SDSU Student Services Building

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The requirements depend on your catalog year.  The Economics major is currently an impacted major.  You will need a 2.4 GPA (cumulative only) and a C or better in Economics 101 and 102, Accountancy 201, Mathematics 120, 124 or 150, Economics 201, or Statistics 119 or 250 for statistics and Management Information Systems courses to declare the major. Earlier versions of the SDSU General Catalog can be found at the catalog archives page

The Economics Major prepares students for a wide array of careers in business, government, education, law, journalism, non-profits, and elsewhere. Economics majors find employment in financial services, marketing, retail, transportation, management, policy analysis, teaching, and other fields. It also serves as an excellent major for law school or other professional training.

The best place to start your job search is at SDSU Career Services. They offer career counseling, host career fairs and workshops, maintain thousands of job listings, and schedule on-campus interviews. Do not wait until the end of your senior year to visit them!

Economics 496 and 596 are courses with rotating topics (for example, in recent years we have offered the Economics of European Union or Law and Economics). You may use this in place of one of your upper-division electives but will need an advisor to sign a waiver. Which distributional category it goes into will depend on the topic of the specific course, so you may want to check with an advisor before enrolling.
Economics 330, 338, 365, 422, 463, 464, 466, 490 and 592 are all courses that deal more with the tools of macroeconomics.  Economics 320 (Intermediate Macro Theory) is a good basis for all these courses and taking it early on will make life easier in the other courses.
Economics 360, 380, 382, 401, 403, 406, 452, 453, 454, 489 and 561 are all courses in applied microeconomics.  Economics 321 (Intermediate Micro Theory) is a good basis for all of these courses and taking it early on will make life easier in the other courses.
Many employers are looking for good quantitative and computer skills.  Economics 301 is already required for all majors.  Econometrics (Economics 441) is the next level up and is excellent training for any job that will involve quantitative analysis of any kind.  Employers also like to see work experience and an internship is a good way to get that experience while also taking care of some credits.
Many courses taken at California junior colleges will automatically articulate to courses at SDSU (that is, the University automatically makes the substitution).  If you think a course you took somewhere else is the same as a course that you are required to take here, and it does not show up on your graduation evaluation as a substitute, talk to an Economics advisor.  Whether the substitution is made will depend on the specifics of the course and you will need an advisor to fill out a Request for Adjustment of Academic Requirements form.
The best thing you can do is prevent this from happening at all.  Plan ahead and take required courses (Econ 301, 320, 321) as early as possible.  Because these specific courses are required, it is more difficult to find substitutes for them and leaving them until your last semester can be risky.  Taking these courses early also has the advantage of preparing you for other upper-division courses.  Also, consider the distribution requirements as you plan your schedule.  Many upper-division courses are only taught once a year.  If there are specific courses you want to take, talk to the professors that teach them, or an advisor, to find out when they will be offered. 
Your degree audit will tell you specifically which requirements (both for the major and the University) you have or have not met.  To access your degree audit online, go to SDSU's my.SDSU for more information.
No, AS LONG AS you still have a 2.0 G.P.A. overall.  Any grade above an F is considered 'passing' for the purposes of fulfilling requirements; however, you must have a 2.0 in the major and a 2.0 overall in order to graduate.


Undergraduate Advising

Deborah Gordon, Ed.D.
Email: [email protected]

See advising assistance page for more information.

Important Links

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