BA/BS in Economics

Economics at Barnard gives liberal arts undergraduates a demanding and wide-ranging education in both theory and empirical work. The curriculum builds a firm base in mainstream economic theory and statistical methods and applies them across the usual fields of the discipline. That training sits inside a broader view of economics that emphasizes philosophical, historical, and institutional perspectives linking the subject to the social sciences and humanities. Students compare competing methods and kinds of evidence for studying economic events, judging policy debates, and considering the social and political effects of economic ideas. The major has an Economics track, which supplies the theory and mathematical tools expected of entering graduate students, and a Political Economy track, which draws on the history of economic thought. A separate Economics and Mathematics major adds extensive mathematics.