Schedule and Courses

Our current schedule is available online. We offer our core courses every semester (and generally at least one class at night). Our elective courses are offered depending upon demand. You should consult with your advisor about course offerings for electives. You can find a complete list of economic courses on the Economic Discipline Courses page of the university bulletin.

We recommend that you follow a certain suggested course sequence. If you take the courses in that order you will not have to worry about prerequisite requirements. We strongly suggest that you take the core courses as early as possible. In particular the quantitative courses, which have limited space. You should wait till your senior year to take our senior seminar (ECON 690).

We also have suggestions for elective courses depending on your goals and area of concentration. See also our policy on electives outside the Department of Economics.

This is the suggested schedule for an economics major at SFSU. We understand that students may not be able to follow this schedule exactly and recommend that students talk to an advisor by their junior year. We also believe that students starting at SFSU should concentrate on completing their Segment I and II General Education and other University Requirements before committing to an Economics major.

First Semester

  • ECON 101 (Introduction to Microeconomic Analysis, [GE])

Second Semester

  • ECON 102 (Introduction to Macroeconomic Analysis, [GE], formerly 100)
  • Math requirement*: (select one option) DS 110, MATH 107 & MATH 108, MATH 110, or MATH 226. We strongly recommend MATH 226 Calculus I for students interested in pursuing a graduate degree in economics or related fields.

*Please see an advisor to discuss which math option is best for your academic and career goals.

Note: Now would be a good time to declare your major and see an advisor!

Third Semester

  • ECON 301 (Intermediate Microeconomic Theory)*
  • ECON 311 (Statistical Methods and Interpretation)

*We highly recommend students take ECON 301 as early as possible in the program

Fourth Semester

  • ECON 302 (Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory, formerly 300)
  • ECON 312 (Introduction to Econometrics)
  • Economics Elective
  • Economics Elective

Fifth Semester

  • ECON 690 (Senior Seminar: Economic Inquiry and Analysis, [GWAR])
  • Economics Elective
  • Economics Elective
  • Economics Elective
  • Economics Elective

Consider taking the following courses if you are interested in:

A career in financial and economic analysis

  • FIN 350 (Business Finance)
  • ECON 500 (Money and Banking)
  • ECON 501 (Money and Capital Markets)
  • ECON 520 (Industrial Organization)
  • ECON 601 (Applied Microeconomics)
  • ECON 731 (Econometric Theory)

Graduate school in economics

  • MATH 226, 227, 228, 245, 340 (Calculus, Linear Algebra/Differential Equations, and Math Stats.)
  • ECON 715 (Mathematical Economics)
  • ECON 731 (Econometric Theory)

International trade and development

  • ECON 620 (Economic Development, [GE])
  • ECON 400 (Economic and Social History of the United States)
  • ECON 635 (Economics of Globalization, [GE])

Money and Banking

  • FIN 350 (Business Finance)
  • ECON 500 (Money and Banking)
  • ECON 501 (Money and Capital Markets)
  • ECON 505 (Public Economics)

Urban Issues

  • ECON 535 (Urban Economics, [GE])
  • ECON 505 (Public Economics)
  • ECON 550 (Environmental Economics)

Labor Issues

  • ECON/HIST/LABR 474 (History of Labor in the United States)
  • ECON/LABR 510 (Labor Economics)
  • ECON/LABR 511 (Collective Bargaining)
  • ECON 512 (Economics of Poverty and Discrimination)
  • ECON 340 (Economics of Gender)
  • ECON 450 (Health Economics, [GE])

Law and Economics

  • ECON 515 (Economics of Crime and Justice)
  • ECON 516 (Law and Economics)
  • ECON 520 (Industrial Organization)

Selected courses from other disciplines can be used to count towards the economics major. Students can take up to two elective courses outside the Department of Economics. The courses must be either on the list of approved courses or pre-approved by an economics adviser.

Click here for the list of approved electives outside the Department of Economics.