Economics Undergraduate Programs

Queen's has long had one of Canada's leading departments of economics for both undergraduate and graduate education. The undergraduate programs we offer are structured and balanced examinations of modern economics. The introductory courses (ECON 110 or ECON 111* and 112*) provide a comprehensive survey of many aspects of the subject, with an emphasis on analytical principles. They serve both as a foundation for further study and as a general introduction for those who want only a taste of what the subject is about. Those who pursue a concentration in economics are guided through courses in more advanced economic theory, statistical and econometric techniques of data analysis, the historical background of today's economies, and the application of contemporary economic analysis to public finance, to money, banking and finance, to international trade and finance, to natural resources and the environment, to economic growth and development, to labour markets and income distribution, to business cycles, and to the economic systems of other countries. The Queen's Department of Economics offers four degree programs with economics concentrations:

• a BA Honours degree with major concentration in economics;
• a BA Honours degree with major concentration in applied economics;
• a BA Honours degree with medial concentrations in economics and another discipline in the Faculty of Arts and Science;
• a three-year BA degree with minor concentration in economics.

A frequently asked question is: How do the two major concentrations offered by the Department of Economics differ? Compared with the traditional major concentration in economics, the major concentration in applied economics places somewhat less emphasis on advanced courses in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, and offers more scope for students to include in their concentration upper-year courses in finance and accounting offered by the Queen's School of Business. The economics and applied economics concentrations thus provide equally rigorous but slightly different programs of instruction in modern economic analysis. For more information on the four undergraduate programs, please visit our Degree Programs site: Economics Degrees, or email the Undergraduate Office Administration: UG Office.