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Economists study how societies allocate limited resources to achieve competing ends. Students learn to use empirical and deductive methods to analyze incentives, constraints, organizational forms, and market forces to understand patterns of production, exchange, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics is among the most applied, quantitative, and scientific of the social sciences, yet the most theoretical of all the business subjects. Economists use mathematics, statistics, philosophy, law, psychology, and history to address issues ranging from inflation, unemployment, and interest rates to crime, health care, and the environment.
Why
Study Economics at Iowa?
With a strong commitment to quality education and a steady output of important research, Iowa's economics department is considered one of the country’s best. U.S. News & World Report ranked Iowa’s economics graduate program 15th in the nation.
Three undergraduate degrees are offered by the Department of Economics. The BA and BS degrees are in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, while a BBA degree in economics is offered by the Tippie College of Business. The programs give you a variety of ways to tailor your degree to your interests.
The department maintains a research institute and frequently sponsors conferences and hosts lecture series. Offerings include the Iowa Alumni Workshop and the Tow Conference on Computational Economics. Events provide unique learning opportunities outside the regular classroom. Recent guest lecturers have included economics experts from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and from Duke, Stanford, New York, Boston, and Harvard Universities.
The department also emphasizes the importance of active, ongoing research. The Institute for Economic Research at Iowa, created in July 1975, facilitates cohesive and continuing economic research, and provides interaction with (and economic research services to) government and industry. Each quarter, the institute produces the Iowa Economic Forecast, containing quantitative forecasts of economic conditions and tax revenues for the state using the latest advances in econometrics.
Faculty
The economics faculty is actively involved in research and professional organizations. Professor Raymond Riezman, for example, is director of the Midwest International Economics Group, founded in 1981 to foster and encourage research in international trade. Faculty members serve on editorial boards for such respected journals as the Journal of Applied Econometrics, Journal of the American Statistical Association, Journal of Forecasting, and the Review of Economic Dynamics. Current faculty have published more than 200 articles in major journals; they are well supported by external granting agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
Course
Work
The BA is considered an “all-purpose” degree, designed to achieve a balance among economic theory, mathematical tools, and field applications. Graduates pursue advanced degrees or employment in government and industry.
The BS, with a more analytical emphasis, prepares students for graduate work in economics, public policy, or related business and technical fields.
The BBA has an economic foundations emphasis. Economics serves as a foundation for other business areas such as accounting, finance, marketing, business law, and management. It is excellent preparation for management or for working on a master’s degree in business administration. In addition to choosing a degree, you will also select one of three tracks, depending on your interests. The available tracks are:
- Business, intended for students who plan to take positions in the private sector
- Policy, intended for students who seek a law school degree, a graduate degree in less quantitative areas, or decision-making positions in the public or private sectors
- Analytical, intended for students who seek a graduate degree in more quantitative areas, or technical/analytical positions in the public or private sectors
All three tracks involve a set of theoretical foundation courses, a set of supporting mathematics and statistics courses, and a set of applied courses. In planning any degree program in economics, be aware that the order in which courses are taken is important because some are prerequisites for others. Work with your academic advisor to plan your program.
BA in Economics
As a first-year economics student, you’ll take an introductory economics course—either Principles of Microeconomics or Principles of Macroeconomics. Other early courses include a calculus course (most likely Calculus and Matrix Algebra for Business), as well as Statistics for Business, Microeconomic Theory, and Macroeconomics.
Approximately 32 semester hours (s.h.) are required for the BA degree.
BS in Economics
As a first-year economics student, you’ll take an introductory economics course—either Principles of Microeconomics or Principles of Macroeconomics. Other early courses include a calculus course (Calculus I or II, depending on your background), a statistics course (most likely Probability and Statistics), Microeconomic Theory, and Macroeconomics. For more details, request the Handbook for Economics Majors, available from the department, which offers help in planning a degree.
Approximately 33 s.h. are required for the BS degree.
BBA in Economics
The requirements for this program include all the basic requirements for the Tippie College of Business. For details, call 800-553-4692 and ask for the business packet or visit the Department of Economics web site.
Minor
To earn a minor in economics, students complete 15 s.h., with 12 of those in upper-level courses.
Student
Activities
There are dozens of business-related student organizations at Iowa, many of which appeal to economics majors. Students may join chapters of the American Student Investment Club, Business Student Ambassadors, Economics Forum, Financial Management Association, International Business Student Association, Leadership Council, and Women in Business.
Careers
Graduates have found employment in banking, business consulting, market research, investment advising, tax analysis, commodity analysis, securities sales, consumer analysis, employee relations, international development, budget analysis, transportation planning, utilities, foreign trade, law, and teaching.
Scholarships
Consult multiple sources for scholarship information, including the Office of Admissions, the Office of Student Financial Aid, and departmental web sites.
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