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Economics Undergraduate Programs

What Economists Do?

Economists study how people and societies decide what goods and services to produce, how to allocate resources for production, and how to divide the income created in the process. Economics courses deal with national economic health and the behavior of industries and individual firms, as well as the decisions made by individuals in households and families.

Economics majors who plan to enter the job market immediately after college find the degree useful in obtaining jobs many fields of business and other areas where training in systematic thinking and empirical analysis are prized. A degree in economics is excellent preparation for law school, MBA programs, teaching or graduate work in economics or other social sciences.

 “The economics department at Boise State has cultivated a faculty that, above all else, values intellectual curiosity,” David Shin, economics graduate class of ’21 and winner of the Schwarzman Scholar class of ’23.

Boise State offers two paths to an undergraduate degree in economics: 1) a bachelor of arts (B.A.), which includes economics and elective courses in social sciences; 2) a bachelor of business administration (B.B.A.), which includes economics and standard business courses.

Degrees Offered by the Department of Economics are:

  • Bachelor of Arts in Economics
  • Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Quantitative Emphasis
  • Bachelor of Business Administration in Business Economics
  • Bachelor of Science in Business and Economic Analytics
  • Minor in Economics
  • Minor in Sustainability
  • Teaching Endorsement in Economics

Which economics degree is right for me?

Bachelor of Arts in Economics will prepare you for many career paths including government and many industries. And, if you plan to go to graduate school in economics, add the quantitative emphasis.

If you want to pursue employment opportunities in business fields, a degree in business economics or a bachelor of business administration (B.B.A.) with a major in economics may be right for you.

Love the thought of working with big data? Our newest degree program, Bachelor of Science in Business and Economic Analytics, will provide you with the skill set necessary to turn big data into actionable information that supports strategic business decisions.

Not majoring in economics? Consider an economics minor. A minor in economics will enhance many business and social science majors because you will gain a big-picture perspective on business and the economy. The critical thinking and analytical skills that you will learn are useful in every job.

The sustainability minor is a 22 credit interdisciplinary minor that focuses on courses at the confluence of environmental science, social science and business. The sustainability minor will prepare you to help organizations change the ways in which they design policies, processes, products. services and allocate resources.