines. Students learn how to approach problems and how to evaluate the consequences implicit in business and public policy decisions.

SUGGESTED ECONOMICS ELECTIVES TO FOCUS YOUR COURSE OF STUDY
Financial Economics
International Economics
NOTE: Course descriptions and prerequisites are in the CSUN Catalog.

If you are interested in:Then select electives from among these courses:

Macroeconomics/Financial Markets
Advice: Professor Patra

ECON 311, 403, 409, 421

Public Policy
Advice: Professor Lowenberg

ECON 350, 355, 360, 365, 405, 411, 421, 433

Business/Economics
Advice: Professor Lee

ECON 308 and ECON 311, and then select from ECON 355, 405, 410, 411, 421

International Economics
Advice: Professor Marcal

ECON 370, 403, 405

Law School
Advice: Professor Whitman

ECON 360, 365, 405, 410, 411, 421

Graduate School in Economics
Advice: Professors Beltran Silva,
Histen and Yukhov 

MATH 140, 150A, 150B, 250, 262, 320, 340, 351; ECON 409, 412

For information on graduate school, see Graduate School in Economics.

Accredited Online Economics Degrees

Economics: A Good Choice of Major for Future CEOs

Economics: A Good Choice of Major for Future CEOs

Patricia M. Flynn
Bentley University - Department of Economics

Michael A. Quinn
Bentley University - Department of Economics

November 28, 2006

Abstract:

It is often suggested that Economics is a good major for individuals interested in becoming business leaders. Despite this widespread assertion, little research has ben conducted on this topic. Using the Standard and Poor (S&P) 500 companies, this paper examines the validity of such a claim. We find evidence that Economics is a good choice of major for those aspiring to become a CEO. Economics ranked third with 9% of CEOs of the S&P 500 companies in 2004 being undergraduate majors, behind Business Administration and Engineering majors, each of which is accounted for 20% of the CEOs. When adjusting for size of the pool of graduates, those with undergraduate degrees in Economics are shown to have had a greater likelihood of becoming an S&P 500 CEO than any other major. That is, the share of graduates who were Economics majors who were CEOs in 2004 was greater than that for any other major, including Business Administration and Engineering. The findings also show that a higher percentage of CEOs who were Economics majors subsequntly completed a graduate degree- often an MBA- than did their counterparts with Business Administration and Engineering degrees. The paper demonstrates that while women now comprise over half of all bachelors and masters degrees awarded, they remain a minority in terms of undergraduate degrees awarded in Economics and in MBA degrees conferred. Economics programs may try to appeal to more women students as a stepping stone to becoming a CEO, especially as women continue to account for less than 2 percent of the S&P 500 CEOs.