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B.S. in Business Economics

The B.S. in Business Economics major launched in Fall 2021. This major is a collaborative, interdisciplinary degree program between the Rady School and the Department of Economics. This major teaches students how to operate within firms and how firms operate within markets.  

Students can find when MGT courses are offered by visiting our Tentative Course Schedule. Click on a course's title to view prerequisites and course descriptions. To determine when ECON courses are offered, view the Department of Economics’ Tentative Course Offerings list.

Important Policies:

  • All courses must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a grade of C- or better. Students must finish the major with an overall major GPA of 2.0 or higher.
  • Students may overlap 8 upper division units between their major and minor, per minor. There is no restriction for overlapping lower-division units.
  • If you have a double major, each major must have a minimum of 10 unique upper-division courses.
  • A maximum of 1 upper-division MGT course and 1 upper-division ECON course can be taken off campus for this major. There is no off-campus limit for lower-division courses.

Declaring the Major

The B.S. in Business Economics Major is open to registered UC San Diego students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Students can view two- and four-year academic plans on the Department of Economics website. 

Students may declare the major through the Major/Minor Tool on Tritonlink. Please contact the Economics Department if you are experiencing any difficulties with the Major declaration form. 

Business Economics majors may declare any Rady minor, except Business.

Major Requirements

Through this program, students will obtain training in core economics disciplines (microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics) which will teach students how firms interact with markets, how economies function, and how to extract insights from data as well as training in core business disciplines (accounting, finance, management, marketing, operations) which will teach students how to perform various functions inside businesses. In addition, elective courses will deepen students' skill sets after core training is complete.

Students can find when MGT courses are offered by visiting our Tentative Course Schedule. To determine when ECON courses are offered, view the Department of Economics’ Tentative Course Offerings list.

All courses for the Business Economics major MUST be taken for a letter grade.

Lower Division (9 classes, 36 units)

  • MATH-010A or 020A: Calculus 1
  • MATH-010B or 020B: Calculus 2
  • MATH-010C or 020C: Calculus 3
  • ECON-001: Principles of Microeconomics
  • ECON-003: Principles of Macroeconomics
  • ECON-005 or POLI-005: Data Analytics for the Social Sciences
  • MGT-045: Principles of Accounting (or both MGT/ECON-004 and MGT-005)
  • MGT-016: Personal Ethics at Work
  • MGT-071 or 071R: Operating a Successful Business (previously called “Business Process and Operations Management")

Upper Division (13 classes, 52 units)

UD Core Classes (10 classes, 40 units)

  • ECON-100A: Microeconomics A
  • ECON-100B: Microeconomics B
  • ECON-110B: Short-Run Macroeconomics
  • ECON-120A: Econometrics A
  • ECON-120B: Econometrics B
  • MGT-100: Customer Analytics
  • MGT-160: Experiments in Firms
  • MGT-162 or 162R: Negotiations
  • MGT-164: Business and Organizational Leadership 
  • MGT-180/R: Business Finance

UD electives (3 classes, 12 units)

  • One MGT course 100-199
  • One ECON course 100-199
  • One MGT or one ECON course 100-199

*Students cannot use a required Business Economics course as an elective

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I declare the Business Economics major?

The major is available to declare using the Major/Minor Tool on Tritonlink. The major code for the Business Economics major is ECON-BS-003.

I'm a Senior. Can I still declare the Business Economics major?

Contact your College, regarding the Quarter Limitation policy. Please contact the Economics Department if you have questions regarding declaring your major.

When will the required MGT courses for the Business Economics major be offered?

Students can view the Rady's Tentative Course Schedule to review our tentative course schedule for the academic year.

I’m newly admitted to UC San Diego. Can I declare the Business Economics major?

Yes, you are welcome to declare the major. If you are an incoming transfer student, you will be able to declare the major after you are enrolled in courses for your first quarter at UCSD.

Can I double major and add the Business Economics major?

The major is open to all students, except those with the following majors: Economics (ECON-BA-001, ECON-BS-004 ), Management Science (EN26), Joint Mathematics-Economics (ECON-BS-002, MATH-BS-005), International Studies-Economics (INTL-BA-002), and BA/MPP Economics in Public Policy/Masters in Public Policy (ECON-BS-007).

I'm currently a Rady Business minor, what courses from the Business minor can apply to the Business Economics major?

Students cannot major in Business Economics and minor in Business due to overlap of curriculum. If you are interested in changing your major to Business Economics, you must drop the Business minor. Please see the Business Economics major requirements on the Economics Department website to see what courses you can use from your minor.

I have a Rady minor declared. Which courses from my minor can apply to the Business Economics major?

Please note that the Business minor cannot be declared in combination with the Business Economics major, but other Rady minors can (i.e. Accounting, Finance, Marketing, etc.). Students can overlap a maximum of two upper-division courses (or 8 units) between their major and minor. Please see the Business Economics major requirements on the Economics Department website to see what courses you can use from your minor.

I want to declare the Business Economics minor. Can any major declare a Business Economics minor?

The minor is open to all students, except those with the following majors: Economics (ECON-BA-001, ECON-BS-004 ), Management Science (EN26), Joint Mathematics-Economics (ECON-BS-002, MATH-BS-005), International Studies-Economics (INTL-BA-002), and Business Economics (ECON-BS-003).

Can I double minor in Business Economics and a Rady minor?

Yes, except for the Business minor. A student with a double minor must fulfill the separate requirements of each minor, with no overlap of upper-division courses. Courses taken in fulfillment of lower-division requirements may overlap to any degree.

I have a question about an ECON course. Who do I contact?

Please send a VAC message to the Department of Economics (Student SSO login required) .

I have a question about an MGT course. Who do I contact?

Please send a VAC message to the Rady School of Management (Student SSO login required).

Can I take MGT courses P/NP for the Business Economics major? (Please see update for quarters affected by Covid)

A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required in the upper-division courses used to satisfy major requirements. All courses must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a grade of C- (C minus), or better. This applies to both upper and lower division requirements. The only exceptions to this rule are MGT-198 and MGT-199 which are only offered with the pass/no pass grading option.

Update of P/NP Policy for quarters affected by Covid: Rady Undergraduate Programs has updated their allowance of Pass/No Pass courses for quarters affected by Covid. Rady will accept the Pass/No Pass Grading for MGT courses taken Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, and Spring 2021 to fulfill Business Economics major requirements. A maximum of four courses with a "pass" grade will be allowed each quarter.

Can I take courses for P/NP for the Business Economics minor?

Grades of P/NP are acceptable for business economics minor courses.