• Faculty
• Field Description
• The Majors and Courses
• The Minors and Courses
• Courses
  • Courses in Economics (ECO)
  • Courses in Finance (FIN)
  • Courses in Insurance (INS)
• Department of Economics and Finance Web Site

Field Description

The Bert W. Wasserman Department of Economics and Finance offers courses that enable students to prepare for careers in all areas of finance and business economics.

Economics presents theories and tools for systematic analyses of economic forces that affect everyday life. It includes microeconomics, macro-economics, and international economics. Micro-economics analyzes the actions and interactions of individual consumers, business, and government. Macroeconomics studies national income, inflation, unemployment, economic growth, and government policies. International economics builds on micro- and macro-economics to study international trade, finance, markets, and institutions.

Finance includes the study of money and capital markets, investments, and corporate finance. In addition to these traditional areas, it includes the study of modern developments in derivatives; financial market structure, such as electronic-based trading techniques and markets; and international markets and corporate finance.

The Majors

• The BBA Major in Finance
• The BBA Major in Economics
• The BA Major in Economics

The BBA Major in Finance

The finance major prepares students for professional positions in financial institutions, including commercial, investment, and savings banks; brokerage firms; insurance companies; investment advisory services; and finance companies. Students will also be well prepared to enter the finance departments of nonfinancial corporations, nonprofit institutions, and governmental agencies.

Students who are planning on future graduate study in finance or business are strongly recommended to include advanced courses in mathematics, statistics, and econometrics in their undergraduate programs.

Required courses for the BBA degree include

The finance major includes three required courses (9 credits) and five electives (15 credits).

Required Courses 9 credits

The three required courses build on the foundations of the introductory finance course. These courses are prerequisites to all 4000-level finance courses. Students must earn a GPA of 2.0 or better in the three required courses to take any of the 4000-level finance courses.

Elective Courses 15 credits

The finance major includes five elective courses that students take after completing the three required courses with a 2.0 GPA or better. The five electives include five courses in finance, economics, or insurance at the 3000 or 4000 level, subject to these specific requirements:* (updated 7/27/15)

Either FIN 4610 or 4710: These are the capstone courses in the finance major, and both are communication-intensive courses (CIC)

Two additional 4000-level finance (FIN) courses (Note: The choice of FIN 4610 above does not preclude FIN 4710, and vice versa. In other words, students may include both FIN 4610 and FIN 4710 in the finance major if they choose.)

Two additional 3000- or 4000-level courses in finance (FIN), economics (ECO), or insurance (INS)* (updated 7/27/15)

In addition, students may include, at most, two of these courses outside finance:

An internship training program is available to qualified fulltime juniors and seniors majoring in finance, with 1 credit or 3 credits a semester for 15 to 20 weekly hours of work. These credits cannot be counted toward those needed for the major.

Students must file a Major Declaration Form by the end of their junior year.

The BBA Major in Economics

A BBA degree with a major in economics prepares students for entry-level positions in business, nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, and private consulting. This work includes economic analysis, research, and empirical analysis.

Students choosing an economics major are advised that a position as a professional economist usually requires a graduate degree in economics. Students planning to enter a graduate program in economics are strongly recommended to include advanced courses in mathematics, statistics, and econometrics in their undergraduate programs.

Required courses for the BBA degree include 

The economics major includes three required courses (9 credits) and five electives (15 credits).

Required Courses 9 credits

The three required courses build on the foundations of the introductory micro- and macro-economics courses. Economics majors should plan on taking all three, especially ECO 4000, as early in their major program as possible.

Elective Courses 15 credits

In addition to the three required courses, an economics major must take a meaningful combination of five economics, finance, or insurance courses at the 3000 level or higher. Of these five courses, at least two must be economics courses at the 4000 level or higher. FIN 3000 may not be included in the economics major. When appropriate, a student may include up to two advanced courses from other disciplines in the five electives.

An internship training program is available to qualified full-time juniors and seniors majoring in economics, with 1 credit or 3 credits a semester for 15 to 20 weekly hours of work. These credits cannot be counted toward those needed for the major.

Students must file a Major Declaration Form by the end of their junior year.

The BA Major in Economics

A BA degree with a major in economics deals with concepts, techniques, and cases in economics that acquaint the student with the general economic problems of modern society. This degree provides students with an excellent general background for a wide range of challenging business careers.

There are several prerequisites for the major. The major itself includes three required courses (9 credits) and five electives (15 credits).

Prerequisites to the Major               12 or 13 credits
(Not Credited to the Major)

NOTES:

*  

** Students with credit for 

The three required courses build on the foundations of the introductory micro- and macro-economics courses, 

Elective Courses                                                                   15 credits
The BA economics major includes five elective courses, at least two of which must be at the 4000 level or higher, chosen from the following list:

BLS 3015	Black Economic Development: 1860 to the Present	3 credits
BLS 3016	Urban Economic Structure ( LTS 3016 )	3 credits
ECO 3110	Industrial Organization and Public Policy	3 credits
ECO 3160	Field Study of the Economics of the Environment, Business, Culture and Global Sustainability	3 credits
ECO 3220	Money, Banking, and Monetary Policy	3 credits
ECO 3250	International Economics and Finance	3 credits
ECO 3310	Principles of Public Finance	3 credits
ECO 3400	Evolution of Economic Thought	3 credits
ECO 3501	Economics of Labor	3 credits
ECO 4051	Financial Econometrics	3 credits
ECO 4100	Advanced Micro-Economics	3 credits
ECO 4200	Advanced Macro-Economics	3 credits
ECO 4201	Monetary Economics	3 credits
ECO 4300	Mathematical Economics	3 credits
ECO 4501	Advanced Labor Economics (3503)	3 credits
HIS 3410	History of American Business Enterprise	3 credits
PAF 3101	Public Finance/Managing Public Resources*	3 credits
PAF 3102	Economic Analysis and Public Policy*	3 credits
	Economics of the Public Sector	3 credits
PHI 3050	Ethics, Economics, and the Business System	3 credits
POL 3103	Political Economy	3 credits
POL 3315	Government and the American Economy	3 credits

*For the purposes of this program, this course counts as an Arts and Sciences course.

As with all BA majors, the liberal arts minor must be completed outside the department of the students major. A student majoring in economics cannot minor in finance.

The Minors

• Liberal Arts Minor in Economics
• Economics and Finance

Liberal Arts Minor in Economics

The Bert W. Wasserman Department of Economics and Finance offers a liberal arts minor in economics. The liberal arts minor consists of 9 credits and requires that students take

• ECO 3100

   or 

  ECO 3200

• 3 additional credits in 3000-level or 4000-level courses in economics
• A 3 credit communication-intensive 4000-level capstone course in economics.

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all prerequisites are met. If in doubt, students should check with an economics advisor to ensure their choices conform to the requirements of this concentration.

With the exception of ECO 4000, ECO 4091, ECO 4092, ECO 4093, and ECO 4094, all other 4000-level courses are communication-intensive courses. Sometimes ECO 4093 (a 3-credit special topics course) may be communication-intensive, depending on the course material. Students are required to check the course description in CUNYfirst. Courses used for the liberal arts minor in Economics cannot be counted towards the 24 credits for the BBA in Finance.

Below is a list of capstone courses that have been regularly offered in recent years, along with the matching lower-level courses that could constitute an Economics minor.

Note: Students should also be aware that not every course will be offered every semester, therefore, they should ensure that the program they select is flexible and are advised to check with the Department of Economics and Finance (VC 10-225, (646) 312-3450) prior to the beginning of each term regarding course availability.

The Business Minor for Business Students - Economics and Finance

A minor in economics and finance consists of any three courses listed below. Each course is 3 credits, for a total of 9 credits.

Courses

Courses in Economics (ECO)

Courses in Finance (FIN)

Courses in Insurance (INS)