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Minoring in Economics

These two transcript-recognized minors allow students to master important and useful concepts, models, and analytical skills in economics. 

All of the upper-division ECO courses for the minor must be taken in residence at The University of Texas at Austin. All courses must be taken on the letter-grade basis.

Prerequisites for economics courses are strictly enforced for all students.

 

Economics Minor

Acquire skills in economics that have a calculus foundation and that utilize microeconomic theory.

Required Courses:
ECO 304K
ECO 304L
ECO 420K*
Two upper-division ECO courses

Due to the prerequisites, students should expect the minor to take 4-5 semesters to complete.

*The following can count in place of ECO 420K: ECO 420S, ECO 421K (no longer offered), and FIN 321K (restricted to business majors). Please note that the prerequisites for ECO 420K include additional courses not listed above

View Economics Minor Flier
Minor in Economics

Applied Economics Minor

Survey topics in economics for an in-depth introduction to how economists reason about various policy issues and economic trends and events.

Required Courses:
ECO 304K
ECO 304L
Three upper-division ECO courses

Due to the prerequisites, students should expect the minor to take 3-4 semesters to complete.

View Applied Economics Minor Flier
Minor in Applied Economics

Additional Information

Each minor requires 15 semester hours of ECO coursework. All of the upper-division ECO courses must be taken in residence at UT Austin. All courses must be taken for a letter grade.

Students cannot earn both the Economics minor and the Applied Economics minor. Economics majors cannot minor in Economics or Applied Economics.

At least nine of the hours required for the minor must include coursework not used to satisfy the requirements of the student’s major. However, courses in the minor may fulfill other degree requirements such as general education requirements or required elective hours.

Students may apply for the Economics minor or the Applied Economics minor with their major advisor.

Both minors are currently not restricted and applications are auto-approved. Once approved, the student will need to ask their major advisor to add the minor to their student profile in order for the minor to be officially declared.  

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College of Liberal Arts
  • Prerequisites

    Prerequisites for economics courses are strictly enforced for all students. 

    Please note that the prerequisites for ECO 420K/S include additional courses not listed above.

    Business majors may use STA 301 and STA 235 to satisfy statistics prerequisite, and M408Q to satisfy calculus prerequisite, for ECO 420K.

  • Minor in Economics Timeline

    Due to the prerequisites, students should expect the Economics minor to take 4-5 semesters to complete, as outlined below:

    Semester 1: ECO 304K Intro to Microeconomics and M 408C/K/N Calculus I

    Semester 2: ECO 304L Intro to Macroeconomics and M 408D/L/S Calculus II

    Semester 3: Statistics Prerequisite for taking ECO 420K (take one of following: ECO 329, BME 335, CHE 253K, EE 351K, ME 335, M358K, M378K)

    Semester 4: ECO 420K/S Microeconomic Theory

    Semester 3, 4 or 5: Upper-Division ECO Elective, Upper-Division ECO Elective

    ECO 329 can count as an Upper Division ECO Elective. Most but not all Upper Division ECO Electives require ECO 420K or ECO 420S as a prerequisite.

  • Minor in Applied Economics Timeline

    Due to the prerequisites, students should expect the Applied Economics minor to take 3-5 semesters to complete, as outlined below:

    Semester 1: ECO 304K Intro to Microeconomics

    Semester 2: ECO 304L Intro to Macroeconomics

    Semester 3, 4, and 5: Upper-Division ECO Elective, Upper-Division ECO Elective, Upper-Division ECO Elective

    Students cannot take more than 3 ECO courses per semester. Topic courses such as ECO 330T can be taken multiple times if the topic varies.

  • Access to ECO Courses

    The following ECO courses are open to all students who meet the stated prerequisites:

    • ECO 304K Intro Microeconomics
    • ECO 304L Intro Macroeconomics
    • ECO 329 Economic Statistics
    • ECO Electives from List A
    • ECO Electives form List B
    • ECO Electives from List C

     

    To register for these courses, all prerequisites must be met. Registration is subject to seat availability.

     

    The following ECO courses are reserved for economics majors and economics/applied economics minors (minors must be officially attached to student's degree profile):

    • ECO 420K/S Microeconomic Theory
    • ECO 320L Macroeconomic Theory
    • ECO 441K Econometrics
    • ECO courses that fulfill the core writing component

     

    To register for these courses, the Economics or Applied Economics minor MUST be declared and all prerequisites must be met. Registration is subject to seat availability.

     

    ECO 101S is reserved for declared ECO majors (no exceptions).

    FIN 321K is reserved for McCombs business majors only (no exceptions).

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If you still have questions about minoring in Economics, contact the Economics Advising Office at ecoadvisors@austin.utexas.edu